Have you ever found yourself wishing you could invest consistently without the hassle of manually transferring money and placing trades every single time? Imagine the financial peace of mind that comes with knowing your investments are growing automatically, week after week, month after month. Well, with Fidelity's automatic investment features, this isn't just a dream – it's an achievable reality! Automating your investments is one of the most powerful strategies for long-term wealth building. It helps you embrace the magic of dollar-cost averaging, reduces the emotional impact of market fluctuations, and builds incredible financial discipline. If you're ready to set your financial future on autopilot, let's dive into this comprehensive, step-by-step guide on how to make automatic investments with Fidelity.
How to Make Automatic Investments with Fidelity: Your Comprehensive Guide
Fidelity makes it incredibly straightforward to set up recurring investments for various asset types. Whether you're interested in stocks, ETFs, mutual funds, or even their unique Basket Portfolios, you can automate your contributions and watch your portfolio grow.
Step 1: Get Prepared – What Do You Want to Automate?
Before you even log into your Fidelity account, it's crucial to have a clear idea of what you want to achieve. This initial planning will save you time and ensure your automated strategy aligns with your financial goals.
1.1 Define Your Investment Goals
What are you saving for? Retirement, a down payment on a house, your child's education, or just general wealth building? Having a clear goal helps determine the appropriate investment vehicles and timeframe.
How much do you want to invest? Start small if you need to, but be consistent. Even $25 or $50 a week or month can make a huge difference over time.
What's your risk tolerance? This will influence the types of investments you choose.
1.2 Choose Your Investment Vehicles
Fidelity offers a wide array of options for automatic investments:
Stocks/ETFs: You can set up recurring purchases for individual stocks or Exchange-Traded Funds. This is fantastic for building diversified portfolios with specific exposures.
Mutual Funds: Fidelity has a vast selection of mutual funds, including their popular index funds and actively managed funds. These are often a great choice for diversification and professional management.
Fidelity Basket Portfolios: This unique feature allows you to create a "basket" of up to 10 stocks and/or ETFs and manage them as a single investment. You can then set up recurring investments into this basket.
1.3 Gather Necessary Information
Ticker Symbols: If you're investing in stocks or ETFs, know the ticker symbols for the securities you want to buy.
Dollar Amount: Decide the exact dollar amount you want to invest each time.
Frequency: How often do you want to invest? Fidelity typically offers weekly, every two weeks (bi-weekly), or monthly options.
Funding Source: Will the money come from a linked bank account or your Fidelity account's core cash position (e.g., SPAXX)?
Step 2: Logging In and Navigating to Recurring Investments
Now that you're prepared, it's time to log in and initiate the process.
2.1 Access Your Fidelity Account
Open your web browser and go to
www.fidelity.com.Click on the "Log In" button, usually found in the top right corner.
Enter your username and password. If you have two-factor authentication enabled (which you absolutely should!), complete that step.
2.2 Find the "Recurring Investment" Section
Once logged in, there are a couple of common paths to find the recurring investment setup:
Option A: Through the "Trade" Menu:
Hover over or click on "Accounts & Trade" in the top navigation bar.
From the dropdown menu, select "Trade."
Look for an option like "Recurring Investment" or "Set up a recurring investment." This is often the most direct route.
Option B: Through "Transfers" or "Money Movement":
Hover over or click on "Accounts & Trade."
Select "Transfers" or "Cash Management."
Look for a section related to "Manage Recurring Activity" or "Set up a recurring transfer/investment." While this primarily deals with money movement, it often links to the recurring investment setup.
Step 3: Setting Up Your Recurring Investment Details
This is where you'll input all the specifics of your automated investment plan.
3.1 Choose Your Account and Security Type
Select Account: Choose the specific Fidelity account (e.g., your Brokerage account, Roth IRA, Traditional IRA) where you want these automatic investments to occur.
Select Security Type: You'll be prompted to choose what you want to invest in:
Stocks/ETFs
Mutual Funds
Fidelity Basket Portfolios
Tip: If you're setting up for multiple types, you might need to create separate recurring investment schedules for each type.
3.2 Enter Investment Details
Ticker Symbol(s): For stocks and ETFs, enter the ticker symbol(s). You can often add up to 10 symbols at a time if you're buying multiple securities simultaneously within the same recurring schedule. If you're unsure of a symbol, there's usually a search function (magnifying glass icon) to help you find it.
Dollar Amount: For each security, enter the dollar amount you wish to invest per interval. Fidelity allows for dollar-based investing, meaning you can buy fractional shares of stocks and ETFs, which is incredibly convenient for automatic investments. For mutual funds, there are typically minimums, but recurring investments often help meet them over time.
Frequency: Select your desired frequency:
Weekly
Every 2 weeks (Bi-weekly)
Monthly
Start Date: Choose the date you want your first automatic investment to occur. Be mindful of holidays; if your chosen date falls on a holiday or weekend, the investment will typically process on the next business day.
