Fidelity Is Thriving. Here’s What It Needs to Keep Thriving. - Barron's

On this rainy Saturday Barry Ritholtz has posted to his web site an article that should be of interest to all - this week's Barron's feature on the past, present, and future of Fidelity.  Since most of us are using Fidelity or a brokerage like them, this should pique our attention.  Since it is over 3,000 words, I am only including the first couple paragraphs below so click on the provided link for the full piece.  There are also some pretty nice graphics that will make looking at the whole piece worthwhile.  Enjoy the rest of the weekend, and for those of you who work for the post office or government, enjoy the rest of your holiday. 



Sat 10-6-18 BigPic: Fidelity Is Thriving. Here’s What It Needs to Keep Thriving. - Barron's

Fidelity Is Thriving. Here’s What It Needs to Keep Thriving.

By 

Daren Fonda

Oct. 5, 2018 8:38 p.m. ET       Barron’s

Abigail Johnson wants to dispel a rumor on Wall Street that Fidelity would consider a merger with Goldman Sachs . “Absolutely not,” says Johnson, chairwoman and CEO of FMR, Fidelity’s parent company. Other fund companies may be joining forces—Invesco and OppenheimerFunds are negotiating a $5 billion merger. But Johnson says Fidelity is doing fine on its own. “I don’t get complaints from our shareholders about the way things are going.”

Johnson, of course, is one of FMR’s largest shareholders. She’s worth an estimated $17.5 billion, according to Forbes, through her family’s 49% ownership of the firm. She hasn’t worked anywhere else since graduating from Harvard Business School in 1988, rising from equity analyst to the head of asset management and president of various divisions.

Things are indeed going pretty well, based on the numbers. FMR’s revenue hit a record $18.2 billion in 2017, up nearly 14% from the prior year. Assets under management, or AUM, hit $2.5 trillion, up 15%. Assets under administration—which include money in non-Fidelity funds that are in Fidelity brokerage accounts, 401(k) plans, and the like—rose 19%, to $6.8 trillion. That’s more in total assets than any other U.S. asset manager, including BlackRock (ticker: BLK), at $6.3 trillion; Vanguard, at $5.1 trillion; orCharles Schwab (SCHW), at $3.6 trillion. Operating income jumped 54%, to $5.3 billion.