In an effort to help independent advisors develop additional business with ultra-wealthy clients, Fidelity Investments announced Monday a new program that will allow registered investment advisors to use the Boston-based company's family office services.
The new offering enables advisors to give clients with more than $50 million in investable assets access to Fidelity Family Office Services, a business dedicated to supporting single family offices. These services include a dedicated relationship management team and investment analyst/trader, and an open architecture reporting system that supports services such as partnership services and general ledger export services.
Advisors' ultra high-net-worth clients also will be able to attend private events designed to network with family offices and share best practices.
"The typically complex account structures and sophisticated investment needs of ultra high-net-worth families often require advisors to offer a more advanced set of solutions," said Michael R. Durbin, president, Fidelity Institutional Wealth Services(r). "With Fidelity's dedicated family office business, we are positioned to give advisors access to the resources they need to help them effectively and efficiently meet the distinct needs of this market segment."
The new offering complements the support Fidelity has been providing RIAs that serve as multi-family offices.
Three RIA client firms of Fidelity Institutional Wealth Services already are working with Fidelity Family Office Services to service existing ultra high-net-worth family clients. Fidelity currently is talking with another 50 firms that have expressed interest in the offering.
In addition to custody and brokerage services, the new ultra high-net-worth offering provides dedicated client service, investment services, and reporting and administrative services.
Scott Dell'Orfano, an executive vice president and head of sales and relationship management for Fidelity Institutional Wealth Services, said in an interview Friday that many RIAs have at least "one or two" clients with more than $100 million in net worth.
"I think there a lot of assets held away from RIAs in a bank or a custodian that an RIA has an opportunity to consolidate by using our service," he said. "This could really help an RIA grow their book of business."
Fidelity has been offering family office custodial services for three years, Dell'Orfano said, and has 120 clients with $20 billion of assets under management. He said with just over 3,000 RIAs that custody assets with Fidelity, there is a significant opportunity to add business.
