In a case of the rich getting richer, Fidelity reported a 34% increase in sales of plans with $50 million or less. Sales were reported to be $8.4 billion and 1,500 plans, with an average plan size of more than $5 million. Known more for selling directly to larger plans, Fidelity has made dramatic steps to beef up sales to advisors.
Recognizing that smaller and mid-sized plans need an advisor, Fidelity consolidated their direct and advisor-sold sales forces nearly two years ago, moving the advisor sales force from Fidelity Advisor Services, which services advisors and now houses their recently formed DCIO group, to their Workplace Investing division, which runs the record keeping service and had sold direct exclusively.
With additional resources and renewed focus, it looks like Fidelity’s claim that it will focus on sales in this market segment is real.
