Fidelity International

FIL Limited
Company typePrivate
IndustryFinancial services
Founded1969
FoundersEdward Johnson, III
Headquarters
Pembroke
,
Bermuda
Key people
Abigail Johnson (Chairman)
Anne Richards (Vice Chairman)
Keith Metters (President)
ProductsInvestment management, mutual funds, ISAs, Pensions, Fund platforms
AUMUS$816.9 billion (31 March 2024)[1]
Number of employees
8,400+ (2020)[2]
SubsidiariesEight Roads Ventures
Websitefidelity.co.uk Edit this at Wikidata

Fidelity International Ltd, or FIL for short, is a company that provides investment management services including mutual funds, pension management and fund platforms to private and institutional investors. Fidelity International was originally established in 1969 as the international investment subsidiary of Fidelity Investments in Boston before being spun out as an independent business in 1980. Since then, it has continued to operate as a private employee-owned company.

History

It was established in 1969[3] as an international investment subsidiary of Fidelity Management & Research, before becoming an independent business in 1980. Today, Fidelity International handles investments for clients in Europe, Canada, EMEA and Asia, while the US-based Fidelity Management and Research handles investments for clients in the USA.

In the same year that it was established, an office was opened in Tokyo,[4] followed by London in 1973,[5] Hong Kong in 1981[6] and Taipei in 1986. In 1990 the first Continental European office was opened in Amsterdam,[7] when a number of Luxembourg funds for Continental Europe and Asia were launched. Expansion has continued, with Fidelity opening an office in India in 2001 and in China in 2004.

In 2012, then Chief Investment Officer Dominic Rossi expressed support for a UK government plan to allow shareholders to veto bonus deals for boardroom members in companies, using what The Guardian called "unusually confrontational language for a major investor more accustomed to operating behind the scenes".[8] Rossi has since campaigned to get UK long-term incentive plans extended from three years to five.[9]

As of 2013, Fidelity employs over 7,000 people in 24 countries around the world;[3] Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bermuda, Brazil, China (including Hong Kong), Dubai, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tunisia and the UK. As of June 30, 2018, London is the company's largest research and investment hub, and the UK is their biggest market.[10]

The company is privately owned; the majority of the company is owned by its employees, though the Johnson family still owns a substantial minority of 39.89% according to regulatory filings.[11]

Services

Fidelity offers its own funds and, through its platforms in a number of countries, other managers’ funds. It currently manages or administers over US$663bn on behalf of private individuals and institutions around the world, offering investors the opportunity to further their medium and long-term investment goals.[12]

Controversial investments

Fidelity International has been a major investor in Hikvision and SenseTime, the former a Chinese surveillance technology manufacturer that was sanctioned in 2019 by the U.S. government for enabling human rights abuses in Xinjiang.[13][14]

References

  1. ^ "About us". www.fidelityinternational.com.
  2. ^ "Selecting FundsNetwork™ as your long-term platform partner" (PDF). FundsNetwork. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-01-13. Retrieved 2021-01-12.
  3. ^ a b Johnson, Steve (15 September 2013). "Fidelity Worldwide scouts beyond the boomers for business". Financial Times. UK. Archived from the original on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 18 December 2013.
  4. ^ "Company Overview of Fidelity Investments Japan Limited". Bloomberg Businessweek. Archived from the original on December 18, 2013. Retrieved 2013-12-18.
  5. ^ "Fidelity succeeds through evolution". Investment Week. UK. 25 February 2002. Archived from the original on 19 December 2013. Retrieved 18 December 2013.
  6. ^ "FIL Investment Management (Hong Kong) Limited". BCTHK. Archived from the original on 2013-12-19. Retrieved 2013-12-18.
  7. ^ "FIL (Luxembourg) S.A." Credit Suisse. Archived from the original on December 18, 2013. Retrieved 2013-12-18.
  8. ^ "Fund manager Fidelity attacks executive pay and bonus bonanza". The Guardian. 18 January 2012. Archived from the original on 8 January 2020. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  9. ^ "Boardroom pay failing to reflect performance, fund manager claims". The Guardian. 3 July 2014. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  10. ^ [1][dead link‍]
  11. ^ Hidden Johnson Billionaires Found in Fidelity Fund Empire Archived 2016-09-23 at the Wayback Machine, Brendan Coffey, Bloomberg News, September 20, 2012.
  12. ^ "Atlantic Fund Services to Service Fidelity Worldwide Investment Funds in Luxembourg". Business Wire. 2011-12-14. Archived from the original on 2013-12-19. Retrieved 2013-12-18.
  13. ^ "Investor defends backing blacklisted Chinese firm". BBC News. 2019-12-23. Archived from the original on 2019-12-24. Retrieved 2019-12-24.
  14. ^ Mozur, Paul (2019-04-14). "One Month, 500,000 Face Scans: How China Is Using A.I. to Profile a Minority". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2019-06-08. Retrieved 2020-05-22.