Fidelity Investments: Religious Affiliations Of The Company's Owners

The Johnson family, who founded Fidelity Investments in 1946, are still the majority shareholders, owning 49% of the company. The current CEO, Abigail Johnson, is the granddaughter of the founder, Edward Johnson II, and she succeeded her father, Edward Johnson III, in 2014. The remaining 51% of the company is owned by various Fidelity employees and ex-employees. Forbes estimates the family's net worth at $26 billion, making them the 9th-richest family in the United States.

The Johnson family owns 49% of Fidelity Investments

The Johnson family owns 49% of the multinational financial services corporation Fidelity Investments, formerly known as Fidelity Management & Research (FMR). The company was established in 1946 by Edward C. Johnson II, the grandfather of the current CEO, Abigail Johnson. Abigail is the third generation of her family to run the company, taking over from her father, Edward "Ned" Johnson III, in 2014.

As one of the largest asset management firms in the world, Fidelity Investments has approximately $4.2 trillion to $5.8 trillion in assets under management. The company operates a brokerage firm, manages mutual funds, provides fund distribution and investment advice, and offers a range of financial services to millions of individual and institutional investors.

The Johnson family's ownership of Fidelity Investments has brought significant wealth and influence. Abigail Johnson, with an estimated wealth of $35.6 billion as of June 2024, is considered one of the world's wealthiest women. The family's private investments, managed through entities like F-Prime Capital Partners, have generated substantial gains, although there have been concerns about potential conflicts of interest with Fidelity's mutual funds.

The Johnson family's stake in Fidelity Investments makes them significant players in the financial industry, and their decisions and investments have a substantial impact on the market and the returns of Fidelity's fund shareholders.

The Johnson family has a private venture capital arm

The Johnson family, founders of Fidelity Investments, has a private venture capital arm called F-Prime Capital Partners. This arm has been described as directly competing with Fidelity Investments' public funds, creating a conflict of interest.

F-Prime Capital Partners is a private venture fund run for the Johnson family, which owns 49% of Fidelity Investments. The fund has generated gains of up to 6,000% on pre-IPO deals, which the Fidelity funds in which millions of Americans invest cannot access due to this conflict.

An example of this conflict of interest can be seen in the case of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc, a biotech start-up. In 2011 and 2012, F-Prime Capital invested a total of $11 million in Ultragenyx before its initial public offering (IPO). This pre-IPO investment prevented Fidelity's mutual funds from making the same play due to US securities laws, which prohibit affiliated entities from buying substantial stakes in the same companies simultaneously.

As a result, the managers of Fidelity's public funds had to wait until after Ultragenyx's stock price skyrocketed during its IPO in January 2014. They paid an average price of $41.17 per share, 12 times higher than the $3.55 paid by F-Prime Capital. This dynamic resulted in lower returns for Fidelity fund shareholders.

Fidelity's response to this situation is that it follows all laws and regulations regarding potential conflicts of interest and has internal guidelines to ensure its mutual funds comply with relevant legal and regulatory restrictions.

The Johnson family's private venture capital arm has generated significant wealth for the family, with Forbes estimating their net worth at $26 billion, making them the 9th-richest family in the United States.

F-Prime Capital Partners is run on behalf of the Johnson family

F-Prime Capital Partners is a private venture capital firm run on behalf of the Johnson family, the owners of Fidelity Investments.

Fidelity Investments, founded in 1946, is an American multinational financial services corporation based in Boston, Massachusetts. The company is one of the largest asset managers in the world, with trillions of dollars in assets under management.

The Johnson family has a long history with Fidelity Investments. Edward C. Johnson II served as president of the company when it was known as Fidelity Management & Research (FMR). His son, Edward "Ned" Johnson III, is the current chairman of FMR and has been with the company for decades. Abigail Johnson, the current president, CEO, and chairman of Fidelity Investments, is the third generation of the family to lead the company.

F-Prime Capital Partners was established to manage the investments of the Johnson family and other key leaders of Fidelity Investments. It has been described as directly competing with Fidelity Investments' public funds, creating a conflict of interest. This is because F-Prime Capital Partners is able to make investments at a much lower price than Fidelity Investments due to SEC regulations that prohibit affiliated entities from buying substantial stakes in the same companies simultaneously.

F-Prime Capital Partners focuses on creating and investing in healthcare and technology companies that have a global impact. They have a particular interest in therapeutics, medtech, and health IT and services. The firm has offices in Cambridge, Massachusetts; London, UK; and San Francisco, California.

The Johnson family's private investments through F-Prime Capital Partners have generated billions of dollars in gains over the years, contributing to their significant wealth.

Abigail Johnson is the current CEO of Fidelity Investments

Abigail Pierrepont Johnson, born on December 19, 1961, is the current CEO of Fidelity Investments. Johnson has served as CEO of the company since 2014, taking over from her father, Edward "Ned" Johnson III. She is the third generation of her family to lead the company, which was founded by her grandfather, Edward C. Johnson II, in 1946.

Johnson owns an estimated 24.5% to 28.5% stake in the firm, which manages discretionary assets totalling $5.5 trillion as of June 2024. She is a board member of Breakthrough Energy Ventures and was ranked eighth on Forbes' "World's 100 Most Powerful Women" list in 2023. Johnson has a bachelor's degree in art history and an MBA from Harvard Business School. She joined Fidelity Investments in 1988 as an analyst and portfolio manager and has since worked her way up to the top position in the company.

Under Johnson's leadership, Fidelity Investments has embraced cryptocurrencies, launching a platform in 2018 that allows institutional investors to custody and trade bitcoin, ether, and litecoin. The company has also expanded its US footprint and introduced new products and services, such as "Stocks By The Slice," aimed at making investing more accessible and affordable for those with limited funds. Johnson has also overseen significant growth in the company's assets under management, with a 26% increase in 2019 to a record $3.2 trillion.

In addition to her role at Fidelity Investments, Johnson has been actively involved in politics, donating to both Republican and Democratic candidates and causes. She has also served on various boards and committees, including the Committee on Capital Markets Regulation and the board of directors of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA). Johnson is known for her interest in blockchain technology and was an early adopter of digital assets at Fidelity.

Abigail Johnson is the third generation of her family to lead the company

Abigail Johnson is the third generation of her family to lead Fidelity Investments. Johnson's grandfather, Edward Johnson II, founded the company in Boston in 1946. The Johnson family owns 49% of the company, with the remaining 51% owned by employees.

Johnson has been at the helm of Fidelity since 2014, when she took over from her father, Edward "Ned" Johnson III. She has been chairman since 2016. Johnson owns an estimated 28.5% stake in the firm, which manages discretionary assets totalling $5.5 trillion as of June 2024.

Johnson has embraced new technologies during her time as CEO, launching a platform for institutional investors to custody and trade cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ether, and Litecoin. She has also had to adapt to a rapidly changing financial landscape, with the rise of passively managed index funds.

Johnson's leadership has not been without controversy. A 2016 Reuters report highlighted a conflict of interest between the interests of the Johnson family and everyday investors. The Johnson family has a private venture capital arm, F-Prime Capital Partners, which competes directly with Fidelity's mutual funds for lucrative deals. This arrangement has been criticised by corporate governance specialists and securities lawyers as posing a conflict of interest that could potentially lower returns for Fidelity fund shareholders.

Despite these controversies, Johnson seems up to the challenge of leading Fidelity. As she told Forbes, "There's a time that may come in an organization when leading by influence is not enough. When things are not going the way they need to go, there's a time when one has to step up... to set the organization back on the right direction."

Frequently asked questions