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While the financial services industry waits for Fidelity Investments to eliminate commission trades for stocks, ETFs and options, as Schwab, TD Ameritrade, E-Trade and Ally Financial announced last week, Fidelity instead is trimming fees on many of its direct-sold 529 savings plans.
Effective Oct. 1, Fidelity cut fees on 15 of 22 529 plan portfolios, both actively managed and passive index-based portfolios. Most of the cuts were for 1 to 2 basis points, but one portfolio — the conservative Fidelity Index 529 fund — had a 5 basis-point cut.
Expense ratios for the actively managed 529 portfolios now range between 31 and 78 basis points, and investors are charged an additional 20 basis points for a program and state fee.
Expense ratios for the passive index 529 portfolios range between 4 and 5 basis points, and investors pay another 9 basis points for the program and state fee.
For both types of portfolios, investors can choose among different target dates, up to the year 2036, or different risk levels — aggressive growth, moderate growth and conservative.
