Fidelity Assets Rise 8% to $2.8 Trillion

Fidelity Investments said it expanded its mutual-fund market share in the first half of 2009, stoked by strong investment inflows.

In a presentation in Boston aimed at showing it was doing relatively well in the economic downturn, Fidelity said net investment inflows to its fund family in the half totaled $44.2 billion, which it said was an industry-leading sum. It said revenues were holding up better than the competition's, though it declined to give figures.

The closely held firm is coming off a 2008 performance in which it saw operating profit decline about 18% to $2.36 billion; revenues slid 3.7% to $12.9 billion. It recently shed about 3,000 workers, or about 7% of its former employee base of about 44,000.

Rodger Lawson

President Rodger Lawson, hired two years ago to bolster fund flows and investment performance, said in an interview he believes the company now has the right work-force levels, based on his modest expectations for the economy. "I don't see our head count growing a lot" in the next few years, he said. "That being said, I don't see any more big layoffs."

Mr. Lawson, 62 years old, said it was unlikely he would step down from the post by the end of 2009, although Fidelity has screened "very strong people" as potential future presidents this year as part of succession planning. "I will stay at the company in one role or another as long as Fidelity needs me, even if it's 10 years," he said in an interview. Last month, The Wall Street Journal reported that Mr. Lawson had told a long-time acquaintance he would like to leave by the end of the year.

Assets under management, including mutual funds and other types of investments, grew 9% to $1.36 trillion. Relying on its own calculations and those of an outside consultant, Fidelity said it had expanded its share of all mutual-fund assets to 12.4% from 11.7%.

Fidelity said its assets under administration -- a category that includes other companies' funds it holds in investor accounts -- grew about 8% to $2.8 trillion in the first half.

On the question of U.S. economic recovery, Mr. Lawson said he doesn't see any short-term signs of recovery and anticipates international markets will recover faster. "I think we'll be paying back for the next few years for the largess and the indulgences of the prior few years," he said.

Profit Declines at Eaton Vance

Investment manager Eaton Vance's fiscal third-quarter earnings fell 37% on a charge related to an initial public offering and falling revenue, though assets under management soared from the prior quarter.

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