Fidelity® Series Real Estate Income Fund
Class/Ticker
Fidelity Series Real Estate Income Fund/FSREX
Shares of the fund are available for purchase only by mutual funds for which FMR or an affiliate serves as investment manager.
In this prospectus, the term "shares" (as it relates to the fund) means the class of shares offered through this prospectus.
Prospectus
March 13, 2011
As Revised October 12, 2011
Fund Summary |
Fidelity® Series Real Estate Income Fund |
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Fund Basics |
Investment Details |
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Valuing Shares |
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Shareholder Information |
Additional Information about the Purchase and Sale of Shares |
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Account Policies |
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Dividends and Capital Gain Distributions |
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Tax Consequences |
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Fund Services |
Fund Management |
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Fund Distribution |
Prospectus
Fund/Class:
Fidelity® Series Real Estate Income Fund/Fidelity Series Real Estate Income Fund
The fund seeks higher than average income. As a secondary objective, the fund also seeks capital growth.
The following table describes the fees and expenses that may be incurred when you buy and hold shares of the fund.
Shareholder fees (fees paid directly from your investment) |
None |
Annual class operating expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)
Management fee |
0.56% |
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) fees |
None |
Other expensesA |
0.39% |
Total annual operating expenses |
0.95% |
A Based on estimated amounts for the current fiscal year.
This example helps compare the cost of investing in the fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.
Let's say, hypothetically, that the annual return for shares of the fund is 5% and that your shareholder fees and the annual operating expenses for shares of the fund are exactly as described in the fee table. This example illustrates the effect of fees and expenses, but is not meant to suggest actual or expected fees and expenses or returns, all of which may vary. For every $10,000 you invested, here's how much you would pay in total expenses if you sell all of your shares at the end of each time period indicated:
1 year |
$ 97 |
3 years |
$ 303 |
The fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual operating expenses or in the example, affect the fund's performance.
Prospectus
Fund Summary - continued
An investment in the fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. You could lose money by investing in the fund.
Performance history will be available for the fund after the fund has been in operation for one calendar year.
Fidelity Management & Research Company (FMR) is the fund's manager. FMR Co., Inc. (FMRC) and other investment advisers serve as sub-advisers for the fund.
Prospectus
Mark Snyderman (portfolio manager) has managed the fund since October 2011.
The fund offers its shares only to certain other mutual funds managed by FMR or an affiliate.
The price to buy one share of the fund is its net asset value per share (NAV). Your shares will be bought at the NAV next calculated after your order is received in proper form.
The price to sell one share of the fund is its NAV. Your shares will be sold at the NAV next calculated after your order is received in proper form.
The fund is open for business each day the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is open.
The fund has no minimum investment requirement.
Distributions you receive from the fund are subject to federal income tax and generally will be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains, and may also be subject to state or local taxes, unless you are investing through a tax-advantaged retirement account (in which case you may be taxed later, upon withdrawal of your investment from such account).
The fund, FMR, Fidelity Distributors Corporation (FDC), and/or their affiliates may pay intermediaries, including retirement plan sponsors, administrators, or service-providers (who may be affiliated with FMR or FDC), for the sale of fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing your intermediary and your investment professional to recommend the fund over another investment. Ask your investment professional or visit your intermediary's web site for more information.
Prospectus
Investment Objective
The fund seeks higher than average income. As a secondary objective, the fund also seeks capital growth.
Principal Investment Strategies
FMR normally invests the fund's assets primarily in preferred and common stocks of REITs; debt securities of real estate entities; and commercial and other mortgage-backed securities, with an emphasis on lower-quality debt securities. Many lower-quality debt securities are subject to legal or contractual restrictions limiting FMR's ability to resell the securities to the general public. FMR does not currently intend to invest more than 50% of the fund's assets in common stocks.
FMR normally invests at least 80% of the fund's assets in securities of companies principally engaged in the real estate industry and other real estate related investments. Companies in the real estate industry and real estate related investments may include, for example, REITs that either own properties or make construction or mortgage loans, real estate developers, companies with substantial real estate holdings, and other companies whose products and services are related to the real estate industry, such as building supply manufacturers, mortgage lenders, or mortgage servicing companies.
