Fidelity Rolls Out New Service Model for Affiliated Advisors and B/D Reps

Expanding on the positive reception advisors gave a pilot program launched last year, Fidelity Investments on March 15 announced the creation of a new client experience organization designed to meet the evolving demands of Fidelity’s advisor clients across the firm’s different advisor businesses– Fidelity Institutional Wealth Services, National Financial, Fidelity Family Office Services, and Fidelity Capital Markets. The new organization will be headed by Maggie Serravalli, an executive VP who has overseen client experience for Fidelity’s Operations and Services Group since June 2007. In that role, she was responsible for the client management and client service teams of Fidelity’s brokerage business–two divisions she still maintains responsibility for in her new position.

The first example of the new organization’s efforts is the rollout of new dedicated service teams for the firm’s independent advisor clients. The new teams consist of a client service manager, described by Serravalli as “like a quarterback for the team,” and a group of professionals from key functional areas, including transfer of assets, new accounts, and money movement–all in a single location. The client service manager acts as the sole point of contact with clients while the rest of the team processes all service interactions and transactions with intimate knowledg and understanding of each client’s distinct service and processing needs.

“A strong service culture has always been part of our DNA and this new organization allows us to enhance the overall client experience,” Serravalli told Investment Advisor. “The specific rollout of the service teams is really the first evidence of the changes that we’re putting in place as a result of having this new organization in place…We’re confident that we’ll have it all completed in the third quarter of this year so that all of our advisors will benefit from the enhanced service model.”