Fidelity Investments, reacting to a surge in demand for financial advice, announced in early April that it plans to hire 4,000 new licensed representatives, technologists and customer service reps in more than 20 new markets. The company said the move will add 10% to its workforce and further strengthen its ability to meet customer service demands.
Over half of the positions are expected to be filled by midyear, Fidelity said. The announcement comes after a year of accelerated growth at the privately held financial services giant, which had assets under administration of $10.2 trillion and 35 million customers as of February 28. Last year, Fidelity increased the number of client-facing associates by 77% to meet the demands of what the company said has been unprecedented customer growth and engagement.
“Growing our U.S. footprint and expanding our technology teams will allow us to source diverse and innovative talent to meet our customers’ changing financial needs today and in the future,” said Mark Barlow, general manager of personal investing at Fidelity Investments, in a press release.
Barlow said the company is expanding into more than 20 new markets to access diverse pools of licensed financial planners, adding about 1,000 remote licensed professionals in Seattle; Los Angeles; San Diego; Phoenix; Houston; Minneapolis; Chicago; Atlanta; Tampa, Fla.; Charlotte, N.C.; Orlando, Fla.; Miami; Philadelphia; Detroit; Baltimore; Richmond, Va.; Washington D.C.; and the Tri-State Area of New Jersey, New York and Connecticut.
“By introducing new roles in these geographic areas, Fidelity will widen the reach of its investor centers to ensure continued success in meeting growing customer demand,” the company said.
The hiring is part of Fidelity’s strategy to anticipate staffing needs for retail, workplace and intermediary customers. The effort will also increase the number of technologists at Fidelity charged with creating digital solutions for customers by 10%, the company said. New hires will include full-stack software engineers, data scientists and mobile/iOS engineers. “With a nearly 60% year-over-year increase in digital interactions on Fidelity’s retail mobile and web platforms, these new [staff members] will work in an agile environment to design, build and drive digital solutions for individual investors,” the company said. The roles will be based in Boston; Durham, N.C.; Merrimack, N.H.; Smithfield, R.I.; and Westlake, Texas.
Fidelity also plans to hire 2,500 new client-facing associates, including financial consultants and customer service representatives supporting retail, workplace and intermediary clients throughout Fidelity’s existing U.S. locations.
Early in 2020, Fidelity accelerated hiring to maintain current and future service levels and to respond to increased call volumes, primarily driven by market uncertainty and customer demand, and record high volumes of new accounts among registered investment advisors that custody their assets with Fidelity, the company said. Fidelity hired 7,200 new U.S. associates last year, 5,150 of which were in client-facing positions.