Cool, they let you open an account with $0.
Suck-ass: the website thinks it knows better than YOU do, the way you want things done. No, no, no. You can't proceed until, for security purposes, you give us your cell number. (You mean, the one you already have? ) No, it can't possibly be the one we already have, because there's a separate box for daytime and evening phone (cell.)
"I want you to communicate with me by email, not phone." OK, I've got your cell number entered. Those annoying prompts should stop. Oops, what is this? I'm getting a text confirming that my cell phone number has been entered. Did I not just tell you (Fido) I want EMAIL to be the way we communicate, if necessary? Well, there will be occasional this and that sent to you, blah blah blah. (Goddam Marketing dept.)
"Close my account, please."
OK, done.
Comments
All I have is a cell phone (no land line) but Fido still gets in touch with me by email.....
I also use Schwab and am quite happy- none of the stupid BS that Crash details. I've never used Fido, but Catch22 likes them a lot. Since you already have the Schwab account, if I were in your position I would seriously consider opening a Fido account just so that you could compare the two. If you later wanted to consolidate to one brokerage, you would then have the experience to know which of the two best suited your needs.
By that I mean things like: Schwab has its own real bank; Fidelity cash management services are through UMB Bank. (This matters in a few oddball cases where institutions refuse to link to anything but a "real" bank.)
Fidelity provides a MMF paying almost 2% as your transaction (core) account. Schwab sweeps cash into a low paying, but FDIC-insured, bank account. Schwab offers a debit/ATM card with zero foreign fees (they absorb the 1% network fee), and worldwide ATM rebates. Fidelity's debit card may cost you 1% on foreign transactions, and they only rebate ATM fees in the US. (I've never been charged a fee outside the US, though.) Fidelity's CC gives 2% cash back; Schwab's gives 1.5%.
Schwab charges $49.95 for all TF funds; Fidelity charges $75 for a few fund families (e.g. Vanguard). Once you own a TF fund at Fidelity, you can add more to the fund for just $5 (using their automatic investment system). I don't believe Schwab has a similar feature.
You'll find the occasional fund that is NTF or load waived at one brokerage but not the other. Not enough difference to worry about unless there are particular funds that you're interested in checking out.
There are differences in their advisory and robo-advisory services, but I don't think you're asking about that. They both have many branch offices, but whether one is close to you depends on exactly where you are. My local Schwab office doesn't keep a notary around, which is a shame since it is just three blocks away.
Fidelity has some fine house funds. I tend not to think of Schwab in terms of funds outside of index funds.
Appears you have come full circle for any choice of a suitable brokerage for your potential investment.
The point of R.O.I., Return on Investment; may be offset by R.O.H., Risk on Health.
The angst, for you; of this journey may not be so much related in the future to the risk of the investment; as much as to the risk of a healthy, long term physical well being.
Happy trails,
Catch
Way back then (before internet age) we were able to rollover IRAs at Fido's office where the representative filled out the paperwork and within one week the accounts were established. Prior to Fidelity we tried with Schwab via mail and they responded a month later. By that time our accounts were established with Fidelity (plus another taxable account). Both Fidelity and Schwab offer an incredible number of mutual funds on their no-transaction fee platforms. Each house has their own fee policy. As msf pointed out one can use Fido's automatic investment route to buy more for $5, and there is no fee on the sell side.
Before ETFs came along, Fidelity used to dominate this space with their sector funds. Fidelity's mutual funds are good with few stand-out. Biggest complain about Fidelity is their fund managers tend to have short track record as they rotate between funds to further their management experience. On the other hand, Contra and Low-priced stocks funds have the same managers for over several decades. I have use both in the past in my 401(K) on and off. Today I use Fidelity REIT Income, FRIFX which is a unique hybrid REIT fund. Majority of my mutual funds are from their NTF platform and there are lots to choose from.
Lately T. Rowe Price funds appeared on their NTF list which make Fidelity even more attractive. Overall MF choices is excellent with Fidelity. If one get frustrated with M* lately, Fidelity offer a very good analysis on MF.
Reports for ETFs are also available. Many (not all) ETFs are traded without fee at Fidelity.
One factor you may want to consider is customer service, reliability of online trading is excellent, even in heavy trading days. Security-wise Fidelity implemented the two-factor authentication early on with either your email or text messaging. If I want to communicate with Fidelity, their Secured Message works great. At one point when we rollover our pension to an IRA at Fidelity, they arrange to have a three way phone conference involving our former employer, ourselves, and Fidelity. Again the rollover was completed in less than 2 weeks without a hitch.
On the other hand, my experience with Schwab is very limited (and it was years ago) and thus cannot offer you a full breath of opinion. Best luck in your transfer.
@MikeW, you pay / would pay $700 each year or so to evaluate your AA?
Question is how robust is Schwab's plan, especially in the next drawdown cycles? Have their plan been back-tested ? Are their plan competitive with target date funds which have pre-determine glide paths? There is lots of information out there and experienced investors including MFO that you can learn from.
Derf
From their site:
Schwab Intelligent Portfolios Premium™
Our robo-advisor builds, monitors, and automatically rebalances a diversified portfolio based on your goals. Get unlimited 1:1 guidance from a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERTM professional, interactive planning tools, and a personalized roadmap for reaching your goals.
$25K to start. Pay a one-time planning fee of $300, and just a $30/month advisory fee after that.
https://mutualfundobserver.com/discuss/discussion/48772/schwab-moving-to-subscription-fees-could-be-watershed-moment-for-advice-industry
As I noted in that thread, and as Schwab shows on its Intelligent Portfolios comparison page, with the for fee program ($300 + $30/mo) Schwab is doing more than just "evaluat[ing] your AA". Whether you get the free service (just AA) or the pay service, you're "paying" for the service by keeping lots of money in cash.
Fidelity Portfolio Advisory Services (PAS) will send you a sample portfolio if you ask. Many years ago I looked at one out of curiosity. They appear to place you in one of a dozen or two "model portfolios" based on your profile. Sort of like filling out an AA questionnaire. They may tweak slightly (e.g. use muni bonds for your particular state). The model portfolios have a gazillion different funds. Nothing particularly wrong with that, but what's the point? IMHO a high fee (around 1%+) for relatively little service.
Here are a couple of pages from Marketwatch. Can you tell the difference between a robo portfolio and a human portfolio (quiz), and the accompanying article. The first slide in that article shows a Schwab portfolio. Also lots and lots of funds.
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/can-you-tell-a-human-financial-adviser-from-a-robot-2015-04-21
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/we-asked-4-robo-advisers-4-human-advisers-for-portfolios-for-the-same-investor-2015-04-21
Schwab's program is a hybrid, like Vanguard's. Fidelity's PAS is supposedly human. Fidelity also offers a new pure robo service (Fidelity Go) for 0.35%. No hybrid.
Vanguard's service, not surprisingly, revolves around Total Stock, Total Bond, Total Int'l Stock, Total Int'l Bond, with other funds added as needed.
Keep in mind that unlike others here, I'm just an observer. I've never put my own money into one of these services.
@msf. Thanks for providing information on Fidelity's advisory and robo services and their fees. Very helpful. I can't see using the personal advisory service and paying the 1% fee. I'm assuming that Fidelity's robo service puts you into ETFs? thanks for all the inputs.