By Paul Justice

Fidelity announced Tuesday that it will be offering a suite of 25 iShares ETFs commission-free. In our view, the 25 ETFs selected (see the full list below) are among the most relevant product offerings from the largest ETF provider and will allow investors to build high-quality, transparent, liquid, and tax-efficient portfolios without the single-largest cost burden they previously faced when comparing ETFs to indexed mutual funds--trading commissions.

BlackRock (BLK), one of the largest money managers in the world, and the owner and manager of the iShares ETF family, pointed out Monday (February 1) that:

The current weakness (with stocks down around 6.5%) is roughly in line with the 5% to 8% declines we saw periodically last year as stocks climbed 60% from their March 2009 lows through year-end. From our perspective, we think it is likely that while the current correction may not yet be over, neither is the cyclical bull market.

Fidelity Investments announced today that it will offer its retail customers commission-free online trades for a suite of 25 iShares ETFs. The funds included in the commission-free platform include ETFs in all nine domestic equity style/size categories, as well as international equity and fixed income options. “Fidelity has partnered with the leading ETF provider in the market to bring investors the best brokerage offering in the industry today,” said Kathleen A. Murphy, president of Personal Investing at Fidelity Investments. “Simply put, we’re offering the broadest selection of commission-free ETFs from the undisputed ETF leader, and it’s only available through Fidelity.”

The iShares ETFs will be available for commission-free trading beginning today.