Fidelity Investments three brokerage units: Fidelity Retail Brokerage, Fidelity Institutional Wealth ServicesSM and National Financial, added 18.3 million accounts, a 4 % increase compared to last year.
Daily average commissionable trades of the units reached 437,899 in the third quarter of 2008 with 19 up. The total ending client assets of three units resulted in $1.778 trillion with $18.4 billion in net new client assets under administration.
Third quarter of 2008 was prosperous for Fidelity Investments projects. Among them are Practice Management Program, Fidelity PracticePerks, offered by Fidelity Institutional Wealth Services with addition of 75 product and service providers to PracticePerks1, including DentalPlans.comsm, Laserfiche and Citrix GoToMyPC. The service delivers online marketplace that offers preferred pricing and access to essential business services from third-party retailers and service providers. More than 550 RIA firms have signed up to use this product.
Fidelity Institutional Wealth Services launched new Web-based e-signature capability that allow advisors and their clients to sign documents electronically, including Fidelity and advisor-specific forms. The quantity of assets doubled during the first nine months of 2008 bringing nearly $9 billion to the Fidelity platform due to breakaway brokers that chose Fidelity as the custodian for their newly established independent RIA firms.
Retail Brokerage completed the facilitation of cash flow projection integrating it with a rolling 12-month projected cash-flow of bond and CD interest and principal. National Financial enhanced client segment adding eight new broker/dealer firms to its client roster, seven of which are independent broker/dealers.
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