The big picture: Fidelity Investments is expanding its list of ETFs subject to a $100 purchase fee, growing from roughly 27 funds to more than 120. The updated list takes effect June 1, 2026, and targets ETF issuers that do not pay Fidelity a direct, asset-based fee to support platform availability.

Why it matters: The fee structure has drawn accusations of a “pay to play” model. If an ETF issuer doesn’t have an agreement with Fidelity, the $100 service charge gets passed directly to the investor on each purchase. That forces smaller fund managers into a choice: pay Fidelity or watch their investors absorb the cost.

By The Numbers

• $100: Maximum service fee per ETF purchase
• ~27 ETFs: Original list as of November 3, 2025
• 120+ ETFs: Expanded list effective June 1, 2026
• 40+ funds: From Roundhill alone, the single largest issuer on the list
• 12 funds: From Kurv, including popular yield premium strategy ETFs tied to Apple, Tesla, Google, and others

What they’re saying: The expansion has sparked sharp criticism from prominent voices in the ETF industry. Investor and fund manager Meb Faber called the fee structure “gross.” Others have described it as a “pay to play” model. On social media, critics argue that the arrangement forces fund managers to either pay Fidelity or hurt their own investors with fees.

The other side: The vast majority of ETF trades at Fidelity remain commission-free. The $100 fee applies only to a small subset of funds from issuers that don’t participate in revenue-sharing agreements. Some defenders note that these are mostly niche, low-volume products with higher operational costs, and that Fidelity still provides access to them rather than delisting entirely. Many of these issuers have reportedly been in discussions with Fidelity to resolve the fee for their funds.

What’s on the list: The expanded roster (PDF File) includes funds from Roundhill (WeeklyPay ETFs, Magnificent Seven ETFs, Bitcoin and Ether covered call funds), Kurv (yield premium strategy ETFs, precious metals income funds), Inspire (faith-based ETFs), Hedgeye, Rareview, WEBs (defined volatility sector ETFs), Cyber Hornet (crypto-blend strategy ETFs), and several small specialty issuers.

Notable additions include YBTC (Roundhill Bitcoin Covered Call Strategy ETF), KGLD (Kurv Gold Enhanced Income ETF), MAGS (Roundhill Magnificent Seven ETF), and QDTE (Roundhill Innovation-100 0DTE Covered Call Strategy ETF).

Keep in mind: This does not affect the vast majority of ETFs. If you buy funds from major issuers like Vanguard, iShares (BlackRock), SPDR (State Street), Schwab, or Invesco, nothing changes. Fidelity still offers thousands of commission-free ETFs. The fee only hits a narrow slice of smaller, specialty issuers. Before purchasing any ETF on Fidelity, check the order preview screen — it will disclose the service fee before you confirm the trade.

What to watch: Keep an eye on competitors like Schwab or Robinhood to see if they adopt similar fee structures or use this as a marketing advantage. Also, see if more issuers negotiate revenue-sharing deals with Fidelity to get off the list. And finally, watch out whether frustrated customers follow through on threats to move their accounts to other brokers.

How this connects: The College Investor currently ranks Fidelity as the #1 online stock broker for 2026, largely because of its commission-free pricing, $0 account minimums, and broad fund selection. The full Fidelity review notes that Fidelity offers over 3,400 no-transaction-fee mutual funds and is the only broker offering 0% expense ratio index funds. This ETF service fee expansion is worth monitoring, but it doesn’t change Fidelity’s core value proposition for investors who stick to mainstream ETFs and index funds.

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What’s happening: Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and 29 Democratic colleagues introduced the Keep Public Funds in Public Schools Act, a bill that would repeal the Education Freedom Tax Credit (EFTC) — the federal school choice tax credit signed into law last summer as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. 

Why it matters: The EFTC is the first federal law that could expand school choice to families in all 50 states. It provides a dollar-for-dollar tax credit of up to $1,700 for individual donations to scholarship granting organizations (SGOs), set to take effect in 2027. Twenty-nine states have already opted in. The repeal bill, backed by 163 national and state organizations, sets up a major fight over the future of K-12 education funding before the first scholarship dollar is distributed.

By The Numbers

• $25.9 billion: The Joint Committee on Taxation’s 10-year cost estimate for the EFTC.
• $1,700: Maximum individual tax credit for donations to SGOs under the EFTC.
• 29: States that have already opted in to the program.
• 30: Democratic senators backing the repeal bill.

