Fidelity has announced a lineup of model portfolios with expense ratios as low—or lower—as many passive index funds.
The Fidelity Target Allocation Index-Focused Model Portfolios, announced on Monday, will carry expense ratios as low as 0.03 percent and use Fidelity funds with expense ratios as low as 0.015 percent.
The new model portfolios do not make use of Fidelity’s recently rolled out zero-expense ratio funds. In August, the company introduced the Fidelity ZERO Total Market Index Fund, FXROX, and the Fidelity ZERO International Index Fund, FZILX. As of Friday, the funds held more than $1.7 billion combined.
Instead, older low-cost Fidelity index funds populate the models, like the Fidelity 500 Index Fund, FXAIX, which carries a 0.015 percent expense ratio, the Fidelity Global ex-U.S. Index Fund, FSGGX, which carries a 0.06 percent expense ratio, and the Fidelity U.S. Bond Index Fund, FXNAX, which carries a 0.025 percent expense ratio.
In July, Fidelity launched Fidelity Model Portfolios with a suite of Fidelity Target Allocation Model Portfolios, risk-targeted portfolios mixing active, factor, quantitative and passive mutual funds.
“When we first launched Fidelity Model Portfolios, we wanted to help advisors manage their investments more efficiently so they can spend more time on what clients value most—including one-on-one financial planning,” said Matt Goulet, senior vice president at Fidelity Institutional Asset Management, in released comments. “With the majority of advisors using some form of models to construct their portfolios, this offering gives advisors more options in the model portfolios space—at a lower cost.”
The new models come as Fidelity takes an aggressive stance towards its competitors on investment pricing. Ahead of announcing its zero-expense ratio index funds, Fidelity reduced expense ratios across much of its suite of funds, eliminated expensive share classes and abolished investment minimums.
Fidelity's move follows other firms, like Colorado-based First Ascent Asset Management and the XY Planning Network, in creating platforms of ultra-low cost, passive model portfolios for financial advisors.
Both the new models and the Fidelity Target Allocation Model Portfolios are now available on Fidelity’s Managed Account Solutiions platform as well as Envestnet’s platform.