Fidelity Institutional has announced new account opening functionalities, as well as enhancements to its open architecture digital store, Integration Xchange, and its advisor technology platform, Wealthscape.
These improvements are part of Fidelity’s commitment to elevate advisors’ digital experience, making it easier for firms to create technology stacks that best support their clients’ evolving needs, according to the firm's announcement.
“While advisor expectations for technology are constantly evolving, their goals remain the same: they want technology that allows them to more easily engage with their clients and remove barriers and frictions in those interactions,” says Jessica Liberi, head of Platform Technology at Fidelity Institutional. “The optimal digital experience can look different depending on the advisor and their firm, so offering optionality is essential to helping as many advisors as possible to meet their unique goals.”
Account Opening Enhancements
Fidelity’s new account opening enhancements are part of a technology ecosystem that prepares firms for the future. These enhancements include:
- Fully digital account opening and transfer of assets (TOA) registrations for most account types, including managed and non-managed accounts.
- Multi-account opening that bundles all accounts into one “household” view to streamline processes and proprietary paperwork.
- Multi-TOA funding, supporting up to three transfers per new account.
- Consolidated eDelivery authorization as part of the account opening process.
- Ability to prefill account data from an advisor’s CRM or planning tool to reduce the need for manual data-entry.
- New features, including statement householding and account access rights, which can be initiated during account opening to save even more time.
- Up-front data validation to ensure submissions remain In Good Order.
Fidelity notes that more account opening features will roll out in 2023, including a new investor signing experience, providing a form-free capability that simplifies the investor experience with a straightforward “click-to-agree” step.
Open Architecture Experience
In addition, Integration Xchange continues to expand and provide new options for customized technology experiences. First introduced in 2018, the open architecture digital store provides a variety of integration options from more than 200 fintech companies that support the need for personalization.
To enhance the experience for Integration Xchange users, Fidelity introduced a redesigned FinTech Marketplace to make it easier for advisors and operations associates to discover and evaluate new fintech offerings. The new marketplace provides a more modern and navigable experience, helping clients stay ahead of the curve by offering a complete view of the options and integrations available to them.
It also features enhanced search capabilities, as well as new API analytics, making it easier for firms to discover, evaluate and implement integrations.
Wealthscape Experience
In addition to new third-party integration offerings, Fidelity also continues to enhance its platform technology, Wealthscape, to better support evolving client needs. New features include Wealthscape Analytics, a new dashboard with actionable, data-driven insights to help with client segmentation and growth opportunities, and Wealthscape Reporting, a redesigned report landing page with new filters and editing features to further customize reports leveraged by both advisors and end-investors.
Fidelity notes that additional features will roll out in 2023, including an integrated help experience that will provide seamless connectivity across virtual assistant and chat for improved resolution time.
