Fidelity and KKR Seal Deal

Fidelity Investments of Boston and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR) in New York have announced an agreement to give Fidelity’s retail and institutional brokerage customers exclusive access to IPOs and follow-on offerings underwritten by KKR. While the relationship is effective immediately, implementation depends on when the first IPO from KKR becomes available.

The agreement applies to accounts managed by Fidelity’s registered investment advisor (RIA), correspondent broker-dealer and other institutional clients, as well as its retail brokerage customers. And while the arrangement gives such clients normally elusive access to IPOs, it also provides “a new retail distribution channel for KKR’s capital markets business,” a KKR spokesperson said.