Talking with Fidelity
The Chairman of Fidelity has changed. Abby Johnson is now expected to fill her father's big shoes. This is a cause for concern. More importantly my wonderful account manager at Fidelity for the last six years or so, Lacey Johnson, has changed, heading to the Palo Alto office.
She had been at 350 Park Avenue, the former headquarters of Manufacturers Hanover where I first worked in finance in 1981. Call it finance from this long distance, but the company I joined was one under the tutelage of the old style banking bosses of feet up on the desk at 9am, reading the newspapers in the morning while ordering a few people around, then a liquid or very expensive lunch, and sneaking out at back hallways around 4pm to get to their afternoon golf games or family events.
Fidelity was essentially my tutor in finance. My attitude as expressed above meant that while joining the bank at age 31 I had 6 jobs in 8 years, some by a choice of great relief and some because I understood the cost of capital and hurdle rates that must be obtained to have a profitable relationship with a company. Heresy! What about a job where you inherit a relationship with a linerboard company in Savannah run by a Lebanese tycoon and scam artist, but a great relationship from the point of view of entertained prior account managers. The company had 2 million in equity and we a 42 million loan to it, an absurd imbalance, especially to a company in a notoriously cyclical business. That made no sense. In my handling of accounts when I finally became a VP in 1984 I cut off credit if possible or credit increases if not to half of these ridiculous accounts. Were my bosses pleased? As a understatement I can say no, but the world of banking was changing and they could not risk turning me down. Talk about the former RAX restaurants. Don't get me started Companies like these I dealt with in golf games, drinking times, and serious discussions. Unlike Obama I always talked and was obsequiously friendly, but I never changed my mind. Financing that was wrong or just based on perks to former account managers were not for me. These I dealt with or at least tried to do so before I was once again transferred, not by accident.
After several more jobs I was finally rescued by a wonderful man named Kevin McMahon. I never really knew why he liked me so much, except that he was smart enough to get accolades from the intelligence that I had as his own. So what. That's life. He was very good to me. That led me to being head of Investor Relations for ManHan, then Chemical, then Chase, then JPMorgan Chase. Fidelity was with me all the way. I won numerous awards along the way as being among the best in my field, starting with Institutional Investor naming me as the best IR manager for large banks in 1991, just a year or so after having my charismatic Chairman on the cover with a fake dunce hat. Fidelity's portfolio managers were a major contributor to my learning process. Just yesterday I received a call from someone looking for advice on Investor Relations. My first comment, "never underestimate anyone, no matter how young, how old, or how stupid seeming. Respect everyone."
From Peter Lynch to Will Danoff to Rich Fentin to Steve Peterson to Beth Terrana, to so many there they always understood what I was trying to do. I never once gave them insider information. They in fact taught me how a bank should be run and what was important to investors. Now I hope that the Fidelity that I know can continue. Management change is not trivial.
She had been at 350 Park Avenue, the former headquarters of Manufacturers Hanover where I first worked in finance in 1981. Call it finance from this long distance, but the company I joined was one under the tutelage of the old style banking bosses of feet up on the desk at 9am, reading the newspapers in the morning while ordering a few people around, then a liquid or very expensive lunch, and sneaking out at back hallways around 4pm to get to their afternoon golf games or family events.
Fidelity was essentially my tutor in finance. My attitude as expressed above meant that while joining the bank at age 31 I had 6 jobs in 8 years, some by a choice of great relief and some because I understood the cost of capital and hurdle rates that must be obtained to have a profitable relationship with a company. Heresy! What about a job where you inherit a relationship with a linerboard company in Savannah run by a Lebanese tycoon and scam artist, but a great relationship from the point of view of entertained prior account managers. The company had 2 million in equity and we a 42 million loan to it, an absurd imbalance, especially to a company in a notoriously cyclical business. That made no sense. In my handling of accounts when I finally became a VP in 1984 I cut off credit if possible or credit increases if not to half of these ridiculous accounts. Were my bosses pleased? As a understatement I can say no, but the world of banking was changing and they could not risk turning me down. Talk about the former RAX restaurants. Don't get me started Companies like these I dealt with in golf games, drinking times, and serious discussions. Unlike Obama I always talked and was obsequiously friendly, but I never changed my mind. Financing that was wrong or just based on perks to former account managers were not for me. These I dealt with or at least tried to do so before I was once again transferred, not by accident.
After several more jobs I was finally rescued by a wonderful man named Kevin McMahon. I never really knew why he liked me so much, except that he was smart enough to get accolades from the intelligence that I had as his own. So what. That's life. He was very good to me. That led me to being head of Investor Relations for ManHan, then Chemical, then Chase, then JPMorgan Chase. Fidelity was with me all the way. I won numerous awards along the way as being among the best in my field, starting with Institutional Investor naming me as the best IR manager for large banks in 1991, just a year or so after having my charismatic Chairman on the cover with a fake dunce hat. Fidelity's portfolio managers were a major contributor to my learning process. Just yesterday I received a call from someone looking for advice on Investor Relations. My first comment, "never underestimate anyone, no matter how young, how old, or how stupid seeming. Respect everyone."
From Peter Lynch to Will Danoff to Rich Fentin to Steve Peterson to Beth Terrana, to so many there they always understood what I was trying to do. I never once gave them insider information. They in fact taught me how a bank should be run and what was important to investors. Now I hope that the Fidelity that I know can continue. Management change is not trivial.
posted by John Borden at 6:28 PM
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