Fidelity's $3B Asset Management Chief To Retire In February

Steve Neff, the current chief of asset management at Fidelity Investments Inc. FNF, will retire in February, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal.

What Happened

Neff, who took over as Fidelity’s asset management chief less than a year ago, recently announced his desire to step down and spend time with his family, says an internal memorandum by Ms. Johnson, according to The Wall Street Journal. 

He has always been an “inspirational leader,” says the memo. During his tenure at Fidelity, Mr. Neff helped the company to leverage the power of cloud computing and artificial intelligence in money management.

What’s Next

Bart Grenier, currently an executive at Fidelity’s London-based sister company Fidelity International Ltd. will replace Steve Neff. Bart is one of the 13 Fidelity employees involved in the "improper gifts" scandal in 2008.

“Bart is the ideal candidate to succeed Steve,” Ms. Johnson wrote in her memo. “The breadth of his experience across investment strategies and asset classes, as well as his strategic insights and spirit of innovation, makes him well suited to lead asset management.”

Why It Matters

Fidelity has recently changed its business strategy to put more focus on lower-cost passive index funds, following the footsteps of Vanguard Group that responded well to the growing market for index funds, according to a report by The New York Times.

Fidelity managed more than $2.8 trillion in assets as of Sept. 30, which includes around $2.3 trillion in actively managed funds.