Fidelity Taps New Leader for $4T Personal Investing Division

Fidelity Investments has appointed Joanna Rotenberg as the new head of its $4.1 trillion personal investing division, effective in early November.

Rotenberg is succeeding Kathy Murphy, who earlier this year announced the decision to step away from her role before the end of the year.

Rotenberg joins Fidelity from Toronto-based BMO Financial Group, where she has been group head of BMO Wealth Management since November 2016, according to her LinkedIn profile.

In her current role at BMO, Rotenberg is responsible for a broad range of businesses in North America, Europe and Asia, including direct brokerage, full-service brokerage, private banking, insurance and asset management.

Rotenberg “accelerated BMO Wealth’s digitization journeys, including revamping the online investing platform for BMO’s direct channel,” according to Fidelity.

Since 2020, net new client growth at BMO’s online brokerage has tripled, Fidelity said, adding Rotenberg also drove BMO’s focus on the “best of” human and technology capabilities by introducing SmartFolio, the first robo-advisor in Canadian banking, and developing new offerings for AdviceDirect, BMO’s hybrid advice model.

After joining BMO in 2010, Rotenberg held roles as the company’s head of strategy and its chief marketing officer.

Rotenberg also launched BMO for Women, an enterprise-wide program providing capital and support for female clients and employees. She has also been a major supporter of BMO’s Zero Barriers to Inclusion program for employees in underrepresented backgrounds to ensure strong career sponsorship and improved retention, according to Fidelity.

Rotenberg has also served as a member of BMO’s executive committee since joining in 2010.

When she joins Fidelity, Rotenberg will report to Abigail P. Johnson, Fidelity CEO and chairman, and join the Fidelity Operating Committee.

“Joanna brings to Fidelity a forward thinking, results-driven approach and a passion for the digital experience,” according to Johnson. “She will help us accelerate our digital operating model for the benefit of current clients as well as the next generation of Fidelity customers,” Johnson said in a statement.

Fidelity’s personal investing division services more than 30 million client accounts, the company said. Overall, Fidelity had assets under administration of $11.2 trillion, including discretionary assets of $4.2 trillion, as of July 31, it said.

(Pictured: Joanna Rotenberg)