Fidelity parent’s rating cut; outlook negative

BOSTON – Fidelity Investments’ corporate parent had its counterparty credit rating cut one level to A+/A-1 by Standard & Poor’s because of declining profit at the world’s biggest mutual fund company, Bloomberg News reported last week.
The outlook on the debt is negative, New York-based Standard & Poor’s said last week in a statement. FMR LLC, based in Boston, previously was rated AA-/A-1+.
The biggest market declines since the Great Depression cut Fidelity’s assets 22 percent to $1.25 trillion last year. Operating income at Fidelity fell 18 percent to $2.36 billion, according to its annual report. Investors withdrew $34.2 billion from Fidelity’s stock funds in 2008, while putting $88 billion into lower-fee money funds.
Anne Crowley, a spokeswoman for Fidelity, said in an interview that 2009 earnings results “show that we are faring better than many of our competitors.” •