FMR may invest the fund's assets in securities of foreign issuers in addition to securities of domestic issuers.
In buying and selling securities for the fund, FMR relies on fundamental analysis of each issuer and its potential for success in light of its current financial condition, its industry position, and economic and market conditions. Factors considered include a security's structural features and current price compared to its long-term value, and the earnings potential, yield, credit standing, and management of the security's issuer.
In addition to the principal investment strategies discussed above, FMR may lend the fund's securities to broker-dealers or other institutions to earn income for the fund.
FMR may also use various techniques, such as buying and selling futures contracts and exchange traded funds, to increase or decrease the fund's exposure to changing security prices or other factors that affect security values.
If FMR's strategies do not work as intended, the fund may not achieve its objective.
Description of Principal Security Types
Equity securities represent an ownership interest, or the right to acquire an ownership interest, in an issuer. Different types of equity securities provide different voting and dividend rights and priority in the event of the bankruptcy of the issuer. Equity securities include common stocks, preferred stocks, convertible securities, and warrants.
Debt securities are used by issuers to borrow money. The issuer usually pays a fixed, variable, or floating rate of interest, and must repay the amount borrowed, usually at the maturity of the security. Some debt securities, such as zero coupon bonds, do not pay current interest but are sold at a discount from their face values. Debt securities include corporate bonds, government securities, repurchase agreements, mortgage and other asset-backed securities, loans and loan participations, and other securities that FMR believes have debt-like characteristics, including hybrids and synthetic securities.
Prospectus
Fund Basics - continued
Principal Investment Risks
Many factors affect the fund's performance. The fund's share price changes daily based on changes in market conditions and interest rates and in response to other economic, political, or financial developments. The fund's reaction to these developments will be affected by the types of securities in which the fund invests, the financial condition, industry and economic sector, and geographic location of an issuer, and the fund's level of investment in the securities of that issuer. Because FMR concentrates the fund's investments in a particular industry, the fund's performance could depend heavily on the performance of that industry and could be more volatile than the performance of less concentrated funds. When you sell your shares they may be worth more or less than what you paid for them, which means that you could lose money by investing in the fund.
The following factors can significantly affect the fund's performance:
Stock Market Volatility. The value of equity securities fluctuates in response to issuer, political, market, and economic developments. Fluctuations can be dramatic over the short as well as long term, and different parts of the market and different types of equity securities can react differently to these developments. For example, large cap stocks can react differently from small cap stocks, and "growth" stocks can react differently from "value" stocks. Issuer, political, or economic developments can affect a single issuer, issuers within an industry or economic sector or geographic region, or the market as a whole. Changes in the financial condition of a single issuer can impact the market as a whole. Terrorism and related geo-political risks have led, and may in the future lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on world economies and markets generally.
Interest Rate Changes. Debt securities have varying levels of sensitivity to changes in interest rates. In general, the price of a debt security can fall when interest rates rise and can rise when interest rates fall. Securities with longer maturities and mortgage securities can be more sensitive to interest rate changes. In other words, the longer the maturity of a security, the greater the impact a change in interest rates could have on the security's price. In addition, short-term and long-term interest rates do not necessarily move in the same amount or the same direction. Short-term securities tend to react to changes in short-term interest rates, and long-term securities tend to react to changes in long-term interest rates.
Foreign Exposure. Foreign securities, foreign currencies, and securities issued by U.S. entities with substantial foreign operations can involve additional risks relating to political, economic, or regulatory conditions in foreign countries. These risks include fluctuations in foreign currencies; withholding or other taxes; trading, settlement, custodial, and other operational risks; and the less stringent investor protection and disclosure standards of some foreign markets. All of these factors can make foreign investments, especially those in emerging markets, more volatile and potentially less liquid than U.S. investments. In addition, foreign markets can perform differently from the U.S. market.
