Fidelity Investments Adding Eight Reps To Help Trust Departments with

Fidelity Investments is beefing up its unit that helps private banking and trust departments sell mutual funds.

The nation's largest mutual fund company is in the process of hiring eight sales representatives to work directly with trust and investment officers, said Richard R. Tinervin, Fidelity's executive vice president in charge of trust departments.

The move is part of the Boston-based fund company's strategy to penetrate bank trust departments, which are increasingly adding mutual funds to their menu of investment choices.

"We've got so many people to reach at a bank trust department, but we haven't had the resources to help them," said Mr. Tinervin.

Fidelity, which manages $324 billion in assets, holds $23 billion in assets for bank trust departments, and expects that to grow 23% next year, Mr. Tinervin said.

Mr. Tinervin's branch of the fund firm is part of Fidelity Investments' Institutional Services Division, which focuses on fund sales to financial advisers.

The new salespeople will help these officers conduct investment seminars to customers. They will also teach sales approaches to corporations seeking 401(k) plans and cash management services.

Four of these sales representatives will target the nation's largest 116 banks. They will report to Kathleen M. Lewis, who was recently hired away from Dreyfus Corp.

At Dreyfus, she oversaw the sales representatives that targeted banks, brokerages, and insurance companies, Mr. Tinervin said.

Another four sales representatives at Fidelity will target community banks, and report to Jack Callahan, national sales manager, community banks.

Currently, Fidelity has 27 employees under Mr. Tinervin, but they don't work directly with investment officers.

They help executives design 401(k) retirement plans, develop strategies for private and corporate trust departments, and build efficient back- office operations.

Mr. Tinervin also said he is seeking an additional eight telemarketers who will regularly call trust officers to promote Fidelity services and mutual funds.

Fidelity has also created a new fund for its Advisor Funds family that it will pitch to trust departments. The fund invests in large capitalization stocks, Mr. Tinervin said.

The firm recently made its Advisor Funds, which are sold by stockbrokers, available to trust departments.

For reprint and licensing requests for this article, click here.
MORE FROM AMERICAN BANKER