Fidelity Careers: Meet Simon

I joined Fidelity in 1981. I was fortunate enough to have three job offers from traditional UK merchant banks. I met someone from Fidelity Boston who advised me to turn down the offers and join Fidelity instead. None of the merchant banks even knew who Fidelity was! I went to Boston initially for three months and stayed a year before coming back to London. So I’ve been part of the growth story that’s still continuing, and have done many different things in Europe, the US and Tokyo twice. This breadth of opportunity has been a fantastic experience.

Within weeks of being in the US I was having lunch with the Chief Financial Officer of Uniroyal at the top of the World Trade Centre. At the time, the idea of doing in-house company meetings was unheard of. Investment Management gives new entrants such as analysts incredible responsibility and visibility much earlier in their career than investment banking.

The most memorable moments are those when you use that responsibility and accountability effectively and you end up making real money for our clients. You feel empowered and responsible whenever a Portfolio Manager acts on your advice – and you remember those sorts of moments.

For example, I covered tyre and rubber companies in the US at first, because I was the new boy and not many people were interested in that sector. Very often this can be the best kind of opportunity. I had to go to Akron, Ohio where all the major tyre and rubber companies were based and discovered that the sector was so unglamorous that all the tyre companies were trying to get out of the business. But people were keeping their cars longer and that meant demand for tyres was rising. So I wrote a report saying that there would only be three main tyre companies in ten years’ time – which is basically what happened. Gaining experience in this sector meant that I’d become an expert. This kind of opportunity is the great thing about Fidelity. It’s the kind of opportunity that happens very early, too. Even if you have no experience, you’re given stocks that are fairly easy to follow. It’s a very flat structure and you get good feedback from the Portfolio Managers. Because we invest in all sectors of the economy in all geographies around the world there is always something new and interesting to investigate.

Our people are go-ahead, self-motivated individuals who can think laterally and apply that thinking. They’re bright, ambitious and motivated with a scientific capability and creativity in applying it to the real world. That’s an important point – it’s the real world we deal with and you need to recognise that.

We operate a meritocracy and attract people who are keen to get on and apply themselves and who operate without too much structure. You have to work hard, but you also have freedom and flexibility in how you run your life. If you like structure, it’s probably not the right place for you.

Simon at Fidelity