Prospectus
Industry Concentration. Market conditions, interest rates, and economic, regulatory, or financial developments could significantly affect a single industry, and the securities of companies in that industry could react similarly to these or other developments. In addition, from time to time, a small number of companies may represent a large portion of a single industry, and these companies can be sensitive to adverse economic, regulatory, or financial developments.
The real estate industry is particularly sensitive to economic downturns. The value of securities of issuers in the real estate industry, including REITs, can be affected by changes in real estate values and rental income, property taxes, interest rates, tax and regulatory requirements, and the management skill and creditworthiness of the issuer. In addition, the value of a REIT can depend on the structure of and cash flow generated by the REIT, and REITs may not have diversified holdings. Because REITs are pooled investment vehicles that have expenses of their own, the fund will indirectly bear its proportionate share of those expenses.
Prepayment. Many types of debt securities, including mortgage securities, are subject to prepayment risk. Prepayment risk occurs when the issuer of a security can repay principal prior to the security's maturity. Securities subject to prepayment can offer less potential for gains during a declining interest rate environment and similar or greater potential for loss in a rising interest rate environment. In addition, the potential impact of prepayment features on the price of a debt security can be difficult to predict and result in greater volatility.
Issuer-Specific Changes. Changes in the financial condition of an issuer or counterparty, changes in specific economic or political conditions that affect a particular type of security or issuer, and changes in general economic or political conditions can increase the risk of default by an issuer or counterparty, which can affect a security's or instrument's credit quality or value. The value of securities of smaller, less well-known issuers can be more volatile than that of larger issuers. Entities providing credit support or a maturity-shortening structure also can be affected by these types of changes. If the structure of a security fails to function as intended, the security could decline in value. Lower-quality debt securities (those of less than investment-grade quality) and certain types of other securities tend to be particularly sensitive to these changes.
Lower-quality debt securities and certain types of other securities involve greater risk of default or price changes due to changes in the credit quality of the issuer. The value of lower-quality debt securities and certain types of other securities often fluctuates in response to company, political, or economic developments and can decline significantly over short as well as long periods of time or during periods of general or regional economic difficulty. Lower-quality debt securities can be thinly traded or have restrictions on resale, making them difficult to sell at an acceptable price. The default rate for lower-quality debt securities is likely to be higher during economic recessions or periods of high interest rates.
Prospectus
Fund Basics - continued
In response to market, economic, political, or other conditions, FMR may temporarily use a different investment strategy for defensive purposes. If FMR does so, different factors could affect the fund's performance and the fund may not achieve its investment objective.
The following policies are fundamental, that is, subject to change only by shareholder approval:
The fund seeks higher than average income. As a secondary objective, the fund also seeks capital growth.
The following policy is subject to change only upon 60 days' prior notice to shareholders:
The fund normally invests at least 80% of its assets in securities of companies principally engaged in the real estate industry and other real estate related investments.
The fund is open for business each day the NYSE is open.
The fund's NAV is the value of a single share. Fidelity normally calculates the fund's NAV as of the close of business of the NYSE, normally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time. The fund's assets normally are valued as of this time for the purpose of computing the fund's NAV. Fidelity calculates net asset value separately for each class of shares of a multiple class fund.
NAV is not calculated and the fund will not process purchase and redemption requests submitted on days when the fund is not open for business. The time at which shares are priced and until which purchase and redemption orders are accepted may be changed as permitted by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
To the extent that the fund's assets are traded in other markets on days when the fund is not open for business, the value of the fund's assets may be affected on those days. In addition, trading in some of the fund's assets may not occur on days when the fund is open for business.
