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Fidelity UK Review

Item: Fidelity International
Rating: 4

Written by Elizabeth Anderson
Fact-checked by Steven Hatzakis
Edited by Carolyn Kimball

December 19, 2024

Your capital is at risk.

Fidelity, an investment platform with a significant presence in the U.K., offers thousands of investments to choose from and also offers financial advice for those wanting more direction.

My view is that Fidelity is most suited to traditional investors who hold a range of accounts through the platform, enjoy the great research material available, and like the ability to use Fidelity for financial advice. Another big benefit is that there are no platform fees for Fidelity’s Junior ISA. Nevertheless, these benefits come with a cost as Fidelity is more expensive for investors regardless of the value of their portfolio than many other platforms.

Overall

Minimum Deposit: £1000 info
ISA: Yes
SIPP: Yes

Fidelity pros & cons

thumb_up_off_alt Pros

Offers financial advice services for those with at least £100,000 in investments.
No service fees on Junior ISAs.
Wide range of accounts, including ISAs and Junior SIPPs.

thumb_down_off_alt Cons

You have to commit to paying in at least £25 a month or provide a £1,000 lump sum payment to open an account.
Does not offer bonds.
Mobile app is fairly basic.
Overall, fees work out fairly expensive compared to other platforms.

Overall summary

Feature	Fidelity International
Overall Rating
Charges & Fees
Investment Choices
Mobile App
Website
Ease of Use
Education

Charges and fees

Annual fees: Fidelity charges a 0.35% annual service fee to hold your investments. This is lower than rival Hargreaves Lansdown, which charges 0.45% for mutual funds, and higher than AJ Bell and Barclays, which charge 0.25%. Some platforms, such as Trading 212, don’t charge anything, while others such as Interactive Investor and Halifax charge fixed annual fees that can work out cheaper for high-value portfolios.

If you invest £50,000 in mutual funds through Fidelity, for example, you’ll pay annual service fees of £175 on top of any fees related to your direct investments. However, if you invest in stocks and ETFs, the platform fee is capped at £90 a year. In comparison, Halifax charges a flat annual service fee of £36.

If your investments are less than £25,000, you’ll pay 0.35% if you have a regular savings plan or £90 (£7.50 a month) if you don't. This means Fidelity can work out very expensive if you have a small investment pot of less than £10,000 and don’t invest through a regular plan.

The percentage fees are lowered to 0.20% on amounts above £250,000 and to zero on amounts above £1M. Annual fees are capped at £2,000. Bear in mind, rival Halifax caps them at £36, Lloyds tops out at £40, and Interactive Investor charges up to £143.88. If you have a large sum invested, Fidelity may also work out expensive.

No fees on Junior accounts: A strong point for Fidelity is that it does not charge service fees for Junior ISAs (although you’ll still pay fees to fund managers within your portfolio). I think this is a great benefit and it’s great to see some other investment platforms — including Hargreaves Lansdown — have started to follow suit in removing charges on children’s accounts.

Share dealing fees: Fidelity charges £7.50 to buy or sell shares, ETFs, or bonds. This is lower than AJ Bell and Hargreaves Lansdown, but higher than Interactive Investor and Barclays. A rising number of new platforms, such as CMC Invest or XTB, offer free share and ETF trading.

Fidelity’s trading fees are reduced to £1.50 through its regular savings plan, but other platforms — including Lloyds, Interactive Investor and Hargreaves Lansdown — offer free regular investing.

FX fees: You’ll also pay FX fees to Fidelity of 0.75% if buying shares in companies listed on international stock exchanges, although this currency exchange fee falls to 0.5% if the trade value is above £10,000.

Scenario pricing: When calculating annual share dealing costs, trading frequency and account balance are the two most important factors to consider. Assuming a £30,000 portfolio in a traditional, taxable share dealing account, here are five scenarios of how much Fidelity would cost based on trade frequency:

5 trades per year = £127.50
12 trades per year = £108 or £180
36 trades per year = £144 or £360
120 trades per year = £270 or £990
3 fund trades per year = £105

Feature	Fidelity International
Minimum Deposit info	£1000 info
Share Trading: 0-9 Deals/ Month info	£1.50 or £7.50
Share Trading: 10-19 Deals/ Month info	£1.50 or £7.50
Share Trading: 20+ Deals/ Month info	£1.50 or £7.50
Annual Custody Fee: £0 - £250,000 info	£90 - £875
Annual Custody Fee: £250K-£500K info	£500 - £1,000
Annual Custody Fee: £500,000 - £1m info	£1,000 - £2,000
Annual Custody Fee: £1m and over info	£2,000
Bonds - Corporate - Fee info	N/A
Bonds - Government (Gilts) - Fee info	N/A
ETFs - Fee info	£7.50
Investment Trusts - Fee info	£7.50
Telephone Dealing Fee info	£30

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Mobile trading apps

Fidelity’s mobile app is very basic compared to other platforms with more comprehensive mobile apps and loading times are slow. The app basically only lets you manage your investments, create a watch list, and buy or sell investments. In my testing, I couldn’t ‘discover’ investments or get investment inspiration, which means you should have a firm idea of what you want to buy before opening the app to make a trade.

