Fidelity has introduced commission free trading of 25 iShares ETFs.
The move comes in the wake of Schwab’s introduction of no-commission exchange traded funds. In addition, Fidelity has lowered U.S. equity trade commissions to $7.95 for all of its customers.
The program is the result of a Fidelity partnership with BlackRock which recently acquired the iShares ETF business from Barclays. Some of the most popular iShares ETFs are included in the no-commission line-up including:
iShares S&P 500 Index Fund (IVV)
iShares Russell 2000 Index Fund (IWM)
iShares Barclays Aggregate Bond Fund (AGG)
iShares MSCI EAFE Index Fund (EFA)
iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index Fund (EEM)
Recent Fidelity polls of active investors have shown that more than half plan to increase their ETF trading over the next 12 months. Since 2005, global ETF assets have grown 145 percent, reaching over $1 trillion. BlackRock is the number one ETF provider with its iShares product line holding a 50 percent market share in the U.S.