Shares of open-end funds in which the fund may invest (referred to as underlying funds) are valued at their respective NAVs. The fund's NAV is calculated using the values of any underlying funds in which it invests. Other assets (as well as assets held by an underlying Fidelity non-money market fund) are valued primarily on the basis of market quotations, official closing prices, or information furnished by a pricing service. Certain short-term securities are valued on the basis of amortized cost. If market quotations, official closing prices, or information furnished by a pricing service are not readily available or, in FMR's opinion, are deemed unreliable for a security, then that security will be fair valued in good faith by FMR in accordance with applicable fair value pricing policies. For example, if, in FMR's opinion, a security's value has been materially affected by events occurring before the fund's pricing time but after the close of the exchange or market on which the security is principally traded, then that security will be fair valued in good faith by FMR in accordance with applicable fair value pricing policies. Fair value pricing will be used for high yield debt securities when available pricing information is determined to be stale or for other reasons not to accurately reflect fair value. Assets held by an underlying Fidelity money market fund are valued on the basis of amortized cost.
Prospectus
Arbitrage opportunities may exist when trading in a portfolio security or securities is halted and does not resume before a fund calculates its NAV. These arbitrage opportunities may enable short-term traders to dilute the NAV of long-term investors. Securities trading in overseas markets present time zone arbitrage opportunities when events affecting portfolio security values occur after the close of the overseas markets but prior to the close of the U.S. market. Fair valuation of a fund's portfolio securities can serve to reduce arbitrage opportunities available to short-term traders, but there is no assurance that fair value pricing policies will prevent dilution of a fund's NAV by short-term traders.
Although the fund has policies regarding excessive trading, these too may not be effective to prevent short-term NAV arbitrage trading, particularly in regard to omnibus accounts.
Fair value pricing is based on subjective judgments and it is possible that the fair value of a security may differ materially from the value that would be realized if the security were sold.
Prospectus
The fund may reject for any reason, or cancel as permitted or required by law, any purchase orders, including transactions deemed to represent excessive trading, at any time.
Excessive trading of fund shares can harm shareholders in various ways, including reducing the returns to long-term shareholders by increasing costs to the fund (such as brokerage commissions), disrupting portfolio management strategies, and diluting the value of the shares in cases in which fluctuations in markets are not fully priced into the fund's NAV.
Because the fund is offered for investment only to certain other mutual funds managed by FMR or an affiliate, the potential for excessive or short-term disruptive purchases and sales is reduced. Accordingly, the Board of Trustees has not adopted policies and procedures designed to discourage excessive trading of fund shares and the fund accommodates frequent trading.
The fund may in its discretion restrict, reject, or cancel any purchases that, in FMR's opinion, may be disruptive to the management of the fund or otherwise not be in the fund's interests.
The fund has no exchange privilege with any other fund. The fund has no limit on purchase transactions, but is offered for investment only to certain other mutual funds managed by FMR or an affiliate, which in turn have in place FMR's policies and procedures concerning frequent trading. The fund reserves the right at any time to restrict purchases or impose conditions that are more restrictive on excessive or disruptive trading than those stated in this prospectus.
The price to buy one share of the fund is its NAV. The fund's shares are sold without a sales charge.
Your shares will be bought at the NAV next calculated after your order is received in proper form.
Orders by funds of funds for which FMR or an affiliate serves as investment manager will be treated as received by the fund at the same time that the corresponding orders are received in proper form by the funds of funds.
The fund may stop offering shares completely or may offer shares only on a limited basis, for a period of time or permanently.
All wires must be received in proper form by Fidelity at the fund's designated wire bank before the close of the Federal Reserve Wire System on the day of purchase or you could be liable for any losses or fees the fund or Fidelity has incurred or for interest and penalties.
Under applicable anti-money laundering regulations and other federal regulations, purchase orders may be suspended, restricted, or canceled and the monies may be withheld.
The price to sell one share of the fund is its NAV.
Prospectus
Shareholder Information - continued
Your shares will be sold at the NAV next calculated after your order is received in proper form. Normally, redemptions will be processed by the next business day, but it may take up to seven days to pay the redemption proceeds if making immediate payment would adversely affect the fund.
Orders by funds of funds for which FMR or an affiliate serves as investment manager will be treated as received by the fund at the same time that the corresponding orders are received in proper form by the funds of funds.
When you place an order to sell shares, note the following:
Fidelity will send monthly account statements detailing fund balances and all transactions completed during the prior month.
