Fidelity Launches Hub to Assist Advisers’ Organic Growth Strategies

Fidelity introduced what it calls Growth Hub on Monday, a tool featuring over 50 assets designed to help financial advisers in improving their strategies for attracting new clients, broadening existing relationships and growing their firms.

“Providing these on-demand resources allows advisers to take action in a way that best meets their unique goals,” Rohit Mahna, head of client growth at Fidelity Institutional Wealth Management Services, said in a statement. “With the new Growth Hub, we are putting advisers in the driver’s seat, empowering them to take control of their organic growth journey.”

The Hub offers step-by-step guides and on-demand courses, assisting advisers in the prospecting, expansion and scaling of their businesses, according to Boston-based Fidelity. Within the platform, advisers can access resources like tips on executing successful lead-generation strategies or methods for segmenting clients to enhance profitability. Growth Hub is guided by a new thought leadership paper from Fidelity, “Gaining traction with GrowthTech: Leveraging technology to propel your business forward.” The paper provides strategies on how firms can enhance their scale, boost lead generation and leverage front-office technology.

The concept of GrowthTech helps firms create an end-to-end technology stack that addresses front-office operations, according to Gwendaline Mazzara, vice president, senior business consultant at Fidelity Institutional.

“There is an entire ecosystem of tools to help advisers better attract, retain and engage clients in real-time,” said Mazzara in a statement. “This can be a game changer for organic growth, as it helps advisers become less reliant on client referrals, create more personalized interactions and ultimately deepen relationships that can improve share of wallet.”

Fidelity, which is the country’s largest retirement plan recordkeeper, also runs its own financial advisement business and offers services for other advisers. The firm noted in its annual report released in February that workplace retirement plan participant accounts rose 6% in 2023 year-over-year to $43.2 million.  It also reported growth in its own retail accounts of 3% year-over-year to $38.7 million.

The “2023 Fidelity Financial Advisor Community—Growth Tech and AI” survey found 42% of adviser firms identify marketing and business development expansion as a primary focus. There is considerable divergence among firms regarding how and whether they accomplish this goal. Some advisers attribute their growth mainly to market appreciation, whereas others are witnessing substantial increases due to robust organic growth strategies.

The survey found that firms face challenges in implementing their growth strategy, with over half of advisers citing difficulties in acquiring new clients. Businesses highlight that existing clients continue to be a significant lead generation source, contributing to 56% of qualified leads in the previous 12 months. Moreover, 46% of advisers believe their firm possesses “fairly strong” or “advanced” business development capabilities to facilitate the client lifecycle.

Fidelity’s study was an online blind survey fielded from December 6 to 20, 2023. Participants included 414 advisers who managed or advised client assets either individually or as a team and worked primarily with individual investors.