On March 13, 2013, Fidelity Investments and BlackRock, Inc. (BLK) announced changes to their long-term strategic alliance . This includes expanding the quantity of no-commission iShares ETFs from 30 to 65, achieved by adding 45 ETFs to the list and removing 10. Fidelity’s lone ETF offering, Fidelity Nasdaq Composite Index Tracking Stock Fund (ONEQ), remains part of the list, raising the total count to 66 no-commission ETFs available to users of Fidelity’s online trading platforms.

Key points of the strategic alliance include:

• 45 iShares ETFs added to the no-commission lineup effective March 13.
• All 10 iShares Core ETFs are now commission-free at Fidelity.
• 10 iShares ETFs will be removed from the commission-free program effective April 30 (see list below).
• Effective July 31, any eligible iShares ETFs purchased commission-free must be held for a minimum of 30 calendar days (60 days for RIAs) or a short-term trading fee of

There are a lot of moving parts to the announcement Wednesday that Fidelity Investments and BlackRock's iShares are deepening their partnership in exchange traded funds, but the move can be boiled down into a few essential points for the ETF business and investors.

The bottom line is that the expanded alliance between Fidelity and iShares is another example of how ETF investors benefit from competition in the maturing industry. ETF managers and online brokers are slashing costs in an effort to attract business, which results in lower fees for investors and financial advisors.

Here are the main takeaways from Wednesday's announcement from Fidelity and BlackRock (BLK) based on our own interviews and press reports:

1. Fidelity adds more commission-free iShares ETFs

Perhaps most importantly, Fidelity is more than doubling the number of iShares ETFs to 65 that Fidelity customers will be able to trade without paying commissions.

On the