First Schwab, now Fidelity. The brokerage price war between the two retail giants continued Wednesday as Fidelity said it is eliminating its annual account fee retail brokerage accounts of less than $25,000.

Fidelity had levied a $50 annual fee on those accounts.

Charles Schwab had eliminated a similar fee earlier this month. Most recently, it also reported strong earnings for its most recent reporting period.

While retail account holders will welcome the fee cuts, they may prove a mixed blessing for fund firms that are part of the two firm’s supermarkets. Few account holders are aware that their accounts are subsidized by revenue sharing from the funds that they purchase. That lack of awareness makes it tempting for brokerages to make up lost revenues by increasing what they charge funds for being on their platform.  

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