Fidelity will hire 4,000 staff in first half -- a staggering number but a tapering off from 'unprecedented' rate in 2021-2022 that catapulted it to 68,000 employees
The $10.3 trillion giant explains its hiring -- in a layoff environment -- as an RIA-like goal, namely having the human bandwidth to develop 'lifetime' relationships with its 40 million investors
4 min read- Fidelity plans to hire 4,000 new employees in the first half of 2023.
- Growth reflects Fidelity's focus on high-net-worth clients and lifetime relationships.
- Hiring surge supports expansion into wealth management and digital assets.
- Customer service and software engineering roles will see the largest growth.
Brooke's Note: When Fidelity hires 100 people or lets go 25 staff, it's news. When it says it's hiring several thousand, we barely notice because we can't process all that humanity. Fortunately, it did not Chinese balloon its way past Oisin's radar, and so here we are. Does it all relate back to the RIA business? I say it does; Fidelity wants more people so it can move upmarket by delivering “lifetime” relationships, which it acknowledges for now can only be delivered by humans. Presumably, that theory also applies to how Fidelity serves RIAs through its custody (as its recent Kelly Smith hire infers) – as well as how it potentially competes with them as an increasingly sophisticated wealth manager.
Fidelity Investments is tapering its 2021-2022 hiring rate, but it will still hire a staggering 4,000 people by July as it continues to boost its emphasis on service and relationships favored by high-rolling investors.
“Relationships” with high-net-worth investors don't work as well using purely automation and self-direction, says Scott Smith, director of advice relationships at Boston consultancy Cerulli Associates, via email.
“Affluent investors prefer a human element to their advice relationship.”
The Boston broker-dealer started 2023 with a 68,000-staffer headcount. That's a net gain of 8,000 from last February and a jump of 15,000 from Sept. 2021, when the company had 53,000 and said it would add nearly 2,000 staff per month until year's end.
It declined to project what it will amass by July when attrition is factored in.
Fidelity racked up those gains despite paying 2,000 people to leave the company in 2021. See: Fidelity Investments is paying 2,000 employees to hasten their corporate exits, including high-profile RIA overseer, Sanjiv Mirchandani, as part of its shift to a digital future
Fidelity Investments' plan to hire 12,000 by October hit wall of macro-headwinds; no problem, it landed at 15,000; Schwab keeps hiring, too
Furious expansion
That historic Fidelity hiring frenzy – equal to about a TD Ameritrade-and-a-half in about 16 months – reflected a perfect storm on Devonshire Street in Boston.
Fidelity needed to keep up with market-fueled growth from existing garden-variety advice and investment products to discount brokerage, 401(k) servicing, RIA custody and mutual fund management.
The need is compounded by the firm's furious expansion into exotic realms of digital assets and a shift toward mainstream use of avatars.
"Fidelity continues to prioritize long-term investments over short-term gains, and that includes investing in our workforce to better-serve our customers,” says a company spokesman, in an email exchange with RIABiz.
Yet, bigger than all that is Fidelity's zeal in its pivot to upmarket wealth management and a “lifetime relationship” mentality – hence the need for human bandwidth.
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“Fidelity’s unprecedented year-over-year employee growth is a definitive statement of our commitment to establish and grow lifetime relationships with our customers,” the spokesman says.
Customer service
Fidelity lands RIA whisperer from Schwab in a coup, apparently using quality-of-life perks as lure
Last year, Fidelity smashed its target of 12,000 hires.
It added 14,800 staff -- mostly in “client-facing” positions -- by Oct. 2022. See: Fidelity Investments' plan to hire 12,000 by October hit wall of macro-headwinds; no problem.
The company declined to provide a projected year-end headcount.
Most of Fidelity's new hires fill customer service openings, as with previous rounds, the company confirmed.
Software engineering roles will account for the second largest area expansion, and Fidelity will also hire new staff in marketing, operations, finance and product management, the company said.
Some hires don't fulfill rote roles so much as execute strategy, says Smith.
"[These hires] allow Fidelity to keep strategic initiatives in motion even during periods of market volatility," he explains. See: Fidelity files for vast trademark protection as it readies Fidelity 3.0.
Faces old and new
Fidelity just poached family office relationship manager Kelly Smith, a much loved executive from archrival Schwab.See: Fidelity lands RIA whisperer from Schwab in a coup, apparently using quality-of-life perks as lure.
Fidelity's crypto business, Fidelity Digital Assets, however, has yet to appoint a replacement for Chris Tyrer, the head of its institutional cryptocurrency business, who left the firm Jan. 31.
“We wish him every success in his next chapter,” says a company spokesman, who confirms Fidelity is working on appointing a replacement.
Fidelity's new hires will also replace recently promoted staff and associates who have recently left Fidelity, the company confirmed.
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