Robert M. Gates, the President’s pick to replace ousted Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld, is expected to resign from Fidelity Investment’s Board of Trustees, if confirmed by Congress. Besides his post at the closely help Boston fund company, Gates will also step down from his full-time position as president of Texas A&M University. “On behalf of Fidelity, we are grateful that Bob Gates has served the Fidelity funds and the funds’ shareholders for the last nine years with distinction,” said Chief Operating Officer Robert Reynolds. Gates, who headed the Central Intelligence Agency under President George H.W. Bush, will step aside to avoid the appearance of any conflict of interest, according to the Journal. The news about Gates comes amid several shake-ups at the company, including manager changes and a reduction of fees for Fidelity-controlled college-savings 529 plans in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Delaware and Arizona, which, collectively, represent $7 billion in savings. Fidelity recently also won the California contract. Plans call for elimination of the $20 annual fee and dropping the minimum monthly contribution form $50 to $15. Among management changes, Jennifer Uhrig has been named manager of the Fidelity Blue Chip Growth Fund, succeeding John McDowell, who is retiring, and Brian Hanson, who will remain with the Fidelity Advisor Strategic Growth Fund, is now also manager of the Fidelity VIP Growth Stock Portfolio. Jason Weiner will take Uhrig’s old post as manager of the Advisor Growth Equity Fund and the Fidelity VIP Growth Portfolio. Robert Bertleson will take Weiner’s old job, managing the $4.6 billion Fidelity Independence Fund, and the Fidelity Advisor Fifty funds. Wiener also served as an associate portfolio manager for the Fidelity VIP Contrafund starting in March. Peter Saperstone will take the reigns at the $1.2 billion fidelity Fifty Fund and the Fidelity Advisor Fifty Fund. Robert Chow will become manager of the Fidelity Equity Income II Fund, while Scott Offen moves into the manager’s seat at the Advisor Equity Value Fund, and Richard Fentin takes over as portfolio manager for the VIP Value Portfolio. The triumvirate replace Stephanie DuFour. Last, but not least, James Morrow will succeed Timothy Cohen at the Fidelity Advisor Diversified Stock Fund. The staff of Money Management Executive ("MME") has prepared these capsule summaries based on reports published by the news sources to which they are attributed. Those news sources are not associated with MME, and have not prepared, sponsored, endorsed, or approved these summaries.
