Using the Fidelity Investments Web site (www.fidelity.com) or a finance portal such as http://finance.yahoo.com, locate the set of mutual funds offered by Fidelity. The financial portals usually have a good summary page that will allow you to collect all of the information that you need in just a click or two. In particular, look at three funds:

1. Fidelity Magellan (FMAGX)

2. Fidelity Blue Chip Growth (FBGRX)

3. Fidelity Growth and Income (FGRIX)

For each of these funds, find the following information:

1. The total size of the Fidelity fund.

2. The amount that each fund has invested in General Electric (GE)

and Microsoft (MSFT) in terms of dollar value, number of shares, and the percentage of the fund’s total assets that each position

(GE and Microsoft) represents.

As discussed in Chapter 10, institutional investors now play a significant role in terms of corporate governance. In particular, institutional investors have taken what are often substantial ownership positions in some the largest public companies in the United States. One reason for this is that these investors have large sums of capital that they need to invest to maximize the return to their shareholders. Thus, institutional investors such as large mutual fund companies, insurance companies, and retirement funds often own billions of dollars worth of stock in a company. For example, in 2005, Fidelity’s Magellan Fund owned over $2 billion worth of General Electric (GE) stock. Of course, the Magellan Fund is but one Fidelity fund. It is very likely that other Fidelity funds also have ownership positions in GE.
Along with this large stock ownership comes the potential to influence board of directors elections and shareholder resolutions. But is this large concentration of stock ownership something that really creates shareholder power? In this exercise, you will explore the extent of some institutional holdings and then consider the effects of those holdings on shareholders, board members, executives, and corporate governance in general.