Fidelity® U.S. Low Volatility Index Strategy

A separately managed account that seeks to approximate the pre-tax return and overall risk profile of the Fidelity U.S. Low Volatility Focus Index by investing in large- and mid-cap stocks. The portfolio targets companies that tend to be less volatile than the broad market over the long term, while using tax-smart strategies in an effort to enhance after-tax returns in taxable accounts.6

Investment objective: A direct indexing approach that seeks to reflect the performance of large- and mid-cap stocks with lower volatility than the broader market by pursuing the pre-tax returns and risk characteristics of the Fidelity U.S. Low Volatility Focus Index.


Types of investments: Primarily US large-cap and mid-cap stocks

Investment minimum: $100,0001


Eligible Registration Types: Taxable only


Gross annual advisory fee: 0.20% – 0.40% 2 (varies based on total assets invested)

Your account will be managed in an effort to reflect the performance of large- and mid-cap stocks with lower volatility than the broader market by pursuing the pre-tax returns and characteristics of the Fidelity U.S. Low Volatility Focus Index.


Strategic Advisers LLC (Strategic Advisers) provides portfolio management capabilities in an effort to approximate pre-tax returns and risk characteristics of the Fidelity U.S. Low Volatility Focus IndexSM. The Fidelity U.S. Low Volatility Focus Index is designed to reflect the performance of large- and mid-cap stocks with lower volatility than the broader market. The index is constructed from a universe of the largest 1000 U.S. stocks and is based on combination of characteristics designed to target companies that have lower long-term price volatility and beta. These combination of characteristics include:.


  1. Standard Deviation of Price Returns3: Stocks that have steadier price returns over the long-term may result in less volatility over time, providing a smoother ride for investors
  2. Beta4: Stock returns that are less affected by big ups and downs in the broader market can provide some stability for investors and may help reduce portfolio volatility during market downturns
  3. Standard Deviation of Earnings per Share5: Companies with stable earnings year-over-year may be less volatile investments over the long term

Chart showing the 120month annualized rolling returns of the U.S. Low Volatility Focus Index vs the Russell 1000.

Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Indexes are unmanaged. It is not possible to invest directly in an index. This illustration is not intended to represent performance of the Fidelity® U.S. Low Volatility Index Strategy or any Fidelity account. Investing in this manner involves risk, including the risk of loss, and will not ensure a profit. 9: Fidelity U.S. Low Volatility Focus Index 10: Russell 1000 Index. 11: Volatility is measured by standard deviation, or the dispersion of a set of data from its mean. The more spread apart the data, the higher the deviation. Standard deviation is calculated as the square root of the average of squared differences between each data point and the data set mean. 12: Beta is a measure of a portfolio's sensitivity to market movements. The market index, represented above by the Russell 1000 Index, has a beta of 1.0. A beta of less (or more) than 1.0 indicates that the Strategy's benchmark returns, represented above by the Fidelity® U.S. Low Volatility Focus Index, have fluctuated less (or more) than the market index. Performance of the Strategy may differ from that of the benchmark index.
Source: Fidelity U.S. Low Volatility Focus Index methodology document, FactSet, Bloomberg, and Strategic Advisers Investment R&D, as of 12/31/24

Your equity SMA will be managed in an effort to harness the long-term growth potential of stocks while seeking to enhance after-tax returns through the ongoing monitoring and application of tax-smart investing strategies.6 In fact, 94% of our clients investing in SMAs in taxable accounts have had their advisory fees covered by the tax savings provided.7


Beyond tax-loss harvesting—our comprehensive tax-smart approach


When it comes to tax management, not every approach is the same. Our approach is ongoing, active, and consistent. We evaluate your account during every trading day in search of tax-loss harvesting opportunities. We also look for ways to apply a number of other strategies that have potential to create additional tax savings.


Visualizes Fidelity's tax-smart approach, including harvest tax losses, defer realizing short-term gains, manage tax lots, and transition existing holdings.

We take a disciplined and thoughtful approach to building and maintaining your account by applying a number of tax-sensitive techniques designed to help reduce the impact of taxes and enhance after-tax returns6 in an effort to help you achieve your financial goals.


Visualization showing how the strategy uses a subset of securities to construct a U.S. Low Volatility account.

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