Fidelity Quiz: Test Your Investment Giant IQ

Fidelity's roots go back even further than its formal founding year. The Fidelity Fund itself was created in 1930, but the management and research company that would oversee it was established later by its founding lawyer. This formal incorporation marked the beginning of what would grow into one of the largest financial services firms in the world.

Fidelity Investments was not built by a banker or a Wall Street trader. Its founder was a Harvard-trained lawyer from Boston who took over a struggling fund in 1943 and built a management company around it three years later. His approach focused on growth stocks rather than the capital-preservation methods common at the time.

Fidelity Investments is one of the largest privately held financial services companies in the United States. It has been operating for over seven decades and continues to be controlled by the founding family. Its headquarters is located in a northeastern American city also home to some of the country's oldest universities and financial institutions.

Fidelity Investments has remained under family leadership for most of its history. The current person heading the company as CEO is a member of the founding family's third generation. She took over leadership responsibilities after her father, who had run the firm for several decades, stepped back from the role of chief executive.

In 2022, Fidelity became the first major retirement-plan provider to include a particular digital asset as an option within workplace retirement accounts. This decision was significant given the conservative nature of retirement funds and drew strong reactions from regulators, financial advisors, and the broader investment community across the United States.