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Fidelity loses another star
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April 13, 2000: 5:31 p.m. ET
Veteran fund manager Brad Lewis will retire to pursue outside interests
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Veteran manager Brad Lewis is retiring from Fidelity Investments to pursue outside interests, the company said Thursday. His exit is the latest in a series of high-level departures for the Boston fund giant.
Lewis, 45, who used computer models to deliver strong long-term returns at Fidelity Disciplined Equity Fund and Fidelity Stock Selector Fund, will step down effective May 1, the company said.
Steven Snider will take over at Disciplined Equity Fund, while Bobby Kuo will manage the Stock Selector Fund. Both Snider and Kuo are members of Fidelity's team of so-called "quantitative" analysts and managers.
 Lewis is the latest in a string of changes to hit top management at Fidelity. Erin Sullivan, star manager of Fidelity Aggressive Growth Fund, announced in February she would leave to start a hedge fund.
And George Vanderheiden, longtime manager of Fidelity Destiny I Fund and Fidelity Advisor Growth Opportunities Fund, stepped down Feb. 1. A third executive, Gary Burkhead, president of retail sales, also retired.
There have also been a wave of changes at the smaller "select" funds that are considered training ground for future star managers.
Vincent Loporchio, a spokesman for Fidelity, said departures at a company as big as Fidelity from time to time are natural. He said turnover at the company has been historically low, but that a strong economy has encouraged some to leave.
"Obviously we're always sorry to see people leave, but any time you see an organization as large as ours, people are going to leave now and then," Loporchio said. "We've always prided ourselves on our deep bench."
 Efforts to reach Lewis for comment Thursday were unsuccessful.
"Brad has been a great asset to Fidelity," Bob Pozen, president of Fidelity Management & Research Co., said in a statement. "He is one of the industry pioneers in the use of quantitative research and analysis in portfolio management."
Scott Cooley, an analyst at fund-tracker Morningstar, said both of Lewis's funds had been performing well.
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Disciplined Equity Fund earned 22.4 percent in 1999, putting it in the top third of its category, according to Morningstar. Disciplined Equity is up 4.7 percent this year through March 31, putting it in the 28th percentile, Morningstar said. Fidelity Stock Selector earned 26.2 percent last year, and is up 3.8 percent this year through March 31.
Both funds are large-cap "blend" funds that invest in large growth and value stocks. Disciplined Equity has $3.7 billion in assets, while Stock Selector has $1.7 billion in assets.
"If Fidelity had its druthers, this wouldn't have happened at this time," Cooley said.
But because Lewis headed a team that used computer models, the impact of his departure will be less than that of a stock picker like Sullivan or Vanderheiden.
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"When you have someone like Brad Lewis leave, it's not something you want but they have a lot of managers and analysts working on these (computer) models," Cooley said.
Cooley said he doesn't expect any impact on performance because Fidelity has many talented managers and analysts. But the loss of the managers at the select funds could have a long-term impact, similar to when a baseball team loses a promising farm team player.
Cooley also said that recent market volatility may slow down the departures. 
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