Chairman, Fidelity Investments

Boston-native Edward “Ned” Johnson III has singlehandedly influenced the mutual fund industry, as much as he had that of philanthropy’s. The kaizen businessman introduced the innovation of seizing the then yet-to-be-optimized market of insurance companies, consumers and banks by offering discount brokerage services. Another industry broadening practice is check writing on Money Market funds.

Upon his graduation from the prestigious Harvard University, Ned Johnson decided to take on the world of finance. His father, lawyer Edward Johnson II, established in 1946 the Fidelity Management and Research Company to oversee the $3 million Fidelity Fund he purchased in 1943.

Some 11 years after the incorporation, the younger Ned Johnson started learning the ropes as a stock analyst in 1957. In a matter of years, he was entrusted the firm’s Fidelity Magellan Fund from 1963 to 1972. http://www.businessweek.com/archives/1992/b326769.arc.htm”>Proving himself ready to take the company, Ned Johnson became its president in 1972. Within five years, he also served in his capacity as chairman and chief executive officer.

Today, Ned Johnson chairs all 377 Fidelity funds, worth an estimated $40 billion. Now known as Fidelity Investments, the family still owns 48% of the privately held stock, complemented with a 78% voting control. The workforce is 43,110-strong in its operations of assets under management that for the past two decades has experienced 21% annual growth under him. The diverse portfolio includes an art gallery, investment magazine Worth, and a limousine service. Currently, the company is the third largest discount broker in the United States.

One of Fidelity Investment’s principal subsidiaries is the Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund established in 1991. This project grant awarding body provides funding for non-profit organizations through its trademarked donor advised fund program, Giving Account. Two Fidelity foundations have contributed to the development of an estimated 3,000 non-profit organizations through more than $50 million in financial support.

Among the many recipients of Ned Johnson’s brainchild are Buddhist Churches of America and Planned Parenthood. In 2008, he personally donated $387.3 million to the Edward C. Johnson Fund, as well as some $16,200 in political contributions. Other philanthropic involvements include the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Massachusetts’ Brookfield Arts Foundation, as well as the Alzheimer’s Association. Ned Johnson is also affiliated with the New England Chapter of the Family Firm Institute, for which he was a speaker in September 2004.

Ned Johnson has been profiled on several rosters recognizing commendable philanthropic work and business acumen including USA Today’s “Most Noteworthy in Business,” Boston Magazine’s “50 Wealthiest Bostonians” and Condé Nast Portfolio’s “The Generosity Index.”