Fidelity Investments is a privately-owned investment management company that was established in 1946 as a mutual fund company. Fidelity now offers a range of services including fund distribution and investment advice, wealth management, life insurance, retirement services, and securities execution and clearance. It manages equity, fixed income, and balanced mutual funds for individual investors, businesses, financial advisors, and institutional investors.

Based in Boston, Massachusetts, it is one of the largest investment management firms in the United States, with over 26 million customers, $6.5 trillion in total customer assets, and more than $2.4 trillion in global assets under management

History of Fidelity Investments

The Fidelity Fund was established in 1930, a year after the stock market crash of 1929 and before the Great Depression of 1933. The fund continued to operate until 1943 when it was acquired by Boston-based lawyer Edward C. Johnson II. At the time, the fund reported assets under management valued at $3 million. In 1946, Johnson II founded the Fidelity Management and Research Company, now Fidelity Investments, to serve as an investment advisor to the Fidelity Fund. When running the fund, Johnson’s objective was to buy stocks with a potential for growth, and not necessarily blue-chip stocks.

Fidelity Investments Operations

Fidelity Investments operates several businesses, with the main ones being mutual funds and brokerage services. The mutual fund division comprises three divisions – equity, high-income, and fixed income divisions. The company operates Fidelity Contrafund, the largest non-indexed mutual fund in the United States, with over $107.4 billion in assets. Fidelity Investments also owns Fidelity Magellan, which was at one time managed by former CEO and President Ned Johnson. Fidelity Magellan manages assets totaling $15.5 billion.