Fidelity Investments 4+

Old review:
“Fidelity has always felt customer-oriented and professional. Unfortunately, this apps User Interface (UI) fails to live up to that standard. In an increasingly digital age where attention spans are minimal and trading is readily accessible, Fidelity needs something with a greater focus on an active retail investor. Recent events have proved without a shadow of a doubt that the retail investor plays a large role in the marketplace today. This is unlikely to change. Fidelity’s current UI caters to an individual with multiple, minimally active accounts (accounts that may even be managed by Fidelity itself). Though this isn’t inherently bad, an overabundance of information can negate a customer’s ease of use. I would love to see a cleaner, quicker UI with much better access to brokerage.”

Update:
Recent UI and options level improvements have caused me to revisit this old review. Fidelity’s mobile app has finally made a shift to a cleaner, quicker UI that is more in line with other broker’s offerings. Though I feel the charting could still be improved upon, this new app is far superior to what was, and proves that Fidelity is listening to user feedback.

I have investments with several brokerages (“don’t put all your eggs in one basket”) and so I have experience with apps from various companies. Right now Fidelity has the best app. It might seem a bit complex, but the organization is good and BEST OF ALL, the app doesn’t limit what transactions are possible. Too many brokerage apps provide limited information and functionality, which necessitates going to computer, browser-based access. Not so with Fidelity. So far I haven’t encountered any limits to what transactions I can do in the app compared to working on a computer. Thank you Fidelity. Nice job! Keep it up and I just might start shifting the larger chunk I have at another brokerage to Fidelity.

One really big problem however. When you select an investment in an account to buy more, rather than the purchase defaulting to the account you’re working in, the purchase occurs in whichever account is listed first in your list of accounts. It’s frustrating. I’ve accidentally made purchases in the wrong account several times. The purchase should default to the account you were working in.

I’ve been a Fidelity investor for years and I specifically arranged my screens so I could see the market indexes without having to log in. Now, the first thing I see is a childish animation and a forced login experience. Shame on you Fidelity for moving in this direction. I’ve already switched to a friendlier app so I can take a quick glance at the market overview without having to log into something. Fidelity, you moved the usability needle backwards with that update.

[Update Dec 2022]

While I know you can’t please everyone, it’s not hard to get the little things right. Respecting a user’s personalization settings is one of those areas. Although I have the market overview set as my default splash screen, the app is stuck showing my portfolio. I don’t want to see that as soon as the app clears the splash screen, and I ESPECIALLY don’t want anyone nearby to see it if they are shoulder surfing. I love Fidelity as an investment house, but please put better people in charge of curating the customer experience. For an institution with as much prestige as Fidelity, I can’t understand how the digital side of the house is allowed to continue offering a product that’s really amateur hour. I’ll change my review when the quality and customer experience rises to a par with your competitors.