Fidelity Pulls Back Curtain on Advisor K Plan Enhancements

According to a news release, Fidelity made the enhancements to its Premium Service Program offered through financial advisors to small- and mid-sized firms. The program has more than 1,800 plans and $8.5 billion in assets in the program as of August 2003.

The changes include an automated rollover feature that can help advisors identify participants who are rolling assets out of Fidelity’s advisor-sold 401(k) or profit sharing plans because of a job change or retirement.   The Fidelity Advisor Rollover Program delivers to the participant an explanatory Fidelity Advisor IRA Rollover Kit, which includes a pre-filled application as well as contact information for the advisor associated with the participant’s plan.   A weekly e-mail identifying participants who were mailed kits is sent to advisors who are the broker of record on the plan.

Fidelity also has widened the parameters of its advisor-sold Premium and Premium 100 401(k) programs to provide advisors with increased opportunity for new business.   The Premium Service Program now allows advisors to offer a fully bundled 401(k) plan to businesses with 25 to 1,500 participants and $2 million or more in plan assets.   Previously, Premium was available to businesses with 100 to 1,000 participants.   The Premium 100 Service Program now provides a lower-cost plan for businesses with 10 to 150 participants, expanded from 25 to 150.  

Fidelity also has added 18 new mutual fund options to its Premium Service Program, including funds from three fund families new to the program.   Of the 18, eight are new Fidelity Advisor Funds, including Fidelity Advisor Freedom, Fidelity Advisor International Small Cap and Fidelity Advisor New Insights funds.   With the addition of these fund families and funds, Fidelity offers 125 fund options from 21 fund families.  The new Fidelity Advisor Funds are also now available in the Premium 100 Service Program.