Fidelity considering changes for active managers amid outflows

As Fidelity Investments considers changing how its stock picking unit operates, redemptions continued in its active mutual funds despite relatively strong performance.

Fidelity had $33.9 billion in outflows from active funds in the 12 months ending Jan. 31, according to data from Morningstar. Over the same period, its funds that mimic indexes attracted almost $60 billion. Index funds charge much lower fees than active funds.

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Pedestrians pass a Fidelity Investments office in Boston, Massachusetts Tuesday, May 8, 2007. Until recently, LBO dealmakers led by Henry Kravis, David Bonderman and Leon Black paid scant attention to the interests of shareholders as they gorged on a record $864 billion of publicly traded companies in the past three years. Even Boston- based Fidelity, the largest U.S. mutual-fund company, with $1.4 trillion of assets, and Baltimore's T. Rowe Price Group Inc., which manages $350 billion for clients, were told to take it or leave it when presented with takeover offers. Now, the balance of power is beginning to shift as investors, tired of watching LBO firms make as much as eight times their money buying and selling public companies, are demanding more. Photographer: JB Reed/ Bloomberg News

The Wall Street Journal, citing unidentified people, reported Monday that Fidelity is considering making changes to its stock-picking system including giving analysts and senior managers more comparable footing in choosing securities. Fidelity is looking at possible changes to its compensation system, the newspaper said.

Advisory teams of senior leaders and employees at Fidelity were created last fall after the firm ousted two portfolio managers for inappropriate behavior.

The teams are discussing a range of topics, company spokesman Vincent Loporchio said Monday. “The fact that they are meeting is not any indication decisions have been made or will be made,” he said in a telephone interview.

In January alone, Fidelity had $1.5 billion in outflows in active funds, according to Morningstar. Passive funds had $9.8 billion of inflows that month.

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The funds gained an average of 13.3% a year over the past decade, which began before the financial crisis.

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The firm’s active equity funds turned in their strongest performance last year since 2009, Fidelity said Monday. The company’s biggest active stock fund, the $122.6 billion Contrafund (FCNTX) run by William Danoff, beat 97% of peers over the past year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Steven Wymer, manager of the $45.5 billion Growth Company Fund (FDGRX), last month was named Morningstar’s domestic stock manager of the year for 2017.

In total, Fidelity attracted $250 billion in net flows last year into a broad range of products, offsetting the outflows in active equity mutual funds, Loporchio said.

Bloomberg News
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