AUA: $62 billion
Employees: 67
Fiduciary Investment Advisors LLC in Windsor, Conn., aims to keep employees engaged and working together as a team, so much so that in May it remodeled its workspaces to remove physical walls.
That effort and others have pushed the firm to its third consecutive win in Pensions & Investments' Best Places to Work in Money Management program.
To foster collaboration, the firm moved staff members to an open, bright environment with stand-up desks. "People love it," said President Mark Wetzel.
FIA also introduced additional paid time off for all employees this year. Employees at all levels now have 160 hours annually at their disposal for sick leave or vacation time.
The firm keeps employees engaged with an organizational philosophy that encourages an open-door policy with senior management, employees said.
"The collaborative environment has fostered a team approach, where we all rely on each other to do what is best for each client,'' one employee wrote in the BPTW survey. "We are all happy to lift each other up to provide the best service to clients.''
FIA offers a free lunch for every staff member when a new client is acquired, too.
"In a year, we must have had over 30 lunches for the whole office. It happened this week, too," Mr. Wetzel said. "We try to be creative (with the cuisine)," he added.
Employees also are recognized on work anniversaries, receiving restaurant gift cards after five and 10 years at the company, another employee said.
Involvement in community projects is another focus of the firm. Fiduciary Investment Advisors has supported Connecticut Children's Medical Center by participating every year in a 48-hour long, 200-mile relay charity race, which starts on a Friday and ends on a Sunday, Mr. Wetzel said. In addition to employee participation in the race, the firm also helps with financial contributions, he said.
The $274.6 million Middlebury College Retirement Plan, Middlebury, Vt., was among FIA's new clients in 2017.
"We think our clients appreciate the culture and it certainly resonates with new prospects as well as potential employees," Mr. Wetzel said.
