Fidelity Brokerage's client assets up 21%
Fidelity Brokerage Co.'s total client assets rose 21 percent to $1.7 trillion last year, the company said today.
Fidelity credited growth in retirement services and new alliances.
The brokerage, the industry's biggest by assets, also said 2007 has started off on a strong note.
"So far we are optimistic. We are expecting a very strong retirement season," said Ellyn McColgan, president of Fidelity Brokerage, referring to the year's first quarter, which usually sees the bulk of flows into retirement accounts.
The firm will be introducing more enhancements to retirement tools, she added.
Boston-based Fidelity is privately held.
The 21 percent growth in assets in 2006 is slightly lower than the 27 percent growth Fidelity saw in 2005 over the previous year, when it had a lower asset base.
Net new retail client assets, which include sales of Fidelity and non-Fidelity mutual funds and individual securities, rose 50 percent in 2006, to $65.4 billion, the firm said.
McColgan said that besides retirement flows, flows into money market products were strong. Total retail assets at the end of 2006 were $795 billion.
Fidelity's institutional clearing business saw new client assets drop 47 percent to $56.8 billion in 2006 as the firm had some big new clients come on in the previous year. Institutional adviser new assets fell 5 percent, to $42.2 billion.
At the end of 2006, total assets in the institutional clearing and adviser businesses stood at $649 billion and $253 billion, respectively.
Fidelity's market share of trades in the retail and adviser business grew to 19.4 percent at the end of December from about 17 percent a year earlier, it said. Total client accounts grew 4 percent to 17.1 million.
(Reuters)
