American Century nabs ex-Fidelity big as new sales chief

Former Fidelity Investments distribution head Peter Cieszko will join American Century Investments on Aug. 1 as senior vice president, North America — a new position. He will be in charge of intermediary and institutional sales, said Michael Green, head of global client relationships. Mr. Cieszko will report to Mr. Green. Mr. Green has been overseeing sales in North America, but as the firm has grown, it has become harder to do this from London, where he is based, Mr. Green said. “The client base in America is changing both in terms of how distribution works and the product set is changing, as is the regulatory environment,” Mr. Green said. “I think it requires someone on the ground in the U.S with the experience that Peter has.” Mr. Cieszko was head of Fidelity Investments Institutional Services Co. Inc. American Century had its best year ever in terms of net inflows in 2010, bringing in $6.3 billion, and is already ahead of target this year, Mr. Green said, declining to elaborate. The firm has $87.5 billion in mutual fund assets. Mr. Cieszko could not comment as per his contract with Fidelity, Mr. Green said. Mr. Cieszko left Fidelity in January after two years. He joined the manager from Evergreen Investments, where he was president and chief executive. In his new role, Mr. Cieszko will oversee a team of 187 people, including David Larrabee, senior vice president of intermediary sales, and Joe Craven, senior vice president of institutional sales. Mr. Cieszko will be based in New York. With the hire of Mr. Cieszko, American Century hopes to expand its sales force in North America but has no immediate hiring plans, Mr. Green said. “The intermediary channel is the most important challenge for the company,” he said. Also with the new hire, Mr. Green will be able to focus all of his efforts on expanding American Century's business abroad. Since establishing the business in April 2009, the firm has set up an office in London and Hong Kong, and has $5 billion in assets. Ultimately, American Century hopes that 10% of the firm's total assets will come from its international business, Mr. Green said. American Century has $112 billion in assets under management.