The details: The bill would strike Section 25F of the Internal Revenue Code and the associated income exclusion under Section 139K, effective for taxable years ending after December 31, 2026 — just before the new tax credit takes effect. Kelly pointed to Arizona’s own Empowerment Scholarship Accounts as a warning, citing reports of over $10 million in taxpayer funds spent on banned purchases, including gift cards and luxury hotel stays. The bill is cosponsored by senators including Bernie Sanders, Chuck Schumer, Elizabeth Warren, and John Fetterman, and endorsed by the National Education Association, American Federation of Teachers, Save Our Schools Arizona, and the National Center for Learning Disabilities.

The other side: School choice advocacy group American Federation for Children (AFC) Chief State Strategy Officer Ryan Cantrell called the repeal effort “misguided,” saying the EFTC “empowers taxpayers and families to direct K-12 education dollars where they see fit.” AFC noted that 29 states have already embraced the program and called school choice “wildly popular and here to stay.” 

What’s next: The bill faces long odds given Republican control of both chambers of Congress. But it signals that the EFTC will remain a political flashpoint heading into 2027 implementation. The real battle may come during future budget negotiations, where Democrats could push to defund or cap the program.

How this connects: The College Investor has previously covered the Education Freedom Tax Credit in detail, including eligibility requirements and implementation timelines. Eligible students must come from households earning no more than 300% of the area’s median gross income, and states must complete administrative steps before 2027 for SGOs to begin distributing scholarships. Whether the repeal effort gains traction or not, families in participating states should continue monitoring their state’s opt-in status and SGO approval process.

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The U.S. Department of Education is moving forward with a proposed rule that would strip federal student loan eligibility from college programs that consistently fail to boost graduates' earnings above what they'd make without the degree.

The 394-page Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (PDF File) represents the final piece of the Trump Administration's overhaul of student aid under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA).

The proposal arrives as the federal student loan portfolio approaches $1.7 trillion, and it would for the first time apply a uniform earnings accountability standard to programs at every type of institution: public universities, private nonprofits, and for-profit colleges.

"The Trump Administration's proposed accountability framework is grounded in common sense: if postsecondary education programs do not leave graduates better off, taxpayers should not subsidize them," said Under Secretary of Education Nicholas Kent in a statement.

According to a recent analysis by Preston Cooper at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), 95% of all programs would pass this new test.

How The New Earnings Test Works

For undergraduate programs, the Department compares the median earnings of graduates (measured four years after completion) against the median earnings of working adults aged 25-34 with only a high school diploma in the state where the school is located. If fewer than 50% of students come from that state, national data is used instead.

For graduate programs, the comparison group shifts to working adults aged 25-34 with only a bachelor's degree. The earnings threshold is the lowest of three benchmarks: 

1. Bachelor's holders in the same state, or
2. Bachelor's holders in the same field of study (at the 2-digit or 4-digit CIP code level) in the same state, or
3. Bachelor's holders in the same field nationally

The earnings data comes from the IRS: wages, self-employment income, and other earned income as reported on tax returns. 

Programs need at least 30 completers (expandable through cohort aggregation) and at least 16 matched earnings records for the test to be calculated. A program passes if its median graduate earnings equal or exceed the threshold. It fails if earnings fall below it.

What Happens When Programs Fail

A program is classified as a "low-earning outcome program" if it fails the earnings premium test in two out of any three consecutive years. Once classified, the program loses eligibility for federal Direct Loans but not necessarily Pell Grants or other Title IV aid, at least initially.

The period of ineligibility is two years. After that period, a school can seek to re-establish the program's eligibility but only if the program has not continued to fail the earnings test in either of the two most recent award years.

Schools are also blocked from gaming the system by shutting down a failing program and restarting a nearly identical one. Under the proposed rule, an institution cannot establish Direct Loan eligibility for any program sharing the same 4-digit CIP code and overlapping occupational classification (SOC) codes as a program that lost eligibility.

There is one other option for schools: the "orderly program closure" option. If a program fails the earnings test in a single year but hasn't yet been classified as a low-earning outcome program, the school can voluntarily agree to wind down the program over the lesser of three years or the program's full-time duration. During that time, the program keeps Direct Loan access so current students can finish, but the school must stop admitting new students immediately and inform students of their options to transfer.

When Pell Grants Are Also At Risk

While individual programs initially lose only Direct Loan access, the rule includes a broader institutional trigger. If more than half of a school's Title IV students or more than half of its Title IV funding comes from low-earning outcome programs in two out of three consecutive years, the Department would place the institution on provisional status and all of its low-earning outcome programs would lose eligibility for all Title IV aid, including Pell Grants.

