Fidelity ? ?

[moosp]

Goathead, don’t get me going here…

Fidelity provides an appalling service to the flight crew of CX. They gained the contract under a dubious selection procedure which was reported locally at the time. A senior representative of a competing American organization, after the award was scathing at the process. I guess he would be as he lost, but the lack of openness in the selection was worrying.

It is almost impossible to talk to anyone in Fidelity above clerical level. The CX staff who are responsible for liaison with them are knowledgeable of the CX procedures but have no knowledge of the underlying product. That they are representing Fidelity with no knowledge of the financial service that they are selling might be an offence other countries.

I have a sum of money that is around 5% of the money in my provident fund that is invested with HSBC. This bank sends me market data, investment advice and product information. They are interested in my money. What do I get from Fidelity with my millions? Sod all. Not even an account executive at the end of a phone to talk to.

Execution is abysmal. If I want to change a fund or add to it, I have to fill out a complex paper fund before the 24th of the month for process at the month end. I then have to wait a further ten or eleven days before the statement comes out, to find out if the transaction has even been completed, and at what price. This long transaction period without transparency leads me to a suspicion that sales and purchases are delayed to find a price to suit the company, rather than the client.

For example if I had HK$5000 in a private fund with Fidelity I would be able to make internet transactions daily, with execution within two to five days, which is normal for fund management. Transparent and traceable. Why can we not have a similar system, paid for by the millions of dollars of CX funds?

The performance of Fidelity is woeful. As an example a AUD cash account gives 50% of the interest that I have seen offered by a respected Oz deposit taking company. Their bond performance seems to me to be below market, perhaps because of the transaction fees that they take. I shall not go deeply into their equity funds but as we all know they are variable, lack broad currency selection and are geographically restricted.

For the amount that the average pilot has invested in Fidelity, the company should be beating a path to our door. When I finally found a manager from Fidelity, socially as it happened which is maybe the only way to find them, I advised her that as soon as I was able to take my money out of Fidelity I would be off like a cut cat. She was non-plussed and implied that there was always money coming in to this cash cow, so why should she worry?

The Provident Fund should be put out to tender every, say, five years, to ensure competition and fairness in the management of what is the largest sum of money that most of us will ever see. Unfortunately as Butterfield Trust (Bermuda) are the trustees, being a Swire company I find it difficult to believe that there is a motivation for change.

I believe that we are being ripped off royally by Fidelity, and that the sooner the fund is put out for tender the better.