We've had many many threads here over the years debating which one to choose, and we've probably had just as many different answers. A new version of the perpetual thread is just ramping up on MrMoneyMustache.com courtesy of jpluncford21:
Fidelity Vs. Vanguard: A New Investors Article
The article summarizes the pros & cons with bullet points and a short assessment. It's possible that they're only pretending to objective, and indeed their conclusion seems to be "Unless you're a fogey, neither." However I appreciate the format and the critical look.
Vanguard vs Fidelity Investments 2012 | Compare Fidelity versus Vanguard: Cons & Pros
Fidelity Vs. Vanguard: A New Investors Article
The article summarizes the pros & cons with bullet points and a short assessment. It's possible that they're only pretending to objective, and indeed their conclusion seems to be "Unless you're a fogey, neither." However I appreciate the format and the critical look.
Vanguard vs Fidelity Investments 2012 | Compare Fidelity versus Vanguard: Cons & Pros
If you're starting your search from scratch, this is a great list of issues to consider.Vanguard (Vanguard Review) and Fidelity (Fidelity Review) are known primarily for their own families of mutual funds rather than their brokerage services. As ETFs, due to their lower costs, are replacing mutual funds in investor portfolios, the importance of both firms is steadily diminishing.
Outside of mutual funds, Vanguard has little to offer: its commissions are higher than at many other online brokerage houses and it doesn't seem to be able to keep up with competition in services and trading technology.
Fidelity provides its customers with rich selection of investment products, access to great independent research, as well as many low cost Fidelity mutual funds.
There is a general consensus that Vanguard's mutual funds are lower cost and better performers than counterparts at Fidelity. Vanguard also offers dollar-cost-averaging transactions for mutual funds for those clients who choose to accumulate positions over time. Free dividend reinvestment is always a great plus too.
When comparing retirement accounts (ROTH IRA, Traditional, Simple), we can't recommend either one of the firms: they disappoint by charging a Low Balance Fee. Fidelity also has a Short Term Redemption fee which many other brokerages don't charge. Because of that, both companies were not included in our "Best IRA Accounts in 2012 list."