Fidelity International review

Our verdict

Our verdict

On the whole, Fidelity has plenty of products and options available whether you are an experienced investor or are just starting out. PathFinder is a nice option for those who don’t really know what they want to invest in.

Fidelity’s guidance and tools allow you to learn more about investment instead of diving in at the deep end. This is great, as you get the chance to find out more about what investing is and what you can get out of it.

Get started by visiting Fidelity and opening an account. Still not sure? Compare all platforms with our comparison table.

Pros

• The platform is clear and easy to use
• Plenty of choices of where your money is invested
• Guidance and tools available to help you

Cons

• Slow onboarding process

★★★★★

User survey

★★★★★

Finder score

Fidelity is a popular investment platform that offers both share dealing and a range of ready-made portfolios. It has a simple and easy-to-use platform, which is why we named it as one of the best trading apps of 2021 for ease of use. Find out what we thought of Fidelity, what products it’s got on offer and some pros and cons of Fidelity.

What is Fidelity?

Fidelity is an established investment platform with total client assets of US$584 million. It is one of the UK’s largest money managers. You can invest in a huge number of funds, trusts and shares, which we detail below.

What products does Fidelity offer?

• Individual savings accounts (ISAs)
• General investment accounts
• Self-invested personal pensions (SIPP)
• Junior ISAs
• Junior SIPPs

Fidelity ISAs

The Fidelity ISA lets you invest tax-free within your annual allowance. The ISA allowance for the 2023/2024 tax year is £20,000. This means that you can invest up to this amount without incurring any capital gains tax.

Features of the Fidelity ISA include:

• Use your ISA allowance
• Start from £50
• Thousands of funds to choose from
• Get expert guidance on your investments

General investment account

Fidelity’s general investment account allows you to invest outside of your annual ISA allowance. People usually go for this option if they have used their ISA allowance already. You may need to pay capital gains tax on any profit you make from your investments.

Features of the Fidelity general investment account include:

• Start from £50
• Thousands of funds and shares to choose from
• Expert guidance on your investments

Self-invested personal pension (SIPP)

The self-invested personal pension gives you the chance to save up for your retirement with tax benefits. You can choose what you want your pension invested in and can contribute in lump sums or with regular savings.

Features of the Fidelity SIPP include:

• Start with £40
• HMRC will add 25% to each payment
• Thousands of funds to choose from
• Get expert guidance on your investments
• Flexible retirement options when you need to take your pension

Junior ISA (JISA)

With the junior ISA, you can kick-start your savings for your child’s future, tax-free. The JISA works the same as the stocks and shares ISA, except the allowance for the 2023/2024 tax year is £9,000.
Features of the Fidelity JISA include:

• Invest tax-free within the annual allowance
• Control over the ISA automatically passes to the child when they turn 18
• Start with £50
• Friends and family can add money too
• Thousands of funds and shares to invest in
• Expert guidance on your investments

Junior SIPP

If you’re super organised, you can start investing now for your child’s retirement with the junior self-invested personal pension (SIPP). All contributions are tax-free up to the £2,880 allowance for the 2023/2024 tax year.
Features include:

• Start with £40
• The government will add 25% to each payment
• Friends and family can add money
• Thousands of funds to choose from
• Expert guidance on your investments

What can I invest in with Fidelity?

• Funds

  A fund is a unit trust, open-ended investment company (OEIC), or any other collected investment scheme.

• Exchange traded funds (ETFs)

  Exchange traded funds are funds that issue shares, which are traded on a stock exchange. If you don’t know much about ETFs then we have a handy guide.

• Investment trusts

  Investment trusts let you buy lots of different investments in one go to help manage the risk.

• Shares

  Buy shares in a company to own a small stake in it, with the potential for capital growth, dividend income or a blend of the two.

Types of investments with Fidelity

PathFinder

PathFinder is a collection of ready-made portfolios that might be suitable for you if you’re not sure what you want to invest in. It will choose a fund for you based on your “risk preference”. This is determined with a small quiz that asks you about your understanding of investments, how you feel about risk and your financial background.