3.3 Select Funding Source
You'll typically have two main options:
Linked Bank Account: This is the most common and recommended method. Ensure your bank account is already linked to your Fidelity account. If not, you'll need to set that up first (usually under "Transfers" or "Money Movement"). This directly pulls funds from your bank to make the investment.
Fidelity Account Balance (Core Position): If you choose this, the funds for the investment will be drawn from the cash held in your Fidelity account's core position (e.g., Fidelity Government Money Market Fund - SPAXX). Make sure you have sufficient funds in your core position before the scheduled investment date to avoid failed transactions.
Step 4: Review and Confirm
This is your final check before setting your investments in motion.
4.1 Preview Your Order
Fidelity will present a summary of your recurring investment setup.
Carefully review all details:
Account selected
Security type and ticker symbols
Dollar amounts for each investment
Frequency and start date
Funding source
Check for any typos or incorrect selections.
4.2 Read Important Disclosures
There will likely be terms and conditions, disclaimers about market risk, and other important information. Take a moment to read these.
Understand that while automatic investing helps manage risk through dollar-cost averaging, investing always involves risk, and you can lose money.
4.3 Confirm Your Recurring Investment
Once you've verified everything looks correct and you understand the terms, click the "Confirm" or "Submit" button.
You should receive a confirmation message on the screen and often an email confirmation as well.
Step 5: Managing and Adjusting Your Automatic Investments
Life changes, and so might your financial situation or goals. Fidelity makes it easy to manage your recurring investments.
5.1 Accessing Your Recurring Activity
Log back into Fidelity.
Navigate to "Accounts & Trade" and then "Transfers."
Look for a section like "Manage recurring transfers" or "Your recurring activity." This is your central hub for all automated transactions.
5.2 Making Changes or Stopping Investments
From this management section, you can typically:
Edit: Adjust the dollar amount, frequency, or even the investment itself.
Pause: Temporarily stop an automatic investment without deleting it entirely.
Cancel/Delete: Permanently stop a recurring investment.
View History: See a record of your past automatic investments.
10 Related FAQ Questions: How to Automate Investments with Fidelity
Here are some frequently asked questions about automating your investments with Fidelity, with quick and concise answers:
How to set up recurring investments in a Fidelity IRA?
You can set up recurring investments in any eligible Fidelity account, including Roth IRAs, Traditional IRAs, and SEP IRAs, by following the same steps outlined above, ensuring you select your IRA as the target account.
How to choose the best investments for automatic contributions on Fidelity?
The "best" investments depend on your goals and risk tolerance. Consider low-cost index funds or ETFs for broad market exposure, or select individual stocks if you have specific company convictions. Fidelity also offers research tools and screeners to help you decide.
How to link a bank account to Fidelity for automatic investments?
To link a bank account, go to "Accounts & Trade" -> "Transfers" -> "Link a bank" or "Manage linked accounts." You'll typically need your bank's routing number and your account number.
How to change the amount of a recurring investment on Fidelity?
Log in, go to "Accounts & Trade" -> "Transfers" -> "Manage recurring activity," find the specific recurring investment, and select the option to "Edit" or "Modify" the amount.
How to stop automatic investments on Fidelity?
Log in, navigate to "Accounts & Trade" -> "Transfers" -> "Manage recurring activity," locate the recurring investment you wish to stop, and choose the "Cancel" or "Delete" option.
How to view the schedule of my automatic investments on Fidelity?
After logging in, go to "Accounts & Trade" -> "Transfers" -> "Manage recurring activity." This page provides a clear overview of all your scheduled automatic investments and transfers.
How to ensure my Fidelity account has enough money for automatic investments?
If your automatic investments are funded from a linked bank account, ensure your bank account has sufficient funds. If funded from your Fidelity core position, regularly check your Fidelity account balance to ensure enough cash is available before the scheduled investment date.
How to set up automatic investments for multiple stocks or ETFs at once on Fidelity?
When setting up a recurring investment for stocks/ETFs, you can usually add multiple ticker symbols (up to 10) within a single recurring schedule, specifying the dollar amount for each.
How to understand dollar-cost averaging with Fidelity's automatic investments?
Dollar-cost averaging is the strategy of investing a fixed amount of money regularly, regardless of market fluctuations. When prices are high, your fixed amount buys fewer shares, and when prices are low, it buys more. This helps reduce the risk of timing the market and can lead to a lower average cost per share over time. Fidelity's automatic investments inherently enable this strategy.
How to get help from Fidelity if I have issues setting up automatic investments?
If you encounter any issues, you can contact Fidelity's customer service via phone, live chat on their website, or visit a local investor center. They have dedicated support for setting up and managing recurring investments.