Investment-only retirement accounts for small businesses

Self-employed individuals or small-business owners who have a separate plan (qualified under Section 401(a) of the Internal Revenue Code) established with a Third-Party Administrator (TPA) and would like to invest the plan assets at Fidelity.

Accounts can be opened online here. You should have already selected the type of retirement plan and executed the applicable plan documents before opening the Investment-Only account. As a small-business owner, you and/or your TPA will be responsible for the administration, record keeping and tax reporting for your retirement plan.

There are generally five parties involved:

• The Employer is the party who will select the type of retirement plan and which company to contract with for the plan.
• The Third-Party Administrator (TPA) is the company that will provide the plan document that outlines the rules for the plan and who is authorized to act on behalf of the plan.
• The Trustee(s) is the authorized party for the plan that can provide instructions on an Investment-Only Retirement Account (see below).
• The Employee(s) is who the plan is to benefit. Note: The Trustee may grant limited access to the Employee(s) to invest their retirement assets (see below).
• And Fidelity Brokerage Services, LLC (FBS) is the introducing brokerage dealer and provides custody of the assets within the brokerage account.

By setting up this account, FBS provides a brokerage account to custody the plan's investments at Fidelity. Fidelity does not provide the plan document, trustee services, recordkeeping services (including tax withholding or reporting), or record beneficiary information.

The Trustee is the authorized party on the brokerage account and is responsible for the plan’s operation, in accordance with the plan document, and has the fiduciary responsibility to make investment decisions in accordance with the plan document. The Trustee may grant the ability to make investment decisions to the employee who is the limited beneficiary on the account, or to another party, like the TPA. (See the information below regarding limited trading authority). Information on tax benefits, who is eligible to contribute, contribution amounts, eligible distributions and deadlines is not available through Fidelity. All questions regarding plan specific rules should be directed to the trustee, the plan sponsor or by reviewing the plan document.

Contributions can be made by check, direct deposit, wire, and in some cases, from an existing Fidelity non-retirement brokerage account (the account the contribution comes from must have a matching TIN for the Investment only account or a matching SSN for a plan Trustee).

Includes a wide range of Fidelity and non-Fidelity mutual funds, stocks, bonds, ETFs, and FDIC-insured CDs.

Only the plan trustee(s) (named in the plan document) can request distributions from the account. The plan trustee has full authority to transact on the account. Distributions made payable to the plan and mailed to the address of record may be done over the phone. Other distributions require a completed withdrawal form: Investment-Only Withdrawal Form (PDF) .

It is recommended that you appoint a successor trustee in the event your nominated trustee becomes incapacitated, resigns, or dies.

The plan trustee(s) have full investment authority on the account. The plan trustee(s) can grant limited trading authority to a participant for their account or to an agent, such as a third-party administrator. Third-party administrators may also be given Interested Party (using the Duplicate Statements (PDF) form) access to reconcile the assets with the plan’s recordkeeping. Once your account is established you can access the information to add account authority online.