We all need something to motivate us to show up to work each day – to have a purpose, to feel engaged and fulfilled. For some, it's our coworkers. For others, it's our clients. It might even be our company's mission.
For Alex, a Financial Consultant at Fidelity Investments, it's the tremendous sense of camaraderie she feels in Fidelity's Financial Planning Offices. We had the pleasure of speaking with Alex as she explained the truly collaborative nature that is inherent in all aspects of her work, which she summed up in one sentence, "You can go fast alone, or you can go far together."
As we learned more from Alex, this is what makes Fidelity unique and helps drive several key things that make her work even better.
- A sophisticated financial planning approach that allows Fidelity's consultants to deliver highly customized solutions when helping clients reach their financial goals.
- An open architecture format which connects her to a network of firms and range of assets that helps ensure her financial advice evolves with the ever-changing industry.
- The collaboration and collective intelligence resulting from strong resources, support, training that Fidelity's team environment offers.
Read on to learn more about Alex's experience as a woman in finance, and how you can go far in your career with Fidelity.
If this article inspires you, don't forget to check out Fidelity's open roles here!
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1. Sophisticated Financial Planning
Fidelity offers their associates the customized tools necessary to deliver sophisticated financial planning advice. This is pivotal for Fidelity associates and clients alike: consultants are empowered to develop strategies that are tailored to each individual client, and clients can advocate for their specific needs, rather than settling for a one-size-fits-all solution.
"Ultimately, clients define success, and associates are armed with the cutting-edge tools and technology necessary to work toward achieving that vision. As the industry shifts and technology changes, Fidelity wants to be in a constant state of evolution to ensure our clients are always receiving the best experience possible," Alex said.
According to Alex, even the compensation model for associates supports the idea that success is measured by the customer's success. "Our compensation model is broken into four parts – salary, growth and retention of client assets, implementation of long-term plans, and client satisfaction.
"This model ensures that we are on the same side of the table as the client."
2. Open Architecture
Fidelity empowers consultants to put clients first. The company is focused on making sure their customers get the most out of their investments and their relationship with Fidelity by providing needs-based financial planning and wealth management expertise.
This structure allows for associates to utilize different offerings and technology in order to develop the strategy best suited for a particular client, without being tied to a set of pre-approved approaches. In this way, Financial Consultants draw upon a wealth of resources and insights to set each individual investor up for success.
This "needs-based" approach has allowed Alex "to be a great resource to every client – no matter the type of investor or their need for support. Even if a client requests a specific strategy or a more tailored approach than our offerings, we have a network of partner firms we can bring in to meet those demands"
Fidelity's open architecture has helped Alex excel with sophisticated traders and independent clients alike and has allowed her to focus primarily on the client and their concerns, and most importantly, this all leads to building client trust, and results in long term relationships.
"An open architecture means Fidelity is always adding more to its platform, and it is a great feeling as an advisor to know your clients will never outgrow Fidelity."
3. Resources, Support, Training & Teamwork
Fidelity equips their employees with the resources, support, training, & teamwork that enables long-term growth.
How? Fidelity employees get world-class training programs and a mindset built on investing in employees. The culture at each of Fidelity's Financial Planning Offices is centered around community and a team-focused environment. Alex thinks of them as collaboration hubs, where employees support and encourage each other in producing upper-echelon strategies that garner results.
There are three main ways associates receive training: in-office coaching, off-site trainings, and phone/web-based training. And the best part is, it's ongoing.
"While many other companies only focus on the training at the front-end of a career, Fidelity wants it to be continuous for each associate," she explained. The company is constantly investing in their workforce and the industry is constantly changing, which is why training and learning never truly ends.
In addition to these ongoing training opportunities, Alex highlighted the support she receives from her team, which helps ensure long-term success.
"Every advisor and associate are willing to help one another and, most importantly, support one another's success. We recognize that we all have different strengths and it's important to come together to further our own knowledge and development."
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It is clear from Alex's story that Fidelity is an employer of choice because ultimately, they invest generously in their workforce and provide the tools necessary to deliver excellent solutions for their clients. If Fidelity sounds like a place you want to take the next step in your career, apply today!
