Fidelity.com and end-user agreements
Recently I logged onto Fidelity.com, and was forced to submit to one of these ridiculous end-user agreements that only a lawyer can fully understand. Mind you, I was getting online to check a quote and execute a stock trade, which normally might take 10 minutes. Instead, I got sidetracked by this:
The Nasdaq User Agreement for Real-Time QuotesDISCLOSURE PLEASE READ
Subscribers must sign a contract entitled The Nasdaq Stock Market, Inc. ("Nasdaq") Subscriber Agreement ("Agreement") in order to receive Information [see definition in Paragraph [1] of the Agreement] from Nasdaq. While all terms are important, please particularly note the following. For more information regarding each term, the paragraph number at the end of each term refers to the paragraph in the Agreement where more information can be located.
... and that's just the first of 41 paragraphs of the first page of legalese (much of it printed in IRRITATING UPPERCASE). Then we get to the NYSE / AMEX User Agreement for Real-Time Quotes, which is only 10 paragraphs long. Then comes the OPRA User Agreement for Real-Time Quotes (22 paragrahps). In all, 73 paragraphs of mostly incomprehensible legal baloney. Does Fidelity, NASDAQ, NYSE, and AMEX expect ordinary investors to spend two hours carefully reading this in an attempt to understand it? Or are we supposed to hire a legal translator?
Or do the people who created these documents and processes know 99% of the people can't possibly understand the implications of all 73 paragraphs, but puts them out there anyway to protect their own butts in the event of a lawsuit?
Of course, we have no choice but to submit to this abuse. I had to "agree" that I understand everything, in order to view my portfolio and execute the trade. It's not right, but ridiculous end-user agreements seem to be the norm at most financial websites today.
Our family has about a half-dozen accounts with Fidelity. Roth IRA, Rollover IRA, a stock-buying account, a few 529 plan accounts, etc. Read
One feature of Fidelity.com that I have found particularly useful is the "cost" view of my accounts. Basically, this allows you to see how much a stock or fund has appreciated -- or declined -- since you bought it, in both dollar terms and percent ... Read
You've probably noticed that Fidelity fees have been inching down for certain products. Last month Fidelity offered two new annuity products, Personal Retirement Annuity and Freedom Lifetime Income, which feature competitive annual management fees, compared with other annuity products. Read
I couldn't resist. The link on the front of Fidelity.com says "analyze your portfolio in 60 seconds", so I clicked it. Read
