Fidelity names new lead PM as Kate Howitt retires

Casey McLean
CASEY MCLEAN
Fidelity International Limited - Lead Portfolio Manager
APPOINTMENT
Fidelity International Limited
FIDELITY INTERNATIONAL LIMITED
Date: 3 June 2022
Position: Lead Portfolio Manager
By Elizabeth Fry

Fidelity portfolio manager Kate Howitt will retire from Fidelity International after 18 years with the firm.

Howitt  - who ran the  Fidelity Australian Operations Fund  - will be replaced by Casey McLean as lead portfolio manager.

Meanwhile, Clare Coleman was promoted to the role of co-portfolio manager.

McLean joined Fidelity in 2015 as an investment analyst in Hong Kong, covering regional energy and regional technology hardware and semiconductors.

He has since built a strong track record as an analyst and was appointed director, equities, and a co-portfolio manager for Fidelity's China innovation strategy two years ago.

Before Fidelity, McLean worked as a portfolio manager and analyst at AMP Capital Investors for five years.

He also worked at Three Pillars Portfolio Managers (previously part of van Eyk) as a research analyst and portfolio manager covering financial, property, agricultural, and industrial sectors.

Earlier, he worked as an equities analyst at Nucleus Global Investors, specialising in Asian infrastructure companies. He has also held roles at Bell Potter Securities, DVA Capital, and Macquarie Equity Capital Markets.

For her part, Coleman has been an assistant portfolio manager of Fidelity Australian Opportunities Fund since last October.

She joined Fidelity as an analyst in 2019 and covers industrials, gaming, and media sectors.

Previous roles include roles with First State Super, Morgan Stanley, and Merrill Lynch as an analyst.

"Casey and Clare's appointments reflect Fidelity's long-standing tradition of promoting successful investment professionals to a wider platform," said the fund manager.

"The focus of this fund will remain on identifying companies through a rigorous bottom-up stock picking approach. The underlying investment philosophy aims to identify under-appreciated structural growth in companies with strong management teams, favourable industry structures, and unique competitive advantages."