This provision is designed to address situations where failing programs aren't isolated issues but reflect a systemic problem at the institution. In practice, this means that students at affected schools could lose access not just to federal loans but to grant aid as well.

Warnings And Transparency Requirements

Schools are required to warn both prospective and currently enrolled students when a program is at risk of losing Direct Loan eligibility. These warnings must be updated if a student re-enrolls more than 12 months after receiving a previous warning.

The rule also adds new Pell Grant disclosure requirements. Institutions must inform Pell-eligible students of their remaining lifetime Pell Grant eligibility and explain that any Pell funds used in a failing program still count against that lifetime limit.

The Department is also expanding its Student Tuition and Transparency System (STATS), which will require institutions to report program-level data including tuition, fees, and financial aid details. This data will feed public-facing disclosures about net program costs and earnings outcomes.

The American Enterprise Institute (AEI) has also put together a dataset that you can search and see if your school is at risk. Check out the data here.

What This Means For Families

For families evaluating college programs right now, this rule won't take effect immediately. 

The Department will calculate the first round of performance data in early 2027 and the second in early 2028. Because two consecutive failing years are required, the earliest a program can lose student loan eligibility is the 2028-29 academic year.

The public comment period runs through May 20, 2026, and the Department could make changes before finalizing. That said, the AHEAD negotiated rulemaking committee reached full consensus on the regulatory text, which suggests the framework is unlikely to change substantially.

When it does take effect, the practical impact will depend on what program a student is enrolled in and at what type of school. While 95% of programs are expected to pass, there's a big gap between eligible certificate programs vs. graduate programs.

The rule also creates a strong incentive for schools to either improve underperforming programs or shut them down.

That's good news for future students who might otherwise enroll in a program with poor earnings outcomes. But it could create disruption for students currently enrolled in programs that end up on the chopping block.

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Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) & Buybacks

What is the latest news with the PSLF buyback program?

Well, we got the latest numbers. Basically the backlog got bigger. They processed more applications. So technically if you know you are in the buyback line it's about 27 months now instead of 35 months. So still over two years and again like I'm reiterating the number of denials are rising. And I expect that to continue because I think a lot of people are going to end up hitting PSLF the normal way, well before they get their buybacks processed.

How soon before the 120th payment should I submit for forgiveness and apply for buyback?

You cannot apply for buyback until you've crossed the 120. Not before, crossed it. And so, honestly, for you, Buyback's going to be moot. I wouldn't even consider doing a buyback. Now, it doesn't hurt to put the application in if by some miracle they eliminate a 27 plus month backlog and get caught up, but honestly, just plan on doing PSLF the normal way.

Do you have to work at a PSLF-qualifying job for the whole 10 years, or just at the time of application?

They actually treat every one of the 120 payments as individual. Every single one. And you have to meet all the criteria for each of the individual payments. Direct loan, qualifying repayment plan, qualifying employment, and then you certify it all, every single one.

Do payments made while in "in-school deferment" count towards PSLF?

No, they do not. And you bring up a great reminder. Do not make payments when you're in deferment or forbearance. Do not make interest payments when you're in school. Most people end up costing themselves money that could be going to other things. If you feel like you got extra money when you're in college and you want to do something with it, invest it.

How does someone get out of student loans besides paying them off?

So about 50% of borrowers qualify for loan forgiveness programs. Assuming that you work in public service. Any remaining balance is forgiven from your student loans. The other secondary benefit is because you're on an income driven repayment plan for those 10 years, it's the lowest monthly payment you're going to have. And there's also levers you can pull to hack it, right? You can contribute more to your 403b and you can contribute to an HSA and contribute to a traditional IRA. And you can lower your taxable income by saving and investing for yourself.

Income-Driven Repayment (IDR), IBR, & The SAVE Plan

How can my SAVE plan say my next due date is 2028, but now they are making me switch plans?

Because like we've said for a year and a half now. That date is a placeholder date. It's not your actual date. Inside the antiquated Excel spreadsheet that is our student loan system, they had to put a date in there and they had to pick one that they wouldn't have to keep updating every single month. With that being said, how can they change it for you? Well, Congress passed a law and then the save rules that weren't laws. They were just executive orders that got shot down by the courts. I'm sad to say that you're going to have to choose a new repayment plan.

I was on SAVE and just filed my taxes separately. When is the best time to switch to IBR?

As soon as your tax returns are processed, it's going to pull it automatically and you just apply on studentaid.gov and it will go from there. The biggest thing is just make sure it's processed and then go from there.

