WSJ (not com, yet): Fidelity Has A Vanguard Problem

[MRG]

i can say even at our yearly consultation which i get as a private access customer i have never been lured to try to buy any product ever.

+1
No products were ever pushed or suggested to me. In fact I was going to rollover a 401K to Fidelity when my representative told me to check out the rule of 55. He gave me his best advice, leaving that mid 6 figure number out of Fidelity for the next four years.

 

[misanman]

Fidelity has never pushed, or even suggested, any specific investments to us. Are there two different companies called Fidelity?

Sent from my HTC6500LVW using Early Retirement Forum mobile app

 

[TimSF]

Fidelity tries to sell too many funds and annuities to generate income. DH worked there - saw this. When he joined them (in technology side) we had to move all of our money into FIDO - they proposed 34 funds, all with the largest fees (no index or FIDO funds at all). They also recommended we buy annuities then - their proposal was a joke. They are all on commission. Yes, you can ignore all of this noise when they try to sell you this stuff, but many people do not know better. Increasing revenues? Sure, getting more money out of people in fees.

+1. A Fidelity rep once tried to sell me on a variable deferred annuity, and I have been skeptical of Fidelity advisers ever since. Still use Fido's DIY brokerage services though.

I should add that I also appreciate many features of the Fido website, such as the fullview that gives me an uptodate look at total assets in many Fido and non-Fido accounts. But no more sit-downs with a Fido rep for me ...

 

[BellBarbara]

OK it wasn't just us. I remembered posting about the proposal before and someone said they got a similar proposal. Maybe there is a diff in having an existing account and not getting pitched on something, vs wen we had to move all of our assets (except my 401k) and they gave us a proposal.

Anyway, its a good company, just doesn't meet our needs.

 

[audreyh1]

Fidelity never pushed anything on us for a long time. Then they learned we were retiring early as we has divested quite a bit of company stock. So around that time they strongly suggested their new "low cost" variable annuities as a method for tax-deferred growth of our windfall. And they were low cost, but still. Never pushed it again although our account manager would occasionally suggest some obscure mutual fund out of left field. Never was a Fidelity fund though and usually not cheap either. But never push them, just mention them.

So glad we ignored the variable annuities as people who bought them in 1999 and 2000 really regretted it later.

As a DIY investor I am very happy with their internet platform and customer service. I maybe shoot the breeze with the account manager every 2 years.

 

[bUU]

Are there two different companies called Fidelity?

Incidentally, there are. With our move to Georgia, we were looking for a local bank. I was surprised and rather pleased to "learn" that there was a Fidelity Bank. Later, I discovered that Fidelity Bank has no relationship to Fidelity Investments.

 

[eta2020]

https://www.fidelity.com/about-fidelity/fidelity-by-numbers/corporate-statistics
Customers vote with their feet.

Fidelity may be great but somehow Total Managed Assets remains same from 2013 to 2014 while market goes up 11%.

That means customers are pulling money out of Fidelity.

http://biz.yahoo.com/e/141106/schw10-q.html
Compare that to increase at for example Schwab.

 

[eta2020]

Fidelity posts record revenue and profit for 2014 - Business - The Boston Globe

I correct myself. Above table for Fidelity is from Sep 2104. They did increase AUM by 4% for a year 2014 mostly thanks to managing lot of 401ks.

But the above Schwab's results are also from Sep 2014. So while Schwab increased assets by 12% in 9 months Fidelity increased it by 1% in same 9 months.

Customers vote with their feet It is not just Vanguard problem that Fidelity has.

 

[MBSC]

Fidelity has never pushed, or even suggested, any specific investments to us. Are there two different companies called Fidelity?

My experience is of two divisions of Fidelity who can't see each other. Every six months I get a call and letter from Fidelity Retirement Services in Merrimack, NH regarding the 401K at my former employer. They always ask if I want to make it a roll-over IRA or change my investments. They can't see my non-retirement account at Fidelity Investments.

The CSRs at Fidelity Investments never suggest a product, don't know about an office in Merrimack and have no record of anyone calling me.

