Beware Fidelity if you are an active trader - here's why

[takingflight]

I make approximately 5000 trades per year, and have been at Fidelity for over ten years. My experience as an active trader at Fidelity has been terribly frustrating, and has resulted in my moving most of my trading elsewhere.

The customer service for routine issues is fine. The Active Trader line is staffed by nice, helpful people. Nice and helpful, but unable to solve any significant problems. The Active Trader Pro software is unequivocally dated. bug-laden, often crashes or freezes, and provides account information (such as balances) that is simply wrong.

Worse than the software itself, is the atrocious support. The answer to every problem, no matter how severe, is that it will be passed along to the developers. No real response, no feedback, no solution, even for major problems that makes it impossible to trade effectively. In many years of trading, not one problem was ever resolved. Fidelity seems to not quite be committed to really serving active traders.

And, as they say on infomercials...But there's more! No ability to assign tax lots online...no web based software other than the new activetrader.com which does not yet have full functionality.....active trader services only until 5pm....arca only through fidelity.com in the after hours session...and no ability to trade through a representative after hours...

But most of all, dated, dysfunctional software in Active Trader Pro with truly atrocious support.

Has anyone had an experience that differs from what I've described?

 

[spd]

Ive never used Fidelity for anything other than long swing trades and Fidelity Cash Reserves. With so many other avenues out there that cater more towards day traders I never saw a reason to give their active trader platform a try.

 

[Swan Noir]

Why would you execute 50,000 trades over a ten year period through a firm you say sucks at every turn?

Quote from takingflight:

I make approximately 5000 trades per year, and have been at Fidelity for over ten years.

 

[Bob111]

Quote from Swan Noir:

Why would you execute 50,000 trades over a ten year period through a firm you say sucks at every turn?

+1

 

[newguy05]

Quote from Bob111:

+1

seriously, who the fuck uses fidelity as an active trade platform? ....then complains about it... It's like punching yourself in the nuts while screaming about the pain... Go signup for IB.

I use fidelity for my retirement accounts because of my company's requirement. Their web based trade platform for stocks and options are just fine for placing a few trades each month. You do get raped by the commissions especially options. The plus side is you get to participate in most IPOs as fidelity always got the hand in the cookie jar.

Overall it's fine for retirement or long term investment accounts, but you must be batshit crazy to use it for day to day trading.

 

[RabidTrader]

ROFMAO, does anyone use Fidelity to purchase stocks or day trade? Fidelity is designed for their "Free ETF purchases on Select Fidelity ETFs and certain iShares (about 65) so you might consider Charles Schwab because they have the most free ETFs. Why is Fidelity involved in Active Trading if they can't provide a platform that works? I was scanning through all the Brokerages Threads some of you current and past Elite Members wrote about Fidelity and this one made me laugh.

Elite Trader Members can be brutally honest, right but honest so I wonder if Fidelity has changed their platform yet or if its still like this author said?

 

[RabidTrader]

does Fidelity ATP still Suck, would like to know from current customers or clients from Fidelity, what do you think? Does Fidelity ATP work well or Suck?

 

[i960]

FFS man, IB account. What is it with people who continue to use big name retail brokers for "active" trading whilst literally everyone else has moved to IB or a prop firm?

 

[RabidTrader]

FFS man, IB account. What is it with people who continue to use big name retail brokers for "active" trading whilst literally everyone else has moved to IB or a prop firm?

It's called "Suicide Trading" how else can you explain people using Brokerages that crash or treat their clients like trash? Until Traders demand proper respect by asserting themselves nasty brokerages with horrible platforms will exist as long as they offer low-commissions. We discovered "low commissions" cost more than Traders will confess.

 

[i960]

We discovered "low commissions" cost more than Traders will confess.

This isn't really true though - as the broker being discussed here isn't exactly a low commission broker whereas IB is a low commission broker and for the most part doesn't have huge problems.