You may be asked to provide additional information in order for Fidelity to verify your identity in accordance with requirements under anti-money laundering regulations. Accounts may be restricted and/or closed, and the monies withheld, pending verification of this information or as otherwise required under these and other federal regulations.
The fund earns dividends, interest, and other income from its investments, and distributes this income (less expenses) to shareholders as dividends. The fund also realizes capital gains from its investments, and distributes these gains (less any losses) to shareholders as capital gain distributions.
The fund normally pays dividends in March, June, September, and December and pays capital gain distributions in September and December.
Your dividends and capital gain distributions will be automatically reinvested in additional shares of the fund.
As with any investment, your investment in the fund could have tax consequences for you. If you are not investing through a tax-advantaged retirement account, you should consider these tax consequences.
Taxes on distributions. Distributions you receive from the fund are subject to federal income tax, and may also be subject to state or local taxes.
For federal tax purposes, certain of the fund's distributions, including dividends and distributions of short-term capital gains, are taxable to you as ordinary income, while certain of the fund's distributions, including distributions of long-term capital gains, are taxable to you generally as capital gains. A percentage of certain distributions of dividends may qualify for taxation at long-term capital gains rates (provided certain holding period requirements are met).
Prospectus
If you buy shares when a fund has realized but not yet distributed income or capital gains, you will be "buying a dividend" by paying the full price for the shares and then receiving a portion of the price back in the form of a taxable distribution.
Any taxable distributions you receive from the fund will normally be taxable to you when you receive them.
Taxes on transactions. Your redemptions may result in a capital gain or loss for federal tax purposes. A capital gain or loss on your investment in the fund generally is the difference between the cost of your shares and the price you receive when you sell them.
Prospectus
The fund is a mutual fund, an investment that pools shareholders' money and invests it toward a specified goal.
FMR is the fund's manager. The address of FMR and its affiliates, unless otherwise indicated below, is 82 Devonshire Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02109.
As of December 31, 2010, FMR had approximately $1.2 billion in discretionary assets under management.
As the manager, FMR has overall responsibility for directing the fund's investments and handling its business affairs.
FMRC serves as a sub-adviser for the fund. FMRC has day-to-day responsibility for choosing investments for the fund.
FMRC is an affiliate of FMR. As of December 31, 2010, FMRC had approximately $658.7 billion in discretionary assets under management.
Other investment advisers assist FMR with foreign investments:
Mark Snyderman is portfolio manager of the fund, which he has managed since October 2011. He also manages other Fidelity funds. Since joining Fidelity Investments in 1994, Mr. Snyderman has worked as an investment officer for commercial mortgage-backed securities in the real estate group and as a portfolio manager.
The statement of additional information (SAI) provides additional information about the compensation of, any other accounts managed by, and any fund shares held by Mr. Snyderman.
From time to time a manager, analyst, or other Fidelity employee may express views regarding a particular company, security, industry, or market sector. The views expressed by any such person are the views of only that individual as of the time expressed and do not necessarily represent the views of Fidelity or any other person in the Fidelity organization. Any such views are subject to change at any time based upon market or other conditions and Fidelity disclaims any responsibility to update such views. These views may not be relied on as investment advice and, because investment decisions for a Fidelity fund are based on numerous factors, may not be relied on as an indication of trading intent on behalf of any Fidelity fund.
Prospectus
The fund pays a management fee to FMR. The management fee is calculated and paid to FMR every month. The fee is calculated by adding a group fee rate to an individual fund fee rate, dividing by twelve, and multiplying the result by the fund's average net assets throughout the month.
The group fee rate is based on the average net assets of all the mutual funds advised by FMR. This rate cannot rise above 0.52%, and it drops as total assets under management increase.
For January 2011, the group fee rate was 0.26%. The individual fund fee rate is 0.30%.
FMR pays FMRC, FMR U.K., FMR H.K., and FMR Japan for providing sub-advisory services.
The basis for the Board of Trustees approving the management contract and sub-advisory agreements for the fund will be included in the fund's semi-annual report for the fiscal period ended January 31, 2012, when available.