 

[eta2020]

Their problem is that they have completion.
If I have 1 million with E*Trade and I call them they will tap dance for me on a table.
I learned not to expect that from Fidelity.

Hence as a customer I will take my money to for example E*Trade.

 

[mathjak107]

as a private access client at fidelity i can say we get fabulous service.

everything is followed through from soup to nuts and even got invites to no sales pitch customer appreciation dinners.

we had a cd we transfered to fidelity and the bank didn't follow instructions and did it before the maturity day.

our rep called the bank and pointed it out and then monitored our account to follow up on the credit for the penalty.

they even made a 2nd call when they didn't see it two days later.

i think they do a really great job taking care of the bigger customers.

 

[H2ODude]

as a private access client at fidelity i can say we get fabulous service.

everything is followed through from soup to nuts and even got invites to no sales pitch customer appreciation dinners.

we had a cd we transfered to fidelity and the bank didn't follow instructions and did it before the maturity day.

our rep called the bank and pointed it out and then monitored our account to follow up on the credit for the penalty.

they even made a 2nd call when they didn't see it two days later.

i think they do a really great job taking care of the bigger customers.

Ditto. If shaving a tenth of a percentage point off an index fund is the price, I'll pay it. I'm sort of a set it and forget it investor (while I don't trade I do watch) and the treatment we've gotten at F has been exactly what we want. Phone service beats anything I've ever had financial services or otherwise. Can't say it's better than V since I've been at F since early 90's.

 

[Cobra9777]

I'm a passionate DIY type investor and retirement planner. Fidelity's online capabilities are ideal for my style of getting things done. All our financial assets are housed there except DW's 457b, since she's still working. We don't own any Fidelity mutual funds, just ultra-low-ER index ETFs, mainly iShares and Vanguard.

The brokerage is top-notch, but we don't trade very often and have no need for the more advanced trading tools. We really like the online research and analytical tools such as GPS, RIP, and many others. Recently I've used the ETF screener and tax loss harvesting tool, both of which were easy and convenient. We also have a Fidelity CMA that functions like a traditional bank account... checking, debit, bill-pay, free ATM, mobile check deposit, cash-back credit cards, FDIC insurance, and no fees of any kind.

Aside from occasional "just-checking-in" email with the rep from private client group, the only interaction I have with Fidelity is if I call them because I can't find something on the website. This occurs maybe once per year, and most of the 2-minute phone call is Q&A to validate my identity. Not once has anyone tried to sell me anything. I also like the real, hardware-based 2-factor authentication. I do listen-in to many of the webinars if it's a topic I find interesting.

The article linked in the OP was about Fidelity's latest earnings report and their place in the strategic landscape. I find that interesting, but not particularly relevant to whether they are a good fit for me as a consumer. I know exactly what investments and AA I want to hold, and don't want or need any help with that, beyond what I can extract from this forum and BH. Where I house my assets depends entirely on cost and how effectively the service and online capabilities support my DIY style. As near as I can tell, I've never paid Fidelity anything except the rare $7.95 commission when I trade a Vanguard ETF. And I'm extremely happy with the state-of-the-art capabilities at my fingertips.

 

[bUU]

Customers vote with their feet.

Customers vote more often with their wallets and their emotional responses to media. I wouldn't put much stock in the actions of customers as a reliable barometer of actual quality. After all, look at Wal-Mart.

 

[MRG]

...snip...

If one wanted to find out the index mutual funds that Fidelity has, one simply cannot get right to them. They are hidden away. For instance, what is the ticker symbol of the Fidelity Freedom Index 2030 fund? Sure, I can get the ticker if I type in the full name, but what if I just search "index funds" at fidelity.com? No Freedom Index funds are mentioned on the landing page for that.
...snip...


.

Home-> Investment Products->Mutual Fund Reseach->Asset Allocation use the drop down for target date funds. I did tick Fidelity funds only.

I used your example of Fidelity Freedom Index 2030. There's probably 3 other ways to get to the same list. FYI I don't think this is an index fund, but an asset allocation fund, that's why it's not under index funds.

What could be simpler?