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Fidelity Reopens Magellan Fund to InvestorsPOSTED January 28, 2008 BOSTON, MA - Fidelity Investments announced this month that it will reopen Fidelity Magellan Fund to new investors. The fund has been closed to new accounts since September 30, 1997. Harry Lange has managed Magellan Fund since October 2005. "Magellan is one of the most well-known names in the history of mutual funds, and has a long history of making money for its shareholders," said Walter Donovan, president, Equity Division, Fidelity Management & Research Company. "Millions of Americans have relied upon the fund to help them reach financial goals such as saving for retirement, college, or buying a new home. We believe that the time is right to make Magellan available to a new generation of investors." Donovan explained why it is in the interests of Magellan Fund shareholders to reopen the fund: "Having been closed for more than a decade, Magellan's shareholder base has matured and, in the normal course of investing, many shareholders have continued to redeem assets as they've met their financial goals. In fact, 85 percent of the fund's assets are earmarked for retirement, and the Baby Boomer generation has now begun to retire and tap those dollars. We believe that generating new sales to offset future redemptions will help stabilize the fund's cash flows and assist Harry in most effectively directing investment strategies for the benefit of fund shareholders. It's effectively the inverse of the reason why we limited new purchases of the fund 10 years ago. At that time, we were seeing strengthening cash inflows, and we expected that trend to continue." "I strongly believe that reopening the fund is the right step for Magellan's shareholders at this time," said Harry Lange. "As Magellan always has had a flexible investment mandate, I'm very comfortable with the size of my investment universe, and -- thanks to the support I receive from Fidelity's analysts -- I've been fortunate to find great stocks here in the U.S. and abroad to include in the portfolio. If we're able to achieve a better balance of cash flows in the fund going forward, I'll regularly have the cash on hand to capitalize on attractive investment opportunities as I find them." Over the past two and a half years, Fidelity has implemented several large-scale initiatives within its equity research operation that have broadened and deepened the firm's coverage of the equity markets. During that period, the firm: Hired more than 120 new research analysts. They include top prospects from some of the nation's best universities and business schools - as they have in the past - but also now include experienced analysts from across the industry. Globally, more than 400 equity analysts now support Fidelity's equity funds, up from 193 when Magellan Fund closed on September 30, 1997. Created a longer-term equity analyst career track. This has allowed analysts to potentially remain in the equity research group -- and remain with their coverage assignments -- for longer periods. This supplements the traditional career track that is geared toward preparing analysts to eventually manage diversified equity assets -- effectively creating two side-by-side career tracks. Created a diversified analyst position. These analysts are embedded in the portfolio management teams at the discretion of the teams' portfolio managers. They filter, tailor and structure research provided by the larger staff, and cover additional names as requested by the portfolio managers. Added several managing directors of research. They
come from both inside Fidelity and outside the firm, and have
brought key managerial resources and expertise to the research organization. |