Will Danoff, manager of Fidelity Investments’ Contrafund, has bought bank shares and sold energy shares to improve performance, Bloomberg reports. Last year, the fund delivered its worst returns compared to its benchmark S&P 500 Index in nearly a decade. The fund rose 12%, compared to the S&P 500’s 16% rise. The last time Contrafund disappointed was in 1997, when it lagged the S&P 500 by 10 percentage points.
Fidelity acknowledged, in a third-quarter report to shareholders, that “weak stock selection” was responsible for last year’s disappointing returns.
However, over the past five years, Contrafund has delivered annual average returns of 12%, compared to the S&P 500’s average 6.4%.
“Will Danoff has served his fund’s shareholders extremely well,” said Fidelity spokesman Michael Shamrell. “He has proven his portfolio management abilities over the long term and in a wide array of market conditions."
