Fidelity's head of RIA client growth to step down

Fidelity Investments is reshuffling the leadership at its RIA custody and clearing business as Rohit Mahna, head of client growth at Fidelity Institutional Wealth Management Services, is set to exit the company by the end of the year.

The Boston-based financial services firm has confirmed it is promoting Marc Squires, head of clearing sales and relationship management, and Trevor Norton, head of custody sales and relationship management, to assume Mahna's responsibilities, according to multiple reports.

Mahna joined Fidelity from Salesforce in January 2022, stepping into a role vacated by his predecessor Sanjiv Mirchandani. Mirchandani, who had spent 27 years with Fidelity, left the firm in June 2021 as it offered buyout packages to strategically cull its workforce by about 4%.

Mahna came on board under the leadership of Mike Durbin, who ended his 14-year tenure with Fidelity in 2023 to become CEO at Cetera.

During his tenure, Mahna oversaw the company's clearing and custody operations serving wealth management firms and institutional clients. It remains unclear whether he is moving to another firm.

Squires brings nearly three decades of tenure at Fidelity, having joined in 1997 and gone through progressively senior roles. 

Norton's path to the role is less linear. He worked at Fidelity from 1998 to 2008, then spent several years at LPL Financial where he headed RIA Services, before returning to Fidelity in 2011. Apart from his role as head of custody, Norton has been head of RIA and family office at Fidelity since 2023.

Together, the pair brings what a Fidelity spokeswoman characterized as "combined 50+ years of experience leading relationship management and sales teams, offering a unique understanding of our clients' needs."

As of the third quarter, Fidelity oversaw $17.5 trillion in assets under administration – a 17% increase compared to the same period last year. The firm also serves more than 3,500 advisory firms and oversees 8.7 million brokerage accounts across its clients.

As of June 30 last year, Fidelity Institutional Wealth Management Services reported 8.7 million brokerage accounts and more than 3,500 advisory firms served, with $3.9 trillion in assets under administration.