(Bloomberg) — Fidelity Investments is a money management behemoth. But its hiring plans more closely resemble a hungry startup.
The Boston-based fund manager will add 12,000 new jobs by the end of the third quarter, it said Thursday — a spree that puts it on track to expand headcount by more than 50% in three years. The firm already has 57,000 staff, and discretionary assets of $4.2 trillion.
Fidelity’s expansion shows that scale is key in the competitive world of investing. Just a few giants dominate the sector: BlackRock Inc. and Vanguard Group clash with Fidelity at the top of the industry, each overseeing trillions apiece. Among brokerage firms, Charles Schwab Corp. has about 34,000 staff, buoyed by its acquisition of rival TD Ameritrade.
Founded in 1946, Fidelity’s been making moves to adapt to changing investor demands. In recent years it has recruited new technology talent, jumped into digital asset custody and joined the race to lower costs on index-based investments that are gathering popularity with investors.
It’s a strategy that’s paid off for the closely-held company, which is controlled by the Johnson family. Last year revenue rose 15% to $24 billion, while operating income climbed 13% to $8.1 billion. The Bloomberg Billionaires Index calculated in March that Fidelity was worth $74.8 billion based on data in its annual report — an increase of $12 billion year-on-year.
“Fidelity has been around for over 75 years. This strength and stability allows us to make critical investments back into our business, including continued hiring as well as the ability to offer our associates exciting and varied career opportunities,” said Kirsten Kuykendoll, head of talent acquisition at Fidelity.
The latest hiring will be across all job functions, Fidelity said in an emailed statement — 69% in customer-facing positions, and 14% in technology roles. The firm made 16,600 new hires last year, and 7,200 in 2020.
Fidelity’s announcement came in the same week that online brokerage Robinhood Markets Inc. — a Silicon Valley startup that’s trying to upend Wall Street’s traditional firms — said it would cut 9% of its 3,800 staff.
Fidelity also said Thursday that it had 33.5 million brokerage accounts by the end of the first quarter, a 14% increase compared with the year-ago period, and a 3% increase from the previous three-month period.
Amid its recent success, the company has been launching new business lines. It started a new unit, Fidelity Diversifying Solutions, that is focused on liquid alternatives — products that offer regular investors access to hedge-fund like strategies. The entity is hiring staff and rolling out offerings, its president, Vadim Zlotnikov, said in late March.
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