Fidelity vs T. Rowe Price

[Angio333]

I am currently thinking about finally getting a Roth IRA, I am considering either T. Rowe Price or Fidelity. Which one would you suggest and why? Thanks in advance.

[Nika]

I used to like TrowePrice - premium customer service and all that. They tend to have higher fees. But lately, they also nickle and dime you a lot, and they discontinued ESA acounts -- not even allowing you to add money to already existing one.

I don't know much about Fidelity.

Now I would go with Vanguard (low fees for index funds) and TIAA-CREF.

[Wino]

Vote number two for Vanguard, here.

[kv968]

I use T Rowe for my Roth and I'm totally satisfied with them. They've got good funds and great customer service when needed. I have Fidelity for my 401k but that's not a true look at them since they're basically just the custodian. If I were to have to pick between the two, I'd go with T Rowe. The problem with Fidelity is that they have a ton of funds but they also have a lot of manager turnover and funds coming and going. I'm not sure if it's still that way but it has been in the past.

Then there's also Vanguard who I'm thinking of opening Roth brokerage account with them just so I can use their ETF's. They're the cheapest of the three since they mostly use index funds.

I'm not sure if the minimum requirements are a concern for you but they break down like this:

T Rowe Price - $1000 to open an IRA with practically any fund they offer and $100 minimum to add to it.

Fidelity - $2500 minimum to open an IRA. Although they'll let you start with monthly purchases of $200 with their Freedom Funds (i.e. target date funds) until the $2500 minimum is reached.

Vanguard - $3000 minimum for most funds except for their Target Date Funds and STAR Fund which have a $1000 and $100 minimum to add to it.


Between T Rowe and Fidelity, I'd go with T Rowe. Between Vanguard and T Rowe, I'd say it's basically a toss up. Vanguard is cheaper but that doesn't mean they always do better. If you're going the ETF and/or index route, I'd definitely recommend Vanguard.

[MonkeyMama]

Agreed with KV968.

I am not as impressed with Fidelity's mutual funds. But, I do have a Fidelity account from an old 401k, and it is a good brokerage account to have for stock trades. I have a T Rowe account that I am very happy with. Vanguard is definitely good too.

[atomicrc11]

Fidelity has an excellent brokerage account and I have a 401k there.

However I have all my personal taxable and retirement investments at Vanguard. The reason is that Fidelity has a $10,000 minimum for their index funds. Vanguard starts at $3000 and admiral shares are $10,000 which have even lower expenses.

All things being equal the lower the expenses the better especially when using Total Market or S&P 500 funds as they track the same or nearly identical indexes. This will keep more money in your pocket. Also, with Vanguard the funds are run at cost where as other companies are trying to make a profit.

That being said, if Fidelity offered lower minimums and a broader selection of free to trade ETFs with lower expenses I would consider them for my investments.