Finding investment ideas is tricky, unfortunately, as there appears to be no news, guides, or research material easily accessible on the app. However, Fidelity does offer good charting tools through the app, including the ability to compare stocks and indices and to add events such as earnings announcements. Not many traditional platforms offer these features on their mobile apps.

Tap for a demo of Fidelity's U.K. trading app.

Home page of the Markets tab on the Fidelity UK mobile app.

Choosing whether to Buy or Sell an investment on the Fidelity UK mobile app.

Selecting BP as a share to purchase on the Fidelity UK mobile app.

Trade ticket for purchasing BP shares on the Fidelity UK mobile app.

Website

Fidelity’s overall website is very detailed, offering market news, insights from experts, fund picks, and an overview of all the main stock markets.

Like with the mobile app, I didn’t find it easy to search stocks or funds or to get investment inspiration when logging in to my online account. When buying a share, you are prompted to start typing to search for investments, so you have to know precisely what you plan to buy.

You must invest at least £25 each time, so you can’t buy a small amount of shares — unlike with Freetrade or Trading 212 where you can invest just a few pounds. Fidelity’s charges of £7.50 per trade would not make it worthwhile to buy small amounts of shares anyway. You also can’t invest in fractional shares, which is another downside for investors with small amounts as you’d have to buy at least one whole share.

It’s not easy to see fund or company data. If you want this, your best bet is to set up a watch list and click on individual investments from there. This brings up key financials, news, and the latest share price (delayed by 15 minutes). You can then overlay different stocks and indices on a single chart to make it easier to compare the historical performance of different investments. It is also possible to add key events to the chart such as dividend announcements.

The Navigator page on the Fidelity UK website.

Viewing the Tesla share price chart on the Fidelity UK website.

Comparing Tesla's share price to Apple's on the Fidelity UK website.

Comparing BP share price to the FTSE 100 index on the Fidelity UK website.

Feature	Fidelity International
Web Platform info	Yes
iPhone App info	Yes
Android App info	Yes
Stock Alerts info	Yes
Charting - Indicators / Studies info	21
Charting - Drawing Tools info	5
Charting - Notes info	No
Charting - Display Corporate Events info	Yes
Charting - Stock Overlays info	Yes
Charting - Index Overlays info	Yes

Investment choices

You can invest in more than 3,000 funds, 178 investment trusts, 429 ETFs, and around 2,500 U.K., U.S., and European shares through Fidelity.

One drawback is that Fidelity does not offer the chance to invest in bonds, which is offered by many of its rivals.

With thousands of funds to choose from, Fidelity offers its ‘Select 50’ list to help narrow it down. This features around 50 active and passive funds, investment trusts, and ETFs that it believes have top investment credentials. This may include offering value for money or the opportunity to invest in lower-risk small-cap stocks. Fidelity also offers a ‘sustainable investment finder,’ meaning you can filter investments based on different sustainability categories.

You can also invest in the Fidelity Index World Fund through Fidelity’s Easy Invest option, which gives you access to some of the world’s biggest companies for a low cost of just 0.1%. Bear in mind that you’ll also pay a 0.35% annual service fee to Fidelity, and if you don’t have a regular savings plan the service fee is £90 a year.

This £90 minimum service fee if you don’t do regular investing can end up costing you a lot. On a £1,000 investment into the Fidelity Index World Fund, total costs would be £2.90 if you invest into the fund each month, or £90 a year if it’s a one-off investment. That’s a big price difference.

Fidelity offers financial advice services for those seeking further guidance on their investments if you have a minimum of £100,000 in investments, which is unusual among DIY investment platforms in the U.K. Fidelity’s financial advice fees are 1% of the amount invested (capped at £10,000), which is about standard for financial advice fees.

Feature	Fidelity International
Share Trading info	Yes
CFD Trading info	No
ETFs info	Yes
Funds info	Yes
Bonds - Corporate info	No
Bonds - Government (Gilts) info	No
Investment Trusts info	Yes
Spread Betting info	No
Crypto Trading info	No
Advisor Services info	Yes

Education

Fidelity’s educational material is very good, particularly for those who are new to investing. I really like the Insights page, where you can see various investment and retirement guides both in video and written form. I found terms such as ‘investment trust’ and ‘exchange-traded funds’ (ETFs) were explained in a way that is easy to understand.

