Fidelity Tabs Couto for Top Advisor Solutions Post

idelity Investments has named Scott Couto as the new president of its Financial Advisor Solutions unit, where he will oversee the firm's product suite, investment consulting services, product analysis and marketing endeavors.

Couto previously served as the interim leader of the unit. Prior to his interim role, he was executive vice president of product management and marketing.

"Scott has been a strong leader during his time with Fidelity, combining his 20-year career in the asset management industry with his wealth of experience in the intermediary market, to deliver new products, insights and services to our advisors," said Gerard McGraw, president of Fidelity Institutional. "His continuous focus on the needs of our intermediary clients as well the end investors they serve will further strengthen Fidelity's focus on service excellence."

Couto will report to McGraw in his now permanent role.

Couto joined in Fidelity in 2009 after previously serving as chief operating officer at Evergreen Investment Management Company. Before joining Evergreen, Couto served in a number of product management and investment strategy capacities for Liberty Funds in Boston.

Fidelity Financial Advisor Solutions works with more than 4,000 financial institutions and 54,000 advisers with assets under management of $385 billion.

Podsiadlo Now Director of

Mutual Funds at Wasatch

Wasatch Advisors has named Eugene "Gene" Podsiadlo director of mutual funds.

Podsiadlo has been a member of the fund company's board of directors since 2002 and is a managing director of its venture capital affiliate, Cross Creek Capital. He was previously president of Warburg Pincus Funds and managing director of Warburg Pincus. He was also a director of the firm's Tokyo subsidiary, where he built a successful mutual fund unit. Later in his career, Podsiadlo was president of SPARX Funds Trust.

"We are fortunate to have Gene expand his leadership role with Wasatch Funds," said Wasatch Advisors President Jeff Cardon. "We value his years of experience in the industry as we continue to grow our business and bring the best active portfolio management to our investors."

Fuhr Leaves BlackRock

In ETF Research Shift

BlackRock is moving the production of its research on exchange-traded funds to a new unit, and the long-timer producer of its "ETF Landscape" reports will be leaving the company.

The research will be produced by the BlackRock Investment Institute, the company said. Russ Koesterich, the global chief investment strategist at its iShares exchange-traded fund business, "will help define the ETF research agenda as we move forward," the firm said.

Leaving BlackRock will be Deborah Fuhr, "who made a strong contribution to ETF research during her tenure," according to Christine Hudacko, a corporate communications specialist in the company's San Francisco office.

BlackRock will continue to publish research under the "ETF Landscape" brand, she said but "we'll also be looking to provide deeper insights, analysis and commentary on the fast-growing ETF marketplace."

Besides Koesterich, the research from the institute will include commentary from Joe Linhares in Europe, the Middle East and Asia, Jennifer Grancio in the U.S and Canada, Daniel Gamba in Latin America and Nick Good in Asia.

BlackRock is the largest marketer of exchange-traded funds, with $474.7 billion of invested assets under its management, according to June statistics compiled by the National Stock Exchange.

Fuhr was the global head of ETF research and implementation strategy at BlackRock and a managing director.

For four years, BlackRock's group has been ranked first for ETF research by investors in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas in a global survey conducted by ExchangeTradedFunds.com.

Raymond James Promotes

Williams to Senior VP

Raymond James Financial has promoted Greg Williams to the new position of senior vice president and managing director of private client group administration.

Williams will work to support the firm's financial advisers and clients alongside other leaders in the private client group, reporting to Chief Operating Officer Chet Helck.

Williams currently serves as chief administrative officer and board director at the firm, where he has served for 17 years.

Raymond James Nabs

$500 Million Morgan Team

Raymond James & Associates has nabbed a $500 million team from Morgan Stanley Smith Barney in Newtown, Pa.

Brothers Thomas A. Seiler and Patrick M. Seiler have joined Raymond James in the same town, according to Dennis Zank, president of Raymond James & Associates, the employee broker/dealer of Raymond James.

Thomas Seiler began his career at Merrill Lynch in 1990 before joining Smith Barney in 2005. Meanwhile, Patrick Seiler started his financial career in 1995 with A.G. Edwards, moving to partner with his brother at Merrill Lynch. They then transitioned together to Smith Barney in 2005, where they have focused on advising high-net-worth individuals and families on accumulating and preserving wealth.

The Seilers are joined at Raymond James by Adviser Ryan Wayne, Senior Registered Service Associate Nicole Morawski and Client Service Associates Terri Schafer and Ross Hart.

 

 

 

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