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Fidelity Investments

Financial Services and Asset ManagementFounded 1946
Reviewed by Swet Parvadiya
Company data updated: October 2026

Founders

Who Founded Fidelity Investments?

Edward C. Johnson II · Founded 1946 · HQ today: Boston, Massachusetts

Who founded Fidelity Investments?

Fidelity Investments was founded by Edward C. Johnson II in 1946 in Boston, United States. It is now led by Abigail P. Johnson.

Founders
Edward C. Johnson II
Founded
1946
Headquarters
Boston, Massachusetts
Number of founders
1
Current CEO
Abigail P. Johnson (since 2014)
Where was Fidelity Investments founded?
Fidelity Investments was founded in Boston, United States in 1946. wikidata.org
When was Fidelity Investments founded?
Fidelity Investments was founded in 1946.
Who started Fidelity Investments?
Fidelity Investments was founded by Edward C. Johnson II.
How old is Fidelity Investments?
Fidelity Investments is 80 years old as of 2026.

Founding Story

Edward C. Johnson II, a Boston lawyer, took over management of the Fidelity Fund in 1943 and founded Fidelity Management & Research in 1946. He backed research-driven equity investing at a time when Boston trustees mostly favored conservative portfolios, and he gave individual fund managers room to make bold calls. That culture later produced managers such as Gerald Tsai and Peter Lynch.

Edward C. Johnson II

Co-founder 1946

Background

Johnson was a Harvard-educated Boston lawyer who worked with trusts and family wealth before moving into fund management.

Role at Fidelity Investments

Edward C. Johnson II (1898-1984) founded Fidelity Management & Research in Boston in 1946 after taking over management of the Fidelity Fund in 1943. He favored research-driven equity investing aimed at growth rather than only capital preservation, and he let individual fund managers make independent decisions. His son Ned Johnson and granddaughter Abigail Johnson later led the firm.

Edward Crosby Johnson II was born on January 19, 1898 and died on April 2, 1984. Edward C. Johnson II was born in 1898.

Fidelity Investments: CEO & Leadership History

Full timeline →

Abigail P. Johnson

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

2014 – Present

Johnson has managed the delicate transition of a multi-generational family business into the modern digital era without sacrificing its core cultural identity. Her willingness to cannibalize short-term fee revenue (via zero-fee funds) to capture long-term market share demonstrated the large strategic power of Fidelity's private ownership structure. By embracing emerging technologies like blockchain and artificial intelligence, she has ensured that the 75-year-old firm remains relevant to a new, younger generation of retail investors while continuing to expand its profitable institutional clearing and custody businesses.

Edward C. 'Ned' Johnson III

Former Chairman and CEO

1977 – 2014

Ned Johnson is the undeniable architect of the modern Fidelity empire. During his nearly four-decade tenure, he transformed the firm from a mid-sized Boston mutual fund shop into a globally dominant financial services giant, expanding assets under management from $3.9 billion to over $2 trillion. His focus on customer service, technological superiority, and retail accessibility effectively democratized investing for millions of middle-class Americans, altering the landscape of the entire U.S. financial services industry before passing leadership to his daughter.

Edward C. Johnson II

Founder and Chairman

1946 – 1977

He gave individual fund managers wide freedom, an approach that shaped the firm. His son Ned Johnson succeeded him in 1977.

Keep researching Fidelity Investments

Who Founded Fidelity Investments? FAQ

Who founded Fidelity Management & Research (FMR) and when was it established?

Fidelity was founded on May 1, 1946, in Boston, Massachusetts, by Edward C. Johnson II. Johnson, a Harvard-educated Boston Brahmin lawyer, assumed management of the Fidelity Fund (formed in 1930) and incorporated FMR to provide expert investment advisory and fund management.

What was Edward C. Johnson II's major investment philosophy in the 1940s?

In an era when conservative Boston trustees preserved capital strictly through bonds and utility stocks, Edward C. Johnson II believed in active equity investing for capital growth. He hired effective, independent fund managers (such as well-known stockpicker Gerald Tsai) to seek capital appreciation in high-growth companies.

Who was Gerald Tsai and what role did he play in early Fidelity mutual fund history?

Gerald Tsai, hired by Edward C. Johnson II in 1952, founded the Fidelity Capital Fund in 1958. Tsai pioneered aggressive 'momentum' growth investing in hot 1960s glamour stocks (like Xerox and Polaroid), producing strong returns and establishing Fidelity's reputation for market-beating performance.

How did Ned Johnson III transform retail mutual fund marketing in the 1970s?

In the 1970s, Ned Johnson bypassed Wall Street brokers by selling mutual funds directly to consumers via 1-800 toll-free phone numbers and national newspaper advertising, slashing broker sales loads and creating the modern direct-to-consumer financial services industry.

What early technological innovations did Ned Johnson III introduce at Fidelity?

Ned Johnson was obsessed with technology. He computerized Fidelity's trading records in the 1960s, introduced hourly pricing on mutual funds in 1986, pioneered computerized electronic trading platforms, and invested heavily in proprietary fiber-optic telecom networks and call centers.

How did the Johnson family structure private ownership to maintain generational control?

The Johnson family organized Fidelity as a privately held LLC (FMR LLC) with dual voting and non-voting equity classes. The family holds approximately 49% of voting equity, with the remaining equity owned by trusted senior executives, ensuring voting control remains permanently within the family.

What lasting core values did the founders instill at Fidelity?

The founders instilled core values of customer obsession, fiduciary integrity, continuous innovation ('take risks and experiment'), operational excellence, and frugality, which have guided Fidelity across three generations of family leadership.

How has the founding lineage of Boston financial stewardship shaped Fidelity's brand?

Rooted in Boston's historic financial district on Devonshire Street, Fidelity transformed Boston into a global capital of asset management, blending centuries-old fiduciary prudence with advanced digital financial technology.

Who founded Fidelity?

It was founded by Edward C. Johnson II. He was a Boston lawyer who took over a small mutual fund (the Fidelity Fund). His core philosophy was that markets were not perfectly efficient, and that a smart, aggressive manager could consistently beat the stock market averages.

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Content is for informational purposes only. Not financial advice. Data sourced from SEC filings, annual reports, and public records. See our full disclaimer and methodology.