Fidelity names ex-bond chief Morrison to head asset management

Fidelity Investments, the mutual-fund firm best known for its star stock pickers since it was started almost seven decades ago, this week named former bond manager Charles Morrison to run its asset-management unit.

Morrison, 53, who joined Fidelity in 1987 as a bond analyst, most recently was head of Fidelity's US$750 billion fixed-income division, the company said on Thursday. He will succeed Ronald O'Hanley, who said last month he would step down from his role at the end of this month.

Morrison has taken the top asset-management role at Fidelity as it is losing ground to rivals and as the firm continues to shift emphasis to its recordkeeping, retirement and brokerage businesses. Clients withdrew a net US$1.1 billion last year from Fidelity's money-management unit, which has US$1.94 trillion in assets. Vanguard, the biggest fund firm, drew US$138 billion in new client money last year, according to spokesman John Woerth, and BlackRock, the world's largest money manager, attracted US$117 billion.

"This is a gigantic financial-services company, but if the funds aren't doing well, it colours the view of the whole organisation," said John Bonnanzio, editor of Fidelity Monitor & Insight, an investor newsletter based in Wellesley, Massachusetts. Bonnanzio said Morrison had told him he intends to make investment performance his main focus.

The money Fidelity manages for clients rose 15 per cent to US$1.94 trillion last year, as the Standard & Poor's 500 Index of US stocks rallied 30 per cent. Fidelity's assets under administration, which include less profitable businesses such as recordkeeping for retirement plans, jumped 19 per cent last year to US$4.62 trillion after adding US$126.9 billion in client money.

"Charlie's diverse experience during his 27 years at Fidelity positions him well to advance our asset-management business by continuing to deliver strong, consistent performance across all asset classes, sharpening our global investment focus, and offering innovative products that help deliver better outcomes for our clients," Fidelity president Abigail Johnson said.