Origins

Fidelity International, as we later became known, was established in 1969 as the international investment arm of Fidelity Investments founded by Edward C Johnson 2d in 1946 in Boston. His son, Edward C 'Ned' Johnson 3d, was appointed as Chairman and filled the role for over 45 years.

In the same year our international headquarter was set up in Bermuda, we opened our Tokyo office. We soon after became the first foreign asset manager to launch a Japanese equity fund domestically in this market. Our presence in Japan since 1969 laid the foundation for our on-the-ground expertise in Asia.

Coming to London

Initially established for research purposes, our first office in London quickly evolved. We soon became the first international group to manage authorised unit trusts for clients in the United Kingdom, as well as being able to offer global equities covered from the British financial centre to clients in Japan.

Today London is both our largest research and investment hub, and the UK our biggest market.

Our first institutional investor

Having started and grown our business with distribution partners to this day, we began managing money for institutional investors in the 1970s. A sovereign wealth fund who became our first institutional client in 1976 is still with us today.

'Fidelity International' is born

In 1980, Fidelity International became independent from Fidelity Investments, and is today owned mainly by management and Johnson family interests.

Growing our footprint in Asia

In 1981 we opened our Hong Kong office, which is today our second largest investment hub, with a focus on investment and research across China and South East Asia.

Serving pension funds and private investors

In the 80s, we first invested on behalf of public and private sector employee pension funds.

In 1986, our first office in Taiwan opened its doors.
We also introduced products and services for private investors for the first time in the second half of the 80s–such as tax-efficient personal investment plans, available in the United Kingdom from 1987.

Giving back through Fidelity Foundations

Since 1988 the Fidelity Foundations have been giving back a portion of our profit to the communities across the globe in which we operate. The foundations' focus is on strengthening not-for-profit organisations which have the potential to make a significant difference in their chosen fields. Often this is through major investments in technology or physical infrastructure.

Becoming a pension plan administrator

Having managed money for pension funds since the 80s, in 1994 we entered the business of administering as well as managing 'Defined Contributions', which is money paid into individual retirement accounts by employers and employees. Today, over 850 companies in the Germany, Hong Kong, and the United Kingdom as well as multinationals, trust us with their DC pension assets.

Growing in to a Multi-Asset House

Having established a reputation as one of the major equity fund houses, Fidelity committed to becoming a multi-asset house by setting up a Fixed Income team in 1995, which today accounts for one third of our managed assets.

China and India become our global technology backbone

By the mid-2000s, we had further expanded our global presence with new offices in Shanghai, Singapore, Beijing, Sydney, Brussels and Mumbai.

Our presence in India alone evolved from a two-person office set up in a hotel room to a team 2,300-people strong. Today, India and our operation in China represent the technology backbone of our organisation and the enabler of our mission to deliver innovative client solutions for a better future.

Helping our clients weather the crisis

Even through the global Financial Crisis, as markets temporarily took a sharp hit, we kept growing our number of clients who trusted us to preserve and grow their money over the long term. At the peak of the crisis in September 2008 we increased our opening hours to make sure all clients who wanted to get in touch could do so. Fidelity received and dealt with an average of 2,700 calls per day in the UK alone during these weeks.

From 2009, we developed 'Guidance', information that helps investors orient themselves over the long term and in periods of acute volatility. We also started to think about new user requirements around accessing information on their savings and investments, and in 2011 were the first investment manager to launch an iPhone app in the UK, with our other markets swiftly following suit.

In 2008 we also launched "Bricks and Mortar" institutional real estate funds launched to complement our existing expertise in equities, fixed income and cash.

Solutions for changing investment needs

In 2013 Fidelity Solutions started as a bespoke multi-asset portfolio management capability for ever more complex institutional client and distribution partner needs in an environment of low interest rates and fragmented distribution regulation.

At the forefront of investment research

We implemented an industry-leading single-platform research interface that gives any of our fund managers and analysts real-time access to our cross-industry, sector, geography and asset class proprietary knowledge – whether they are at their desk or on the road.

Next generation service.

We serve everyone – from individuals, advisers, financial institutions, employer pension plans, and governments across Asia-Pacific, Europe, the Middle East and Latin America.

Everything we do is connected to helping our clients achieve a better future. Whether this is through creating our own world-class investment solutions, providing access to those of other asset managers, or delivering a service to help our clients, big and small, to invest in the way that best suits their goals.

As a privately owned and independent business we’re driven by the needs of our clients, not by the interests of shareholders or those of a parent company. Our commitment to integrity, innovation and excellence, coupled with the ability to charter our own course, are what make us unique.