Why does interest accrue so quickly while on IBR?

The big thing that you need to realize is that when you're on IBR, your monthly payment is based on your income. It's not based on your loan balance, your interest rate, anything like that. Most people are on IBR because they want the lowest payment because they're going for some type of loan forgiveness, right? Or like financially, you can't afford the standard plan payment. I guess the big thing I should say is if you are looking to repay your student loans, the standard plans are what repay your student loans. Most people are on IBR though because they can't afford that.

How do I submit alternative income documentation if I am going on disability or am unemployed?

When you go on studentaid.gov and it asks you like on the very first screen it says like, 'Do you want to link your tax return?' you scroll past that and at the bottom select 'Skip' and then select 'I want to upload alternative documentation,' and then you can upload. I always say things like: put a little letter on there and say like I'm currently on disability. My only income is this and you can have like a little copy of it. Show your disability check and you're good to go. If you're unemployed, similar process: 'I'm unemployed, here's my unemployment compensation, that's all my income right now.' Done.

Is IDR based on both incomes for married couples?

Yes. If you're both married and you both have loans, you're going to calculate your payment as married filing jointly. What it does is it kind of divides out proportionally to your debt so that your overall debt is the same payment. File separately. It uses your income. File jointly. It uses your joint income.

I'm moving to Germany. Do I need to pay my student loans?

Absolutely you do. But. I talk about how you can hack moving to Germany to make your student loans zero or very little. And it's because you can have the foreign income exclusion tax credit. So up to like I want to say it's $130,000 this year of foreign income you get to deduct from your taxes. So you could have effectively zero on your American tax return. And guess what? You could use that zero on your US tax return to certify your student loan payments and now your student loan payments are zero.

Parent PLUS Loans

I have Parent PLUS loans that are deferred or unaffordable. What should I do?

If you need access to income driven repayment and public service loan forgiveness, you have to consolidate and get on an income driven repayment plan and you need to do it today because that window to consolidate and get on an income driven repayment plan closes on June 30th. Starting July 1st, Parent PLUS loans that are not consolidated can never access income driven repayment and public service loan forgiveness.

For a Parent PLUS loan, do you recommend making one payment on ICR and then switching to IBR?

Yes, absolutely. Income-based repayment will give you a lower monthly payment than income-contingent repayment. So, do your one ICR payment, finish the billing cycle, and then apply for IBR.

Can the government come after the student if the parent doesn't pay their Parent PLUS loan?

No. Parent plus loans are 100% your parents responsibility. You have no legal obligation to them.

FAFSA & Paying for College

What is your best advice for a college student who didn't get any financial aid but still wants to attend?

Pick a college that you can afford. The maximum value of a bachelor's degree is $80,000. That's it. So spend less than that, borrow less than that, you'll be okay. Spend more than that, you're going to get yourself into financial trouble. I would look at community college. I would look for employers that pay for a college education. Go work at Chick-fil-A, Target, Walmart, Starbucks.

I got into Michigan Ross for $70k or UMass Amherst for $25k. Which should I choose?

Always the cheaper school. There is no difference. They pulled Fortune 500 employers and one of the questions they asked them was does where you went to college or does where applicants go matter to you at all? And literally if you go to a top 200 school in America, it's exactly the same. There is no difference to an employer where you went to school. And so no difference. Just do the cheapest possible school that you can do.

Do you recommend taking out federal loans even if you have money in a 529 plan?

The order of operations that I recommend is pay your known first. So, drain the 529 plan fully and then supplement. The reason is that one-third of students that start college don't finish college. You don't want to have leftover money in your 529 plan. You don't want to borrow, have the debt, and then have this extra money because not every state lets you use your 529 plan to repay student loans. So, use the 529 plan upfront.

What is the order of operations for taking out loans for medical/grad school?

Federal loans first up to your limit and then you supplement with private student loans. Honestly, that's the way you do it. There's not much to it. You just go shop around, get three to five quotes on the private loans and rock and roll.

What should I be looking at for my 12-year-old daughter to prepare for college?

Number one is make sure that she can do math. Algebra one. Do everything in your power to make sure that algebra 1 is completed by 8th grade. The reason that is so important is because the PSATs and the SATs quiz you on pre-calculus. And if you don't have algebra 1 and eighth grade, you're not going to finish the trajectory to get great SAT and ACT scores. If she gets great scores, it unlocks a lot of doors for both colleges and for merit aid. By the time you get to early high school. You need to be fully transparent with the kid. You need to tell them this is how much money mom and dad have.

