Pure Benchmarks · Portfolio Benchmark Report

Fidelity Managed FidFolios Review: Fees, Strategies and How It Ranks Against Real Peers

Short answer

Your Fidelity Managed FidFolios portfolio is underperforming when its return trails a pure index baseline at the same risk level once every fee is counted. A single market index cannot answer that on its own, because it does not hold the same mix of stocks and bonds you do. Pure Benchmarks answers it by placing your actual holdings in one of nine risk categories, recategorized daily from end-of-day holdings, then ranking you against thousands of verified investor portfolios in that same category. For robo-advisors & micro-investing, the usual gap comes from the stacked-fee wrapper.

Fidelity Managed FidFolios at a glance

Advisory fee: 0.40% a year for direct-indexing strategies and 0.70% a year for actively managed strategies, billed quarterly and reduced by a credit for Fidelity fund revenue.
Minimum: No minimum to open; $5,000 per strategy before the money is invested.
Invests in: Individual stocks and ADRs, using fractional shares.
Strategies: Index-based: US Large Cap Index, US Total Market Index, International Index, US Low Volatility Index, Environmental Focus. Active: US Large Cap, Dividend Income, International.
How it works: You pick a strategy and Fidelity makes the day-to-day trades, including tax-loss harvesting.

Read from fidelity.com and Fidelity's Managed FidFolios Form ADV brochure dated March 30, 2026. Checked October 2026. Fees and minimums change, so confirm the current figures on the provider's own site.

Fidelity Managed FidFolios is Fidelity's managed account of individual stocks, where you pick a strategy and Fidelity handles the trading, including tax-loss harvesting, for an annual advisory fee.

Fidelity Managed FidFolios is Fidelity's managed account of individual stocks, where you pick a strategy and Fidelity handles the trading, including tax-loss harvesting, for an annual advisory fee. Independent benchmarking for Fidelity Managed FidFolios portfolios. Pure Benchmarks ranks real Fidelity Managed FidFolios portfolios against thousands of other verified investor portfolios across nine standardized risk categories, from 100% equity to 90% fixed income. Every portfolio is recategorized daily from actual end-of-day holdings, and Community Nests shows exactly where your Fidelity Managed FidFolios portfolio ranks against other real Fidelity Managed FidFolios clients in the same risk category — built entirely from verified portfolio data, with no firm that manages money able to see any data point on the platform.

Benchmarking your Fidelity Managed FidFolios portfolio: why it can underperform a pure index baseline

The stacked-fee wrapper. Automated allocation is convenient, but it typically adds an advisory or subscription fee over the expense ratios of the funds held inside the portfolio. Holding the index directly avoids the extra layer, so the wrapper can create a structural drag against the baseline.

What to review on your Fidelity Managed FidFolios portfolio

Check which strategy the account uses, since direct-indexing strategies and actively managed strategies carry different fees.
Compare the result against the index the strategy tracks, held through a low-cost index fund, so the fee is judged against what the tax-loss harvesting adds.

Illustrative 10-year comparison — a standard managed portfolio versus a pure index baseline. Figures are illustrative only.

Year	Standard managed portfolio	Pure index baseline	Gap
Year 1	$105,200	$107,000	-$1,800
Year 3	$116,400	$122,500	-$6,100
Year 5	$128,700	$140,300	-$11,600
Year 7	$142,300	$160,600	-$18,300
Year 10	$165,100	$196,700	-$31,600

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Fidelity Managed FidFolios portfolio questions, answered

What are Fidelity Managed FidFolios?

A Fidelity managed account that holds individual stocks instead of a fund. You choose a strategy, either one that tracks an index through direct indexing or an actively managed one, and Fidelity trades the account for you, including harvesting tax losses.

How much do Fidelity Managed FidFolios cost?

0.40% a year for the direct-indexing strategies and 0.70% a year for the actively managed ones. There is no minimum to open, but each strategy needs $5,000 before it is invested.

Are Fidelity Managed FidFolios worth the fee?

It depends on what the fee buys in your account. For a direct-indexing strategy the measurable part is whether the tax losses harvested after the 0.40% fee beat holding the same index through a low-cost fund. For an active strategy it is whether the result after 0.70% beat that index. Pure Benchmarks shows how the account ranks against real investors in the same risk category, which puts a number on the second question.

Is my Fidelity Managed FidFolios portfolio underperforming?

It depends on what you compare it against. Measured against a pure index baseline at the same risk level, and against real investor portfolios in that same risk class, the answer becomes concrete instead of a guess. For a robo-advisors & micro-investing account specifically: compare the result against the index the strategy tracks, held through a low-cost index fund, so the fee is judged against what the tax-loss harvesting adds. Pure Benchmarks builds that comparison from your actual end-of-day holdings and updates the risk category daily as your allocation drifts.

How do I compare my Fidelity Managed FidFolios portfolio to other investors?

Link the account and Pure Benchmarks sorts the portfolio into one of nine standardized risk categories, from 100% equity to 90% fixed income, then ranks it inside Community Nests against thousands of other verified portfolios in that same category. The comparison is peer-to-peer, not a single index, so the result reflects how people invested like you actually did.

What is the right benchmark for my Fidelity Managed FidFolios portfolio?

A peer group in your own risk class, plus a pure index baseline held at the same risk level. Comparing a mixed stock-and-bond portfolio to the S&P 500 alone overstates or understates the result depending on the year, because the risk levels do not match. Matching the risk level first is what makes the comparison honest.

Do fees explain the gap on my Fidelity Managed FidFolios account?

Automated allocation is convenient, but it typically adds an advisory or subscription fee over the expense ratios of the funds held inside the portfolio. Holding the index directly avoids the extra layer, so the wrapper can create a structural drag against the baseline. Fidelity Managed FidFolios is Fidelity's managed account of individual stocks, where you pick a strategy and Fidelity handles the trading, including tax-loss harvesting, for an annual advisory fee. Pure Benchmarks does not read your fee schedule; it measures the outcome, so any drag that comes from cost, product selection, cash handling, or turnover shows up in where the portfolio ranks against its peers.

Do I have to move money or leave Fidelity Managed FidFolios to use Pure Benchmarks?

No. Pure Benchmarks is read-only and free. It never moves money, never places trades, and no firm that manages money can see any data point on the platform. You keep the account exactly where it is and only gain the comparison.

What should I check first on my Fidelity Managed FidFolios portfolio?

Check which strategy the account uses, since direct-indexing strategies and actively managed strategies carry different fees. After that, compare the portfolio's return against a pure index baseline at the same risk level and against real peers in that risk class, which is the comparison this report is built on.

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This page is an information baseline for comparison only. It is not investment advice and not a recommendation to buy, sell, replace, or transfer any specific asset, account, or firm. Past performance does not guarantee future results. All figures shown are illustrative.