Two newcomers with hefty resumes have been named to top posts at Fidelity Investments Institutional Services, the company announced recently. Peter Cieszko, former president and CEO of Wachovia's Evergreen Investments, was appointed president of the $270 billion Institutional Services business, and Ed Orazem--former managing director of Citigroup Global Wealth Management--was named president of Fidelity Family Office Services.
In fact, both executives share a background at Citigroup. Prior to joining Evergreen, Cieszko headed U.S. Distribution at Legg Mason, which took over Citigroup Asset Management's $200 billion in AUM and more than $1 billion in annual revenues. At Citigroup, Cieszko headed U.S. Retail and High Net Worth and managed sales, marketing, client service, product development and U.S. business development. He reports to Michael K. Clark, president of Fidelity Institutional Products Group.
Orazem, who joins Fidelity this month, will head Family Office Services which provides cutting-edge technology, products and services to close to 70 ultra-high-net worth family office clients with assets of more than $9 billion. He reports to Charles G. Goldman, president of Institutional Platforms for Fidelity's Institutional Products Group. As of last Sept. 30, Fidelity Institutional Services served more than 1,000 financial institutions and 44,000 advisors.
Headstart
OppenheimerFunds, Inc. has decided to get the jump on the new cost basis reporting law by implementing GainsKeeper's tax lot accounting technology. The new regulation, passed last October as part of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, will apply to stock acquired on or after Jan. 1, 2011, with deadlines for other products to follow.
Said Christine Polak, OppenheimerFunds vice president of operations: "We were impressed with GainsKeeper's ability to provide detailed cost basis and capital gains calculations, allowing us to automate a complex process and have ample lead time to prepare for the new cost basis reporting law."
GainsKeeper, a part of Walters Kluwer Financial Services, provides automated tax-based financial tools and services that enable financial institutions to offer a full range of sophisticated tax lot accounting services. "We are very excited...to help [OppenheimerFunds] stay ahead of the curve in terms of preparing for the new law's effective dates," said Chuck Ross, general manager for GainsKeeper. "Since the law will likely require many firms to undergo significant system overhauls that could take many months, OppenheimerFunds is extremely well-positioned to comply with the law and help investors address challenging cost basis issues," he added.
Information relating to the legislation can be found online at www.costbasisreporting.com.
Women-omics
If you agree with research that shows "Women are business's secret weapon," and are looking for ways to increase your success with professional women, check out newly launched www.Women-omics.com. According to site founder Avivah Wittenberg-Cox, co-author of Why Women Mean Business (Wiley, 2008), the one-stop portal will be the first Web site to make the case for gender balance and the economic power of women. Says Wittenberg-Cox: "This is an economic issue, not a diversity issue."