General Personal Finance & Debt

Would you recommend paying off student loans as fast as you can, even if it means living uncomfortably?

If you are one of the 50% of student loan borrowers that is getting no type of student loan forgiveness, then absolutely get out of debt as quickly as you can. There's an asterisk to that though. Don't do it at the expense of 401k matching contributions. HSA matching contributions. You don't pass up free money to get your student loans paid off. So, always do enough to get any free money you're eligible for and then yeah, throw the rest at it. And living uncomfortable. Absolutely. I'd rather live uncomfortable when I'm 22, 25, 28 than living uncomfortable at 38 and 40.

I'm a 19-year-old trying to buy a $21,000 car. What percentage should I put down?

The real answer is you put down 100% and you buy the car for cash and if you can't afford a $21,000 car, you go find a $5 to $7,000 car and then you put down as much as you humanly can. And you finance as little as possible. Cars just lose value. They are just to get you from point A to point B. And you're 19 years old. You need that money to work for you. You don't want to be giving your money away to other people.

My husband and I make $375k but are still living month-to-month. What do we do?

That's really going to come down to a lot of behavioral finance questions. I always say look at your big three, right? So, you got your housing, your transportation, sometimes education, and I would also venture at your income level, vacations. It's going to be uncomfortable for you, though. So, you need to just start having those tough conversations because it's all psychology at that point in time. The math is the math, but there's going to be uncomfortable choices of downsizing housing, downsizing vehicles, not taking vacations.

Once you get $250k in a money market account, should you open a second one to ensure it's insured?

I think there's value in diversifying that, but I actually have a bigger question. What the hell do you have so much cash in a money market for? You know, there really is a risk to that and the risk is cash drag in that you are potentially costing yourself tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars, maybe millions of dollars by keeping so much cash versus keeping it invested. I hope you're telling me that in the context of you got a $10 million portfolio because like that that's just that's so much wasted money, man.

A new class action lawsuit accuses Intuit, TurboTax, Credit Karma, and four partner banks of charging active-duty military borrowers fees on “0% interest” refund advance loans that exceeded the legal cap under the Military Lending Act. 

The case, Bostick v. Intuit Inc., was filed March 31, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California (Case No. 3:26-cv-01444).

Why It Matters: The Military Lending Act caps the Military Annual Percentage Rate (MAPR) at 36% for active-duty service members and their dependents. That cap doesn’t just cover the stated interest rate — it includes fees, required insurance premiums, and most other charges tied to the loan. A product advertised as "no interest" or “0% interest” can still exceed the 36% cap if the fees are large enough relative to the loan amount and repayment window.

Plaintiff Zachary Bostick alleges the mandatory fees built into TurboTax’s refund advance product did exactly that. The complaint also claims Intuit required borrowers to waive their right to sue, which itself a separate MLA violation.

The Big Picture: This is the second major tax-refund-advance lawsuit targeting military borrowers in about six weeks. H&R Block was hit with a nearly identical case in February 2026 (Montgomery v. HRB Tax Group, Case No. 3:26-cv-00759, S.D. Cal.). Both lawsuits name partner banks alongside the tax prep companies, and both argue the same thing: fees that appear small in dollar terms become illegally high when annualized over the short life of a refund advance loan.

The defendants in the Intuit case include Intuit TT Offerings Inc., CK Progress Inc. (d/b/a Credit Karma), MVB Bank, First Century Bank, Santa Barbara Tax Products Group, and Green Dot Bank.

What's Next: The case is in its earliest stage. There’s no settlement, no certified class, and no payout timeline. If you’re active-duty or were at the time you took a TurboTax or Credit Karma refund advance, the most important thing to do right now is save your paperwork as proof in case you need it: the loan agreement, fee disclosures, and proof of military status (LES or orders) for each tax year you used the product.

Do not pay anyone to “join” the lawsuit. Legitimate class actions never charge service members a sign-up fee. If someone contacts you asking for money, it’s a scam.

How This Connects: The College Investor has long covered tax refund advance loans, including the TurboTax product at the center of this lawsuit. These products are marketed as free and fast, but the fee structures can be opaque — particularly for borrowers who never see the fees as a separate line item because the cost is deducted before the refund hits their account.

Military borrowers also face unique financial pressures we’ve covered in our student loan help for military borrowers reporting. 

It's important to remember that tax refund advances should be a last resort, and most borrowers get their tax refunds within 21 days. Furthermore, you can adjust your tax withholding to NOT get a refund, which will make all of your paychecks bigger all year.

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