Fidelity Investments' National Financial Unit plans to offer a unified managed account (UMA) this fall to its correspondent broker-dealers, according to Securities Industry News. The move comes at a time when financial advisers are having a hard time managing the growing number of investment products on the market.
While certainly not a new concept, the idea of combining several investment products under a single umbrella is a step forward for Fidelity, given that it is the second-largest clearing firm catering to retail-oriented broker-dealers. Broker-dealers will gain a capability that their wirehouse competitors have spent hundreds of millions of dollars on in recent years, building supporting technology as well as linkages to managers of the complex, fee-based investments available through the accounts.
Fidelity's correspondents' customers will have access for the first time to Fidelity Strategic Advisors, which sub-advises more than $70 billion in mutual fund wrap program assets. Fidelity's Streetscape correspondent platform will offer access to nearly 100 separate account managers representing 250 investment disciplines, a multi-manager account (MMA) program and alternative investments such as hedge funds.
"A multi-manager account is a newer version of the separately managed account," says John Fitzpatrick, vice president in product management at National Financial. He adds that unlike separately managed accounts (SMAs), which may require a brokerage account for each manager, MMAs collect participating managers under one brokerage account.
Fidelity has hired Chicago-based