Fidelity Investments

Fidelity Management & Research Company (FMR Corp) was created in 1946 by its founding President Edward C. Johnson, II, who pioneered the company’s way into the world of financial investments.  In 1957 Edward C. (Ned) Johnson, III joined the company as a research analyst and the two of them established the Fidelity Foundation which pledged the company’s support for the communities served by the company. 

Fidelity purchased its first computer in 1965, which was a behemoth of a machine that served the company and its customers very well.  Technological advances over the past decades have morphed those machines into what we know today as personal computers, at least one of which is in every home and office in the modern world.   

Leading the way in the world of investments, Fidelity installed its first toll free “800” number for use by prospective and existing clients in reaching the company and its knowledgeable advisors and investors.  Also in 1974 the firm launched the Fidelity Daily Income trust (FDIT), which was the first money market fund that offered a check writing feature. 

After the federal government passed the Employee Retirement Security Act (ERISA) that allowed people to save money for retirement using Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs), Fidelity offered its first IRA in 1975 and launched 403(b) plans in 1978 that were offered to non-profit organizations, educational institutions and government agencies. 

Edward C. Johnson, III became Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of FMR Corp in 1977 and under his leadership Fidelity was the first to offer 401(k) products and services for those entities and individuals who were investing using Fidelity’s mutual fund products. 

The decade of the 80’s brought more innovations from Fidelity which included its first brick and mortar Investor Center, which was opened in Boston, Massachusetts in 1983 and provided customers access to free information and personal investment services and guidance that previously did not exist.  Fidelity also introduced computerized trading using floppy disks via its Fidelity Investor’s Express (FIX) system which enabled customers to buy and sell shares of stock. 

FMR Corp launched Plymouth Funds in 1986 which was available exclusively through broker-dealers and which was renamed Fidelity Advisor Funds in 1992.  The firm developed Fidelity Select Portfolios which was the first in the financial investment industry to provide hourly share pricing and replaced the archaic “end of day pricing” policy. 

Abigail P. (Abby) Johnson joined the firm in 1988 as an equity analyst and that same year FMR Corp began its Energy Conservation Program which aimed to reduce energy costs in all Fidelity offices.   

In 1995 Fidelity secured its place in history by being the first mutual fund company to create a website (or “home page”) that provided internet access to the company and the products and services it provides. 

The new millennium brought more innovation from Fidelity with its Fidelity Retirement Income Advantage that provided a comprehensive service for helping folks plan and manage their finances through and including retirement.  In 2008 the firm introduced Fidelity WealthCentral which was the first in the industry of web-based wealth management that combined portfolio management and rebalancing with excellent customer services, financial planning and lucrative asset trading.  The firm launched its Fidelity Patent Program in 2011 which was designed to protect its investors and their best innovative ideas through the creation and application of formal patents.   

In 2014 Abigail P. Johnson was named CEO of FMR, LLC, the parent company of Fidelity, and today she competently heads the third generation of leadership for the privately owned financial services company that is synonymous with retirement accounts but is also a reputable banking institution and highly respected online brokerage firm that offers a wide range of financial assets for investment purposes with mid-range commission rates and excellent customer support services.  Modern Fidelity account holders can utilize a Fidelity login protocol to access all of their Fidelity accounts conveniently from one website.