Fidelity Investments vs Vanguard: Revenue, Profit and Business Model
Fidelity Investments reported $37.7B of revenue in FY2025 and — of net income. Vanguard does not publish annual revenue.
Latest financial snapshot
Fidelity Investments
- Latest revenue
- $37.7B (FY2025)
- Net income
- —
- Net margin
- 0.0%
- Revenue growth
- —
Vanguard
Vanguard does not publish annual revenue or profit.
Financial summary
Fidelity Investments
Fidelity does not file public financial statements, but it publishes headline results each year. Revenue was $37.7 billion in 2025, up 15%, and operating income rose 24% to a record $12.7 billion. CEO Abigail Johnson credited a resilient stock market and higher interest rates, while pointing to service and market share as the long-term drivers. Assets in Fidelity's own funds rose 19% to $7.1 trillion, net new assets were $657.3 billion, and daily average trades reached 4.4 million. Fidelity does not disclose net income, so this profile uses operating income as its profit measure.
Vanguard
Vanguard is private and does not publish consolidated revenue or profit. The scale metric it does publish is assets under management: about $12 trillion worldwide as of December 31, 2025. Fee cuts are the main financial lever it reports. In February 2025 it lowered expense ratios on 168 share classes across 87 funds, which it estimated would save investors more than $350 million that year. A second round in February 2026 covered 84 share classes across 53 funds.
Revenue and profit by year
Fidelity Investments
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $37.7B | — | 0.0% | — | Source |
Vanguard
Vanguard does not publish annual revenue. What is known about its finances is in the summary above.
Full Vanguard financialsWhere the revenue comes from
Fidelity Investments
- Asset-Based and Advisory Fees
Major stream
Fees tied to mutual funds, ETFs, managed accounts, wealth advice, and institutional assets.
- Brokerage, Cash, and Transaction Economics
Major stream
Revenue from brokerage activity, spreads, cash balances, margin, options, and related investing services.
- Workplace and Retirement Services
Major stream
Employer-plan administration, recordkeeping, participant services, and retirement products.
- Custody, Clearing, and Institutional Services
Important stream
Platform services for advisers, broker-dealers, institutions, and intermediaries.
Vanguard
- Mutual Fund and ETF Management Fees
Expense ratios charged on Vanguard mutual funds and ETFs. Because Vanguard runs at cost, these fees cover operating expenses rather than produce profit for outside owners.
- Advisory and Wealth Management Fees
Fees from Vanguard Personal Advisor and Digital Advisor, which combine portfolio management with financial planning.
- Institutional and Separate Account Fees
Revenue from customized portfolios, institutional separate accounts, and advanced risk analytics provided to large endowments, corporate pension plans, and ultra-high-net-worth individuals. These high-touch services provide specialized, bespoke investment solutions.
- Other Services and Technology
Revenue from transfer agency services, brokerage execution, and other ancillary administrative services provided to the funds and external clients, supporting the firm's operational infrastructure.
Business model and strategy
Fidelity Investments
How it makes money
Fidelity makes money from the assets and activity of the people and institutions that use its platforms. The main engines are: 1. Asset management fees on Fidelity mutual funds, ETFs, money market funds and managed accounts ($7.1 trillion in its own funds at the end of 2025). 2.
Growth strategy
Fidelity is growing by deepening relationships rather than winning on price alone. Recent moves include the unified managed household platform launched in 2024, the Fidelity Trader+ platform launched in September 2025 (about 1.4 million average users by year-end), new active ETFs such as the CLO ETFs launched in early 2026, and continued digital-asset products including FBTC and crypto trading.
Competitive advantage
Fidelity's edge is the combination of scale, trust and distribution. Its employer retirement plans bring in new savers every payday, its brokerage and advice business keeps those customers as their wealth grows, and its clearing and custody arm serves outside advisers.
Vanguard
How it makes money
The Vanguard Group operates a distinctive client-owned mutual investment management and brokerage model. Because the firm is owned by the mutual funds it manages, which in turn are owned by their fund shareholders, Vanguard operates on an 'at-cost' structure that returns excess profits to investors in the form of lower expense ratios.
Growth strategy
Vanguard's stated priorities under Salim Ramji are broader access to advice through Personal Advisor and Digital Advisor, continued expense-ratio cuts, an upgraded web and mobile experience for its brokerage clients, and growth in workplace retirement plans and target-date funds.
Competitive advantage
Vanguard advantage comes from scale, low expense ratios, the investor-owned structure, index-fund credibility, retirement distribution, brand trust, and decades of alignment with long-term individual investors.
Questions about Fidelity Investments vs Vanguard
Which company has higher revenue — Fidelity Investments or Vanguard?
Fidelity Investments reported $37.7B (FY2025), while Vanguard reported $12.0T (FY2025). By last reported revenue, Vanguard is the larger business, with Fidelity Investments reporting a smaller revenue base.
Which is more financially efficient — Fidelity Investments or Vanguard?
Fidelity Investments generates $471k / employee in revenue per employee, while Vanguard generates $600.00M / employee. Vanguard shows higher revenue efficiency per headcount, though this reflects business model differences — capital-light software companies routinely outperform labour-intensive manufacturers on this metric.
How do Fidelity Investments and Vanguard make money?
Fidelity Investments and Vanguard generate revenue in fundamentally different ways. Fidelity Investments: Fidelity makes money from the assets and activity of the people and institutions that use its platforms. Vanguard: The Vanguard Group operates a distinctive client-owned mutual investment management and brokerage model.
Is Fidelity Investments bigger than Vanguard?
By last reported revenue, Vanguard ($12.0T (FY2025)) is the larger company compared to Fidelity Investments ($37.7B (FY2025)). Revenue scale is one dimension of size — market capitalisation, employee count, and geographic reach are also relevant depending on the context.
Figures come from each company's filings and the sources linked beside them. Amounts reported in another currency are shown in US dollars at an approximate rate and marked with ~. Back to the Fidelity Investments vs Vanguard overview