Fidelity Investments

Who owns Fidelity Investments?
Fidelity Investments is owned through its parent FMR LLC, approximately 40 percent by the Johnson family, descendants of founder Edward C. Johnson II, and about 60 percent by current and former employees.

Is Fidelity publicly traded?
No. Fidelity Investments is privately held and does not trade on any stock exchange.

When was Fidelity founded?
Fidelity was founded in 1946 in Boston by Edward C. Johnson II as Fidelity Management & Research to manage the Fidelity mutual fund.

How much does Fidelity manage?
Fidelity administers approximately $19.9 trillion in total client assets and manages about $7.8 trillion in discretionary assets as of mid-2026.

Who is the CEO of Fidelity?
Abigail Johnson has served as CEO since 2014 and chair since 2016. She is the granddaughter of founder Edward C. Johnson II and the third generation of family leadership.

Does Fidelity offer bitcoin products?
Yes. Fidelity Digital Assets provides institutional crypto custody and trading, and the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) offers spot bitcoin ETP exposure following its 2024 launch.

Edward C. Johnson II founded Fidelity Management & Research in Boston in 1946 to manage the Fidelity Fund, a mutual fund created years earlier. Johnson built the company on active stock-picking and research-driven management, a philosophy that defined Fidelity for decades.

The firm's legend grew under Peter Lynch, who managed the Magellan Fund from 1977 to 1990 and produced a 29 percent annualized return that made Magellan the world's largest mutual fund and Fidelity a household name. Johnson's son, Edward "Ned" Johnson III, expanded the business into brokerage, international markets, and retirement services.

Fidelity pioneered key industry innovations. It launched one of the first check-writing money market funds in the 1970s, built an early and dominant 401(k) recordkeeping business as defined-contribution plans replaced pensions, and moved aggressively into online brokerage in the 1990s. Fidelity International split off in the 1960s-80s to run non-US operations, leaving Fidelity Investments focused domestically.

The index era challenged Fidelity's active identity. Under Ned Johnson and then Abigail Johnson, the firm responded by building index funds, launching ETFs, and making the boldest price move in industry history: 2018's zero-fee index mutual funds, which undercut even Vanguard and forced competitors to match.

Abigail Johnson's tenure has pushed into digital assets through Fidelity Digital Assets, launched in 2018 for institutional crypto custody, followed by the 2024 spot bitcoin ETP FBTC and the FIDD stablecoin initiative. Fiscal 2025's record $37.7 billion revenue reflected a business that successfully straddles old and new finance.

Fidelity has faced the standard controversies of a firm its size. It has been a defendant in 401(k) excessive-fee lawsuits alongside other large recordkeepers, a litigation wave that has produced settlements across the industry.

The zero-fee fund launch drew analyst questions about how the economics work, with critics arguing the funds are loss leaders funded by securities lending and cash sweep spreads on the broader relationship.

Fidelity's private status itself attracts scrutiny: with $19.9 trillion in client assets but no public filings, disclosure is thinner than at comparable public firms. The firm also navigates the same ESG and common-ownership debates facing all index giants, though its family ownership shields it from some shareholder pressure campaigns.