Fidelity Investments Inc. said Monday that the daughter of its chief executive officer will become the president of the division that oversees its $900 billion mutual fund operation.
Abigail Johnson, 39, will succeed Robert Pozen, who has been president of the Boston company's Fidelity Management and Research Co. since 1997.
In a conference call, Mr. Pozen, 54, said that his departure plan reflected a "mutual decision." He will relinquish the executive job June 15 but remain a vice chairman of Fidelity Investments until yearend.
As planned, he will also serve on President Bush's commission on Social Security reform.
Ms. Johnson will be responsible for all Fidelity portfolio managers, analysts, and traders. She will join the company's operating committee and report to vice chairman and chief operating officer Robert L. Reynolds.
Ms. Johnson has been an associate director and senior vice president of the equity division of Fidelity Management and Research since 1997. She is a trustee of Fidelity's mutual funds and has been with the company for 14 years.
She said in the conference call that she will focus on technology investments and on getting more consistent performance from the company's funds.
Despite speculation that Ms. Johnson is being groomed to succeed her father, chairman and CEO Edward C. Johnson 3d, she said he has no plans to retire from the company.
She said the various jobs she has held at Fidelity make her uniquely qualified to lead Fidelity Management and Research.
She also said that she expects to keep the current investment team in place, and that the company has no plans to go public.
Mr. Pozen said that he decided to step down now because the company's sales and fund performance had stabilized to a point where it seemed like a good time to leave. Fidelity's assets under management have grown from $500 billion when he took over in 1997 to over $900 billion, and the company's net sales this year have been about $32 billion, he said.
In addition to serving on the President's commission, Mr. Pozen also plans to complete a second edition of his textbook on the mutual fund industry as well as teach and serve on the boards of foundations and public companies.