There are monthly webinars, the option to receive daily emails featuring investment ideas, and various video and written guides. Fidelity has its own U.K. YouTube channel giving video walkthroughs, tips, and guidance, although it's not updated very often.

Fidelity also hosts regular free education seminars at its Investor Centre in central London, which is a great way to get hands-on investment training. These seminars last about 45 minutes and you can meet an investment professional from Fidelity afterwards to ask further questions.

Feature	Fidelity International
Education (Share Trading) info	Yes
Education (Funds) info	Yes
Education (Retirement) info	Yes
Client Webinars info	Yes
Client Webinars (Archived) info	Yes

Final thoughts

Fidelity is a very good broker that offers a wide range of accounts, including a general dealing account, ISA, SIPP, Junior ISA, and Junior SIPP. The downside is that you really need to be a committed investor before signing up, as you’ll need to pay in at least £25 a month or a £1,000 lump sum payment. This can be off-putting to those with limited funds or new to investing looking to test the platform. Charges are also on the high side whatever the size of your portfolio, particularly if you are investing less than £10,000 and more than £40,000.

Overall, there are similar platforms that are easier to navigate and may work out cheaper, such as AJ Bell, Vanguard, Interactive Investor, and Freetrade.

About Fidelity

Fidelity International was founded in the US more than 50 years ago and offers an investment platform to both DIY investors and financial advisers. It also offers financial advice for those aged 18 to 79 with at least £100,000 to invest (including pensions). Fidelity says it has 1.6 million customers in the U.K.

Is Fidelity International a good broker?

Fidelity International is one of the U.K.’s top broker services, with a great reputation within the investment community due to its long experience and expertise. It is on the more expensive side, though, especially for people with small portfolios or those looking to trade small amounts.

Is Fidelity International in the U.K.?

Yes, Fidelity launched in the U.K. in 1973. It offers share dealing services, funds, and financial advice to U.K. investors.

Is Fidelity a good ISA provider?

Fidelity offers a stocks and shares ISA and a Junior ISA, but does not offer a Lifetime ISA. The Junior ISA has no service fees, meaning Fidelity is a great option for those looking to open an investment ISA for their child.

What is the difference between Fidelity and Fidelity International?

Fidelity International is a subsidiary within the wider Fidelity group. Fidelity International covers activities outside the U.S., including the U.K., Asia and Canada, whereas parent Fidelity is U.S.-focused.

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Methodology

For the UK.StockBrokers.com Annual Review, we assessed, rated, and ranked 17 U.K. share dealing platforms over a 10-week time period. Each broker’s platforms and features were exhaustively tested by hand and graded on 53 different variables. In total, over 25,000 words of research were produced.

We thoroughly tested and compared features of prime interest to everyday investors, including but not limited to:

Investment choices, such as whether the broker offers trading of shares, ETFs, funds, bonds, and CFDs; and offers SIPP and ISA accounts.
The broker’s charges and fees for investing.
Functionality and design of mobile apps and website platform, and a fluid experience moving between app and web.
Usability of tools such as charting and watch lists.
Market research, such as screening, news and analysis.
Educational resources including tutorials, online courses, videos, webinars and articles.

Our rigorous data validation process yields an error rate of less than .001% each year, providing site visitors with quality data they can trust. Our lead researcher and writer, Elizabeth Anderson, has more than a decade’s experience as a financial journalist and market researcher. Elizabeth’s expertise is backed by a team of veteran fellow traders, data auditors, editors and project managers who work to ensure that UK.StockBrokers.com reviews and guides are the most unbiased and complete in the industry. Read more about our team.

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About the Editorial Team

Elizabeth Anderson, lead writer and researcher, has been a financial journalist for more than a decade. In addition to her work with UK.StockBrokers.com, she has written extensively for major publications including BBC, The Times and Bloomberg. A keen investor herself, she is passionate about helping people understand finance and investing.

Steven Hatzakis is the Global Director of Online Broker Research for UK.StockBrokers.com and ForexBrokers.com. Steven previously served as an Editor for Finance Magnates, where he authored over 1,000 published articles about the online finance industry. Steven is an active fintech and crypto industry researcher and advises blockchain companies at the board level. Over the past 20 years, Steven has held numerous positions within the international forex markets, from writing to consulting to serving as a registered commodity futures representative.

Carolyn Kimball is a former managing editor for Reink Media and former lead editor for the StockBrokers.com Annual Review. Carolyn has more than 20 years of writing and editing experience at major media outlets including NerdWallet, the Los Angeles Times and the San Jose Mercury News. She specializes in coverage of personal financial products and services, wielding her editing skills to clarify complex (some might say befuddling) topics to help consumers make informed decisions about their money.