Fidelity Plans 'WealthCentral'

Fidelity Investments says it is developing an online wealth- management platform that integrates registered investment advisors’ critical operational systems, including portfolio management, customer relationship management and financial planning, into one unified workstation. It hopes to “go live” with the platform at the end of 2008.

Fidelity picked San Francisco-based Advent Software to provide its Advent Back Office Service (or ABOS), which will deliver Advent Portfolio Exchange software as an outsourced solution and form a key part of the Fidelity WealthCentral platform.

“Today, advisors must buy their various technology applications in a piecemeal fashion and then try and make the systems work together as best they can — something that can be costly and extremely inefficient,” explains John W. “Jack” Callahan, president, Fidelity Institutional Wealth Services. “That’s why Fidelity is investing $50 million in developing what we believe will be the strongest and most integrated platform in the industry — helping address this critical market need.”