Fidelity Adds Alts Resources to Support FAs

Fidelity Investments is expanding its tools to assist financial advisors better comprehend and employ alternative investments.

Fidelity said the tools include proprietary research on third-party alternative strategies, as well as an enlarged thought leadership library. These capabilities are available through Wealthscape, a portal for advisors that was established in 2016.

Advisors can review research on private credit, private real assets, and private equity funds to evaluate and compare a wide range of alts investment strategies.

“Alternative investments are becoming more widely accessible, but many advisors lack the resources to determine how to incorporate them in their portfolios,” said Darby Nielson, CIO within the Fidelity Institutional group.

Fidelity discovered that investment manager research and due diligence are significant impediments to advisors’ acceptance of alternative products. Only 26% of advisors polled were exposed to alternative investment products, compared to 86% of institutional investors.

In the past year, Fidelity launched its first interval fund, Fidelity Multi-Strategy Credit Fund, and its first business development company (BDC). In 2022, it launched Fidelity Hedged Equity Fund (FEQHX), Fidelity Macro Opportunities Fund (FAQAX) and Fidelity Risk Parity Fund (FAPSX), three liquid alts mutual funds available for individual investors and advisors.

Fidelity manages more than $70 billion in alternative investment assets, and its platform integrates with third-party alternative investing platforms CAIS and iCapital.