Net sales at Fidelity Investments Institutional Services Company, one of three major business units that make up Fidelity Investments of Boston, rose 51.2 percent in 1999 to $18.6 billion, up from $12.3 billion in 1998 and $4.9 billion in 1997.
Fidelity Investments Institutional Services Company sells 401(k) products to small businesses of 100 employees or less. It also distributes the Fidelity Advisor funds and other products through 4,200 banks, wirehouses, broker/dealers, and trust and insurance companies.
At the same time that Institutional Service Company's net sales increased, the company's assets under management also increased, although at a more modest pace of 23.9 percent, to $210.6 billion at year-end 1999, up from $169.9 billion a year earlier.
Kevin Kelly, president of the unit, attributed his company's success to new product launches, which included nine new Fidelity Advisor funds and a new 401(k) product specifically designed for small firms. Fidelity also redesigned the educational aids it supplies to channel distributors, said Kelly in a statement.
