New Hampshire to reap 1,200 new jobs in Fidelity’s latest hiring spree

This is the third consecutive year that Fidelity has added a significant number of jobs at its Merrimack campus.

Fidelity Investments Inc., already one of the largest employers in New Hampshire, is about to become even larger.

The massive investment firm announced Thursday that it plans to add 1,200 jobs at its Merrimack campus – one-tenth of a total 12,000 jobs that the company said it will add worldwide.

It’s the third consecutive year that Fidelity has added a significant number of jobs in Merrimack, which is already home to about 6,500 employees.

According to Joe Murray, vice president of government relations and public affairs in Merrimack, the company expect to add the jobs between now and the end of the third quarter, primarily customer-facing and technology positions.

The latest hiring spree comes “in response to our continued customer engagement and to stay ahead of emerging customer needs, putting us on track for a third consecutive year of record hiring,” Murray said.

Since the pandemic, the company has grown significantly. In 2020, it had 49,000 jobs worldwide, and by the end of 2021, that number grew to 57,000. The addition of the new jobs will bring total employment to 69,000 worldwide – nearly a 20 percent jump from the beginning of 2021.

The company also announced new employee training initiatives geared toward opening up a wider array of career paths and exposing interested associates to cryptocurrency and blockchain work.

“We know that people are looking for flexibility, variety and the freedom to explore areas of interest, and Fidelity can offer that,” said Kirsten Kuykendoll, Fidelity’s head of talent acquisition, in a press release. “Our new career development programs help associates explore what’s next in their careers, learn skills for the future and improve on processes across our businesses that will make an impact on peoples’ lives.”

The company also said that the latest manpower boost could bolster its investment in digital platforms at a time of increased customer interest in cryptocurrency and direct indexing.

The announcement came a day after Fidelity, the top 401(k) provider in the U.S., unveiled plans to offer bitcoin as an investment option, marking the first time cryptocurrency is available for retirement savings plans.

The firm manages 401(k) plans for more than 20 million people across 23,000 companies. Fidelity has $11.3 trillion assets under administration, including discretionary assets of $4.2 trillion.

Fidelity in 2021 reported revenue surpassing $24 billion, a 15% year-over-year increase, along with another record year for profits, with $8.1 billion in operating income.