There are two types of funds that you can invest in with PathFinder: “growth funds” and “income funds”.

Growth funds

Growth funds use a risk calculator and a handy tool to work out how much your investments are likely to grow over time. You can play around with the calculator to work out how cautious or adventurous you want to be, and how this impacts your investments. Once you’ve decided which one you want, you have the option between an “Expert Focus” fund and a “Cost Focus” fund.

• Expert Focus

  This choice will cost you more, but you’ll be investing with fund managers who manage your investment to find you the best opportunities and help make your money work harder.

• Cost Focus

  As the name suggests, this fund is focused on keeping your costs low. Your money is invested by Fidelity’s in-house experts across general markets and asset classes.

Income funds

Income funds aim to generate a steady income on your investment of between 4% and 6%.

There are three different income fund options: Defensive/Cautious Income, Balanced Income and Income and Growth.

• Defensive/Cautious Income

  • Aims to provide you with a steady income from your investments over time
  • Suitable for cautious investors who are focused on preserving their money
  • Portfolio manager has the flexibility to adjust assets based on market conditions

• Balanced Income

  • Aims for a steady income with capital growth
  • Designed for investors prepared to take a degree of risk in return for potential capital growth and income
  • The portfolio manager can tactfully adjust the asset mix within defined ranges to take advantage of market conditions

• Income and Growth

  • Aims to deliver a steady income and capital growth with the potential for income to grow over time
  • Invests in a balanced mix of defensive assets (such as bonds and cash) and higher-risk asset classes (such as equities)
  • Designed for investors who are prepared to accept a higher level of risk
  • The portfolio manager has the flexibility to tactfully adjust the asset mix within defined ranges to take advantage of market conditions

Select 50

Select 50 is a selection of, you guessed it, 50 of Fidelity’s favourite funds. It aims to take some of the overwhelm out of choosing funds to invest in – as there are thousands to choose from – by showing you funds that have the most potential to outperform in the market area.

Fidelity has analysts that narrow down the funds and measure them based on a range of metrics to get to the select 50.

You can view them all in a list, along with yields, charges and ratings, on the Fidelity website.

Investment Finder

The Investment Finder lets you sort through the funds and shares that you can invest in with Fidelity. You can choose between funds, shares, exchange traded funds and investment trusts, and filter them based on your preferences.

Fidelity guidance and tools

Fidelity offers plenty of guidance to help you make investment decisions in the form of calculators, guides, videos and reviews. These aim to give you more insight into investing so that you make the right financial decisions for yourself. It’s always a good idea to do a bit of research before trying anything risky – after all, you’d rather find out with a bit of research that you need a harness when bungee jumping rather than learn the hard way.

It’s definitely worth taking a look at the calculators, as they can estimate the movements of your investments to see if you’re likely to reach your goal within your estimated timeframe.

Is Fidelity safe?

Fidelity is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) which requires it to have appropriate systems and procedures when managing the business. It separates client money from its own money, so your investment will not be used to pay for Fidelity’s business activities.

Your money is also protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, which will cover up to £85,000 of investments if Fidelity were to become insolvent.

Fidelity customer reviews

Customers who took part in Finder’s 2023 customer satisfaction survey were fairly positive about Fidelity, with many highlighting its “valuable” customer service and “reasonable fees”.

One customer said: “Fidelity is an easy to use platform with good fees and plenty of information available to make informed choices”

Fidelity scored of 4 out of 5 for customer satisfaction. 77% of customers would recommend the brand to a friend.

Get started by visiting Fidelity and opening an account. Still not sure? Compare all platforms with our comparison table.

Frequently asked questions

• Is Fidelity Investments a public company?

  No, Fidelity Investments is privately owned.

• Where is the Fidelity Investments headquarters?

  Fidelity’s UK flagship office is located at 4 Cannon Street in London.

• Is Fidelity good for beginners?

  If you’re just starting out with investments, there are options available for you at Fidelity. You can choose funds based on your risk appetite, which means you don’t need to have a great wealth of knowledge of the funds. It’s worth taking a look at the guides and videos that Fidelity offers to learn more, too.