Free ETF trades for Fidelity

[gap]

Fidelity just added another 35 ETFs with no fees for trading.
Unfortunately Gold (as a metal) is not there ; there are some minor restrictions on short term trades(which should not be a problem for PPers

[dualstow]

They did? Weird, I didn't get the promo email. Are you talking about iShares? I found this:
https://www.fidelity.com/etfs/ishares

[melveyr]

This is great! Not a game changer for a PP investor (except TLT being added by I don't really like that fund) but you could start building an interesting VP.

Emerging Market Local Currency Bonds: LEMB
International Inflation Linked Bonds: ITIP
International Treasury Bond: IGOV

These are some of the more interesting new ETFs in my mind.

[sophie]

Beware, Fidelity didn't just add free ETFs they subtracted as well.  The email I got said that one of my funds was removed from the free ETF list.  I was left to figure out that it was EFA, which I'll have to sell and replace with IXUS.  That's fine because it's got a lower expense ratio.

[melveyr]

It's too bad they didn't add GLD to the lineup. Not sure why they wouldn't add one of the most popular ETFs.

[RuralEngineer]

That whole thing is screwed up.  IWV is still listed as an iShares ETF but is no longer on the list of 65 free iShares ETFs....however, it still has the "Trade for Free" option and I just bought some for free on Tuesday.

Also...add IAU to the iShares list so I can trade completely commission free in my Fidelity PP!

[MachineGhost]

Beware, Fidelity didn't just add free ETFs they subtracted as well.  The email I got said that one of my funds was removed from the free ETF list.  I was left to figure out that it was EFA, which I'll have to sell and replace with IXUS.  That's fine because it's got a lower expense ratio.

Did they charge you to sell it?

[sophie]

No, I have until July to make the switch.

[dualstow]

I didn't get the email until today. You all must be higher up on the alphabet.

[dualstow]

WSJ article: Fidelity's ETF Fee Spurs a Backlash
http://is.gd/cPKX4U

[MachineGhost]

WSJ article: Fidelity's ETF Fee Spurs a Backlash
http://is.gd/cPKX4U

Whats wrong with this sentence:  Some financial advisers said they would stop using Fidelity Investments' trading platform to buy certain exchange-traded funds because of high fees that kick in when investors sell.

Cry me a !@#$ing river, $7.95 isn't "high fees"!

As an aside, I wonder if the equity mutual fund outflows since 2008 account for them going into ETF's instead, not just bond funds.

[dualstow]

I agree, MG. Only frequent traders will be unhappy.

[portart]

Trading fees are so low that unless you buy and sell them often, it's a non issue for any decent size portfolio. Now if they had no expense ratio.......

[foglifter]

It's too bad they didn't add GLD to the lineup. Not sure why they wouldn't add one of the most popular ETFs.

You probably meant IAU. GLD is not an iShares ETF.

[melveyr]

It's too bad they didn't add GLD to the lineup. Not sure why they wouldn't add one of the most popular ETFs.

You probably meant IAU. GLD is not an iShares ETF.

Ah good catch. But it is surprising that they wouldn't include it right?

[RuralEngineer]

It's too bad they didn't add GLD to the lineup. Not sure why they wouldn't add one of the most popular ETFs.

You probably meant IAU. GLD is not an iShares ETF.

Ah good catch. But it is surprising that they wouldn't include it right?

If it's really that popular they want all those commissions.  I think options are more restricted with gold ETFs than they are with stock ETFs (or their mutual fund equivalents).

I don't expect Fidelity to make my PP completely free any time soon.  That would be too nice of them.  As it is I'm paying next to nothing, IAU is the only thing that has a commission on it.  I hold LTT and STT myself (through fidelity).  IVV still trades free although they screwed me on IWV, which was my preferred stock ETF.

[gap]

Personally I am more concerned about:

a. the spread
b. the expense ratio of the ETFs
c. the kind of execution I can get

So the $7.95 for non-free ETFs is not a major concern for me  since I would probably be re-balancing at most once a year. This may not be true, as mentioned before, for those who are investing frequently in small amounts, but the above(a,b,c) should still be a major consideration.

[MachineGhost]

Are there any Automatic Investment Plans (AIP) for these free ETFs?  Schwab seems to be ahead of the pack in allowing scheduled ACH transfers in/out, but that is just to cash.

[foglifter]

Are there any Automatic Investment Plans (AIP) for these free ETFs?  Schwab seems to be ahead of the pack in allowing scheduled ACH transfers in/out, but that is just to cash.

Fidelity only allows automatic investments to mutual funds - both directly from you bank to a mutual fund or putting money to a core MMF and then buying the mutual fund. ETFs are not eligible unfortunately. Both Fidelity and non-Fidelity funds can be used.

When it comes to DRIP you can set up reinvestment of capital gains and dividends on a per-position basis for mutual funds, ETFs and stocks. This is very cool as you can have different arrangements within the same account.

[foglifter]

You probably meant IAU. GLD is not an iShares ETF.

Ah good catch. But it is surprising that they wouldn't include it right?

If it's really that popular they want all those commissions.  I think options are more restricted with gold ETFs than they are with stock ETFs (or their mutual fund equivalents).

I don't expect Fidelity to make my PP completely free any time soon.  That would be too nice of them.  As it is I'm paying next to nothing, IAU is the only thing that has a commission on it.  I hold LTT and STT myself (through fidelity).  IVV still trades free although they screwed me on IWV, which was my preferred stock ETF.

I hold LTTs in Fido too. However for those who prefers an ETF or mutual fund FLBAX (an Advantage class of Fidelity LTT fund) is a cheaper option than TLT. The minimum is 10K and the holding period is 90 days, which should not be of a great concern for long-time investors.