Fidelity Study Reveals Why High-Net-Worth Investors Seek Advice

BOSTON, October 27, 2003 -- As advisors begin to develop their business and marketing plans for next year, insight into why high-net-worth investors first seek professional advice can play a key role in helping them create a well-targeted strategy to grow their business.

According to Wealth & Advice -- a blind study commissioned by Fidelity Investments that compares the attitudes, needs and perceptions of both high-net-worth investors and advisors that cater to this audience -- affluent investors first seek the services of an advisor because they have reached a milestone in their lives, usually achieving a certain level of wealth. Many advisors, however, express a strong belief that an investors' dissatisfaction with managing their own investments prompts them to seek professional advice. Unhappy with handling their own investments ranked as the sixth most important factor for affluent investors.

"In today's market environment, the needs of high-net-worth investors continue to evolve and become more sophisticated," said Jay Lanigan, president, Fidelity Registered Investment Advisor Group. "Having a more detailed understanding of client expectations and priorities can help advisors strengthen and evolve their client interactions, while providing the flexibility to expand their businesses by attracting and cultivating new relationships."

Just as there are key motivating factors when first seeking an advisor, there are also deciding factors when selecting one. According to the Fidelity-commissioned study, in choosing an advisor, affluent investors most want to be confident of the advisor's integrity, objectivity and experience. On the importance of these qualities, investors and advisors agree.

The study also reveals that both advisors and high-net-worth clients are in broad agreement that referrals from a friend or another professional services firm are the most popular means of initiating a new relationship - not outreach on the part of the advisor. Yet the two audiences differ in their perception as to whether or not a referral on its own will "seal the deal." While advisors appear to believe that once clients are referred to them, they have won the business, affluent clients view a referral as merely the first step in their decision-making process.

PracticeAdvantage

To help advisors effectively market and manage their practices, Fidelity offers PracticeAdvantage, a comprehensive network of: practice management resources designed to help better manage operations; business building tools and programs; and discounted products and services available through a network of more than 50 strategic alliances. Alliance categories include marketing, lead generation, risk management, business services, technology, and research and continuing education. Some of the marketing resources available include:

•		Fidelity Advisor AccessSM1. Available at no cost to registered investment advisors who meet certain eligibility requirements, the program matches investors who are looking for ongoing, discretionary investment management utilizing individual securities with advisors in their local area. Since its introduction, the referral program's 130 participating advisors have closed more than $1.3 billion in assets with an average account size of over $1 million.
•		PracticeMark. A comprehensive online program that helps advisors develop customized, integrated marketing plans.
•		BestPractices. An ongoing series of conferences that provide advisors insights into key practice management and wealth management issues, as well as some practical, actionable strategies that advisors can implement in their daily businesses.

About Wealth & Advice

The Wealth & Advice study was conducted online by Harris Interactive for Fidelity Investments and HNW. Interviewing was conducted between March 6-17, 2003 among 510 affluent investors who have more than $1 million in non-retirement investable assets and who work with a financial advisor, while interviewing among 320 financial advisors who have a significant proportion of high-net-worth individuals in their client base was conducted between March 6-24, 2003².

About Fidelity Registered Investment Advisor Group

Fidelity is the second largest provider of custody and brokerage services to the registered investment advisor marketplace, with over $86 billion in assets on behalf of more than 1900 advisors as of August 31, 2003. Fidelity provides access to a flexible, open technology environment, extensive practice management resources, and wealth management investments and services--all backed by the long-term commitment of a private company. Dedicated relationship professionals work consultatively to help advisors choose the products and services that may be in the best interests of their clients and make the most sense for their business. For more information about Fidelity's services for advisors, please visit http://ria.fidelity.com.

About Fidelity Investments

Fidelity Investments is one of the world's largest providers of financial services, with custodied assets of $1.6 trillion, including managed assets of $906.0 billion as of August 31, 2003. Fidelity offers investment management, retirement planning, brokerage, human resources and benefits outsourcing services to 18 million individuals and institutions as well as through 5,500 financial intermediaries. The firm is the largest mutual fund company in the United States, the No. 1 provider of workplace retirement savings plans, one of the largest mutual fund supermarkets and a leading online brokerage firm. For more information about Fidelity Investments, visit www.Fidelity.com.

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¹ Advisors must meet certain criteria to qualify for the program.
² Data for the affluent sample were weighted for age, gender, education, race/ethnicity, and region to reflect the U.S. affluent population. "Propensity score" weighting was also used to adjust for respondents' propensity to be online. Data for the advisors sample was weighted using propensity score weighting. In theory, with probability samples of these sizes, one could say with 95 percent certainty that the results for the affluent sample have a statistical precision of +/-4 percentage points of what they would be if the entire affluent population who have advisors had been polled with complete accuracy, and the results for the advisors sample have a statistical precision of +/-6 percentage points of what they would be if the entire advisor population who have affluent clients had been polled with complete accuracy. This online sample is not a probability sample.

HNW and Harris Interactive are independent companies and are not affiliated with Fidelity Investments.

Clearing, custody or other brokerage services may be provided by National Financial Services LLC or Fidelity Brokerage Services, LLC. Members NYSE, SIPC.