Edward “Ned” Johnson III, a businessman who helped build Fidelity Investments into the financial powerhouse it is today, has passed away. He was 91 years old when he died. Johnson’s family announced on Thursday that he died on Wednesday, although no cause of death was given.
Johnson began working for his father’s firm as a portfolio manager in 1957, having been born in Boston at the outset of the Great Depression. Fidelity nominated him, president, in 1972, and after his father retired in 1976, he was promoted to chairman and CEO.
Johnson’s four-decade stint at Fidelity began with his father’s creation and saw the company grow into the Wall Street and investment juggernaut it is today.
The Johnson family issued a statement saying, “We are enormously proud of his achievements and grateful for his life.” “He was a visionary, an innovator, and a philanthropist who had an insatiable curiosity about the world around him and lived each and every day to the fullest.”
The way Americans saved and planned for retirement was going to change dramatically when Johnson assumed office. Companies started to abandon pension programs. In 1974, the Individual Retirement Account, also known as the IRA, was established. Congress introduced the 401(k) account in 1978, which was an employer-sponsored retirement plan that invested in stocks and bonds but was ultimately managed by the individual employee.
Fidelity benefited from a tremendous expansion of investment opportunities that began in the 1980s. The stock market was no longer solely for the wealthy; practically every retirement account in the United States had a stake in it. Fidelity began offering mutual funds directly to the general public under Johnson’s leadership. In addition, the company began offering inexpensive brokerage services, which made stock investing much more affordable.
These efforts were rewarded. Fidelity had $3.9 billion in assets under management when Johnson came over in 1977. Fidelity had $5.7 trillion in assets under management when he retired as chairman in 2014. Johnson and his family became billionaires as a result of Fidelity’s success.
Johnson’s daughter, Abigail Johnson, now runs the Boston-based corporation, which is still privately held.