Fidelity Go is the robo-advisor arm of Boston-based Fidelity Investments. The program’s claim to fame is a completely transparent pricing model. When you invest with Fidelity Go, you will pay a 0.35% all-in annual fee on your assets under management for both taxable and tax-advantaged accounts. That fee covers your advisory costs as well as (nearly all) investment expenses. Invested money is put into index funds (primarily those owned by Fidelity) to create portfolios that investment managers monitor and rebalance.

The target market for Fidelity Go is the young investor, which means there are relatively few account options available, but everything is set up for easy mobile use. There is no minimum amount for opening an account, and the minimum required to begin investing is only $10. Current Fidelity customers can easily integrate Fidelity Go with their existing accounts.

Who should consider Fidelity Go?

Fidelity Go is marketed toward young adults or other new investors who want to take a hands-off approach to their investing. The low price-point required for investing (you only need $10 in your account), the very user-friendly online and mobile interface, and the low investing costs make this a good choice for someone early in their investing journey.

Strengths of Fidelity Go

• Cost transparency: Although the 0.35% annual fee looks higher than that of Fidelity Go’s competitors, this price covers (nearly) all potential fees. The one possible exception is some expenses associated with a particular fund in a short-term portion of an investor’s holdings. However, such expenses may be offset by a variable fee credit, and Fidelity Go goes is always transparent in letting investors know about these possible expenses.
• Low barrier to entry: With a $0 minimum to open an account and a $10 minimum to begin investing, Fidelity Go makes it easy for even the most cash-strapped individual to start investing for their future.
• Robo-management plus human management: Investors with Fidelity Go get the best of both types of management. Their computer algorithms—using the investor’s responses to an introductory questionnaire—match investors with the most appropriate portfolio for their financial situation, goals, timeline, and risk tolerance. Human investment managers keep an eye on these portfolios to handle any day-to-day trading and investment decisions, as well as rebalancing when portfolios fall out of balance.
• Ease of use: Fidelity Go’s user interface really shines, with an intuitive set-up and easy-to-use tools. Investors can also get their questions answered 24/7 via the interactive chat-bot, although difficult questions may confuse the system. (A question about tax-loss harvesting, which Fidelity Go does not offer, caused the chat-bot to invite me to call the customer support number). Current Fidelity customers will experience a seamless integration, making Fidelity Go an obvious choice for anyone who already holds an account with Fidelity.

Drawbacks of Fidelity Go

• Limited account types available: Fidelity Go only has a few account types for investors. These include individual and Joint taxable accounts, traditional, Roth, and Rollover IRAs.
• No tax-loss harvesting: Unlike other robo-advisors, Fidelity Go does not offer tax-loss harvesting, nor does it provide an alternate tax minimization strategy for investors. However, it does use municipal bond funds in taxable accounts to help investors reduce their tax burden.

Is Fidelity Go safe?

As a part of the Fidelity family, Fidelity Go offers a secure experience for any investor. In addition to their two-factor authentication every time you log in to your account, they use encryption, security questions and answers, and have strong username and password requirements. Fidelity Go also invites customers to download an application for extra security for your log in.

Although Fidelity Go doesn’t have its own review page with the Better Business Bureau, Fidelity Investments is not accredited and currently carries a C- rating. As with investments through other investment firms, all investments carry some form of risk as there’s no guarantee for a return on your funds.

Final thoughts

For current Fidelity customers and young adults without much money to invest, Fidelity Go is a great robo-advisor option. The integration with other Fidelity accounts means that current customers can easily access the benefits of Fidelity Go, including transparent and low fees, day-to-day management by human investment professionals, automatic rebalancing, and easy-to-use technology. Those without a great deal of money to invest can enjoy all of those upsides while getting started with as little as $10. This can help new investors get started with investing without asking for a big minimum account deposit.

However, Fidelity Go is not the right choice for everyone. Investors who want access to accounts other than IRAs and taxable accounts will need to look elsewhere. Also, the lack of tax-loss harvesting can make taxable investing too expensive for some investors. Both Wealthfront and Betterment can offer investors more account choices and tax-loss harvesting.

Finally, Fidelity Go is not right for investors who want to have a more hands-on approach to their investments, as all day-to-day investment decisions are made by Fidelity’s team of investment managers. Hands-on investors may be happier with Fidelity’s self-directed brokerage, or with a competitor brokerage such as Ally Invest or TD Ameritrade.