Fidelity Reveals New FidelityConnect Website for Advisers

Fidelity is rolling out a new adviser website called FidelityConnect—explained by the firm as its next generation adviser interface created with the direct input of experienced, boots-on-the-ground advisers.

Phil Chisholm, vice president of defined contribution product management at Fidelity, stepped PLANADVISER through the new website features, suggesting that the easy-to-use dashboard will provide advisers a “complete book-of-business snapshot of all their defined contribution (DC) plans recordkept with Fidelity. It also improves upon the plan-level analytics that advisers have come to depend on from the firm.”

As Chisholm explains, FidelityConnect is already being piloted with a number of Fidelity adviser clients and is expected to be fully available during the first quarter of 2017.

“To understand the work style and needs of clients, Fidelity’s User Experience Design (UXD) team met with more than 150 retirement advisers, learning how much time they spend researching investments, compiling reports and navigating the existing site,” Chisholm says.

According to Fidelity, retirement advisers and consultants first and foremost expressed the need for a single view into their entire book of business with Fidelity. In response, Fidelity designed a personalized executive summary with three organizational tabs breaking down the book of business by plans, investments and compensation.

“Behind the home page is plan-level information to help advisers view and evaluate individual plan statistics and design, investments held, compensation, and contact information for sponsor clients,” Chisholm notes. “These pages leverage Fidelity’s Executive Insights to offer advisers the same actionable intelligence and benchmarking sponsors benefit from today. With a couple clicks, an adviser can see all the plans and participants invested in a single fund across their book of business, plus their performance and assets.”

Fidelity suggests the new website can also assist advisers in formulating their response to the Department of Labor (DOL) fiduciary rulemaking.

“New regulations could put even more pressure on an adviser’s time with retirement plan clients,” Chisholm warms. “FidelityConnect will give them greater access and control over a client’s plan design and investments.”

More information for advisers is at www.fidelity.com/about.