Fidelity Launches New Trading Platform for Retail Investors

BOSTON, Sept. 25, 2025 — Fidelity Investments is set to launch a major upgrade to its trading platform to fulfil the fast-growing demand for new tools by self-directed individual investors, Reuters reported.

The value addition to the new Fidelity Trader+ platform is that will offer real-time analytics, customizable charts and other features to the firm’s most active traders, a fast-evolving and growing group of individuals whose activity increasingly shapes the market.

“These are some of our better customers in terms of engagement and activity, and they have a unique set of needs,” said Josh Krugman, senior vice president of brokerage at Fidelity. This category has higher possibility to trade individual stocks and exchange-traded funds and to use analytical tools that they can customize to track their individual portfolios in real time.

Fidelity’s latest expansion is part of an industry-wide effort by brokerage firms to garner a bigger pie of the retail investor base, which has played a vital role in bolstering the markets since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Latest Innovations in Trading Platforms

Earlier this month, Robinhood Markets launched Robinhood Social, a social media-based community embedded in the firm's trading app that gives the company’s customers an option to share strategies and information with their peers, with the goal of providing those active traders with a “financial super-app,” said Robinhood Markets CEO, Vlad Tenev in a press release.

Moomoo Financial, another firm focussed on retail investors called is making concrete efforts and emerging successful in gaining access to a greater share of hot IPOs like Gemini Space Station and Bullish, its executives told Reuters. A large portion of Robinhood's own IPO in 2021 was directed to its retail clients.

Other retail brokerages have been behind a big push into overnight and 24-hour trading.

Gauging the contribution of overall daily trading volume from retail investors is practically difficult, but Marco Iachini, senior vice president of research at Vanda Group, said his firm's research suggests this group now accounts for some eight percent of the dollar value of all stock trading, and double that for the most-loved retail stocks like Nvidia and Tesla. That, he told Reuters earlier, is about quadruple pre-pandemic levels.

How Individual Investors Drive Market Activity

Brisk Trading: Earlier this month, a report published by Citadel Securities based on data from its own platform puts that figure at nearly 20 per cent, and higher still for recent IPOs surrounded by market buzz. The individual investors have played a key role in supporting markets during selloffs, most notably in the aftermath of President Donald Trump's April “Liberation Day” tariffs announcement.

“Retail investors bought the dip, shifted to higher-beta stocks like Tesla, and were rewarded handsomely,” said Iachini. “This only reinforces their ‘buy the dip’ mentality.”

Investor-Friendly Option: This market trend also increases the demand for tools to support that kind of trading activity by individual investors, who were previously more likely to buy and hold low-cost index funds and leave active trading to hedge fund managers, algorithmic trading programs and other professionals.

“Expectations by these clients have become very high,” said Fidelity's Krugman, noting that the firm is now offering them access to fractional ownership of CDs, or certificates of deposit.

In yet another initiative, Fidelity is allowing its active trader community to invest in a product akin to a separately managed account, a more customized portfolio, for only $5,000. Until very recently, a minimum SMA investment would have been at least $100,000, Krugman said.

More Services: Earlier this year, Fidelity launches tokenized treasury fund on Ethereum.

Fidelity Asset Management introduced a blockchain-based version of its Treasury money market fund, extending its digital finance presence.

The fund began operating in August with a portfolio that consists entirely of US Treasury securities and cash. Fidelity applies a 0.20 per cent management fee, and Bank of New York Mellon is responsible for custody.

As per the company statement, Fidelity is focussed to strengthen the financial well-being of customers and deliver better outcomes for the clients and businesses we serve. Fidelity’s strength comes from the scale of its diversified, market-leading financial services businesses that serve individuals, families, employers, wealth management firms, and institutions, it said. With assets under administration of $16.4 trillion, including discretionary assets of $6.4 trillion as of June 30, 2025, the company claims that it focuses on meeting the unique needs of a broad and growing customer base.

Individual investors have played a key role in supporting markets during selloffs, most notably after President Donald Trump announced the April ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs.

Inputs from Saqib malik

Editing by David Ryder