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Head to head
Fidelity Investments or IC Markets? Fees, regulation, platform and product range compared side by side — with a verdict drawn from the data.
Risk warning: CFDs and leveraged products are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly. Investments can fall in value. Past performance is not an indicator of future results.
The research-and-education benchmark for US investors, with the cheapest funds in the industry attached.
One of the cheapest routes to raw institutional FX pricing - as long as you check which entity you are signing with.
Advertising disclosure: where a partnership is active, we may earn a commission through broker links. The provider’s terms apply. Commissions do not influence our ratings; paid placements are separately labelled as sponsored.
Four decision axes, each derived from the recorded data.
Overall Fidelity Investments takes it, 4.6 against 4.2 out of 5. Fidelity Investments is the cheaper of the two: a reference EUR 5,000 stock order costs €0.00 there against €5.00. Fidelity Investments scores 73 against 70 out of 100 on the group index. Your account's protection depends on its legal entity. IC Markets covers more ground with 9 of 14 asset classes against 7. On platform and app Fidelity Investments is ahead, 4.6 against 4.1 out of 5. Which one is right depends on which of these axes matters for your trading profile.
Fidelity InvestmentsFidelity InvestmentsFidelity InvestmentsFidelity InvestmentsFidelity InvestmentsUp to four brokers at once — every row a decision point.
Data as of: 30 Aug 2026
| Criterion | ||
|---|---|---|
| Overall score | 4.6 — Better | 4.2 |
| Group index | 73 of 100 | 70 of 100 |
| Best for | US long-term investorsIndex fund and ETF buyersResearch-driven stock pickersRetirement accountsCash management | Algorithmic and EA tradersScalping and high-frequency FXcTrader usersHigh-volume tradersCopy trading |
| Regulation | SECFINRAFDIC | ASICCySECFSCAFSASCBCMA |
| Top-tier licences | 3 — Better | 1 |
| Investor protection | US$500,000 — Better | €20,000 |
| Listed group | No | No |
| Banking licence | No | No |
| Segregated client accounts | Yes | Yes |
| Negative balance protection | No | Yes |
| Audited financials | Yes | Yes |
| Disclosed regulatory actions | 2 | 1 |
| Founded | 1946 | 2007 |
| Headquarters | Boston, US | Sydney, AU |
| Fees | 4.7 | 4.7 |
| Safety & regulation | 4.7 — Better | 3.9 |
| Trading platform | 4.5 | 4.5 |
| Product range | 3.9 — Better | 3.7 |
| Mobile app | 4.6 — Better | 3.6 |
| Research | 4.9 — Better | 3.6 |
| Customer support | 4.8 — Better | 4.5 |
| Deposit & withdrawal | 4.3 | 4.4 — Better |
| Account opening | 4.2 | 4.3 — Better |
| Education | 4.8 — Better | 3.3 |
| Reference order EUR 5,000 | €0.00 — Better | €5.00 |
| Minimum deposit | None — Better | €200 |
| Stocks (per order) | Free | 0.1 % |
| US stocks | Free | US$0.02/share |
| ETFs | Free | Not offered |
| Options | US$0.65 | Not offered |
| Futures | Not offered | in the spread |
| Crypto | in the spread | in the spread |
| Bonds (order) | US$1 | in the spread |
| Funds (order) | US$49.95 | n/a |
| EUR/USD spread | n/a | 0.8 pips |
| Index CFD spread | n/a | n/a |
| FX conversion | 1 % | n/a |
| Inactivity fee | None — Better | €10 · after 6 months |
| Custody fee | None | None |
| Withdrawal fee | free | free |
| Deposit fee | free | free |
| Overnight financing | n/a | n/a |
| Other fees |
|
|
| Asset classes (of 14) | 7 | 9 — Better |
| Exchanges | 25 | n/a |
| Stocks | Yes | Yes |
| ETFs | Yes | No |
| Options | Yes | No |
| Futures | No | Yes |
| Forex | No | Yes |
| CFDs | No | Yes |
| Crypto | Yes | Yes |
| Bonds | Yes | Yes |
| Funds | Yes | No |
| Commodities | No | Yes |
| Indices | Yes | Yes |
| Warrants | No | No |
| Spread betting | No | No |
| Social trading | No | Yes |
| Platforms | Fidelity.com web platformFidelity Trader+ (formerly Active Trader Pro)Fidelity MobileFidelity Crypto | MetaTrader 4MetaTrader 5cTraderTradingViewIC Markets appFIX API |
| Demo account | No | Yes |
| Fractional shares | Yes | No |
| Maximum leverage | 1:2 | 1:30 · Pro 1:500 |
| Account opening | Around 10 minutes online for US residents; funded and tradable the same day via a linked bank | Digital application, usually approved within one business day |
| Account types | The Fidelity Account (brokerage)Fidelity Cash Management AccountTraditional / Roth / Rollover IRAFidelity Youth and custodial accounts | Raw Spread (MT4/MT5)cTrader RawStandardRaw ProRaw Pro+Swap-free |
| Payment methods | Bank transferCheque | Bank transferSEPACredit cardDebit cardPayPalSkrillNetellerApple PayGoogle PayCrypto |
| Account currencies | USD | EURUSDGBP |
| Deposit time | Instant trading availability on a linked bank transfer; 1–3 business days to fully clear | Instant to 12 hours on cards and e-wallets, 1-3 business days by bank transfer |
| Withdrawal time | 1–3 business days by electronic funds transfer; same day by wire | Same day to 1 business day on e-wallets and crypto, 2-5 business days by bank wire |
| Free withdrawals | n/a | n/a |
| Languages | EnglishSpanishChinese | EnglishGermanSpanishFrenchItalianPortugueseChineseVietnameseThaiArabic |
| Channels | PhoneEmailLive chatBranch | PhoneEmailLive chat |
| Availability | 24/7 | 24/7 |
Editorial assessment based on the recorded data.
Fidelity Investments
The research-and-education benchmark for US investors, with the cheapest funds in the industry attached.
Pros
Cons
Best for
IC Markets
One of the cheapest routes to raw institutional FX pricing - as long as you check which entity you are signing with.
Pros
Cons
Best for
Open an account with either
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Advertising disclosure: where a partnership is active, we may earn a commission through broker links. The provider’s terms apply. Commissions do not influence our ratings; paid placements are separately labelled as sponsored.
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