Your Survival Guy has told you the story of when I joined the “family business,” i.e., Fidelity. When Ned Johnson died, Justin Baer of The Wall Street Journal wrote of Johnson’s focus at Fidelity: technology, taxes, power, and especially the independence of remaining a family business. Baer wrote:
Mr. Johnson invested heavily in technology, installing generators under the sidewalks of Fidelity’s office tower to ensure the firm wouldn’t lose power. He rarely shied away from sharing his opinions with tech luminaries such as Microsoft Corp. co-founder Bill Gates, according to former Fidelity Chief Operating Officer Bob Reynolds.
Mr. Johnson also tangled—usually behind the scenes—with politicians over taxes. As Fidelity expanded he sought to shift businesses and employees to offices outside of its home state. His family office left for New Hampshire’s more lenient tax laws.
For Mr. Johnson, the ideas flowed with a staccato rhythm; some worked, others failed. Fidelity was a family business—there were no public shareholders or quarterly reports to limit his horizon or imagination, and there were fewer critics to condemn the firm’s missteps.
Baer, who also wrote the book The House of Fidelity, discussed the history of the firm on a podcast. Give it a listen below:
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