FMR may, from time to time, agree to reimburse a class for, or waive, management fees and other expenses above a specified limit. FMR retains the ability to be repaid by a class if expenses fall below the specified limit prior to the end of the fiscal year.
Reimbursement or waiver arrangements can decrease expenses and boost performance.
Effective October 20, 2011, FMR has voluntarily agreed to reimburse the class of shares of the fund to the extent that total operating expenses (excluding interest, taxes, certain securities lending costs, brokerage commissions, extraordinary expenses, and acquired fund fees and expenses, if any), as a percentage of its average net assets, exceed 1.15%. This arrangement may be discontinued by FMR at any time.
The fund is composed of multiple classes of shares. All classes of the fund have a common investment objective and investment portfolio.
The fund has adopted a Distribution and Service Plan pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (1940 Act) with respect to its shares that recognizes that FMR may use its management fee revenues, as well as its past profits or its resources from any other source, to pay FDC for expenses incurred in connection with providing services intended to result in the sale of shares of the fund and/or shareholder support services. FMR, directly or through FDC, may pay significant amounts to intermediaries, including retirement plan sponsors, service-providers, and administrators, that provide those services. Currently, the Board of Trustees of the fund has authorized such payments for shares of the fund.
Prospectus
Fund Services - continued
If payments made by FMR to FDC or to intermediaries under the Distribution and Service Plan were considered to be paid out of a class's assets on an ongoing basis, they might increase the cost of your investment and might cost you more than paying other types of sales charges.
No dealer, sales representative, or any other person has been authorized to give any information or to make any representations, other than those contained in this prospectus and in the related SAI, in connection with the offer contained in this prospectus. If given or made, such other information or representations must not be relied upon as having been authorized by the fund or FDC. This prospectus and the related SAI do not constitute an offer by the fund or by FDC to sell shares of the fund to or to buy shares of the fund from any person to whom it is unlawful to make such offer.
Prospectus
Notes
IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT OPENING A NEW ACCOUNT To help the government fight the funding of terrorism and money laundering activities, the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (USA PATRIOT ACT), requires all financial institutions to obtain, verify, and record information that identifies each person or entity that opens an account. For investors other than individuals: When you open an account, you will be asked for the name of the entity, its principal place of business and taxpayer identification number (TIN) and may be requested to provide information on persons with authority or control over the account such as name, residential address, date of birth and social security number. You may also be asked to provide documents, such as drivers' licenses, articles of incorporation, trust instruments or partnership agreements and other information that will help Fidelity identify the entity. |
You can obtain additional information about the fund. A description of the fund's policies and procedures for disclosing its holdings is available in its SAI and on Fidelity's web sites. The SAI also includes more detailed information about the fund and its investments. The SAI is incorporated herein by reference (legally forms a part of the prospectus). A financial report will be available once the fund has completed its first annual or semi-annual period. The fund's annual and semi-annual reports also include additional information. The fund's annual report includes a discussion of the fund's holdings and recent market conditions and the fund's investment strategies that affected performance.
For a free copy of any of these documents or to request other information or ask questions about the fund, call Fidelity at 1-800-544-8544. In addition, you may visit Fidelity's web site at www.fidelity.com for a free copy of a prospectus, SAI, or annual or semi-annual report or to request other information.
The SAI, the fund's annual and semi-annual reports and other related materials are available from the Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval (EDGAR) Database on the SEC's web site (http://www.sec.gov). You can obtain copies of this information, after paying a duplicating fee, by sending a request by e-mail to publicinfo@sec.gov or by writing the Public Reference Section of the SEC, Washington, D.C. 20549-1520. You can also review and copy information about the fund, including the fund's SAI, at the SEC's Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C. Call 1-202-551-8090 for information on the operation of the SEC's Public Reference Room. Investment Company Act of 1940, File Number, 811-04118 |
FDC is a member of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC). You may obtain information about SIPC, including the SIPC brochure, by visiting www.sipc.org or calling SIPC at 202-371-8300.
Fidelity and Fidelity Investments & Pyramid Design are registered service marks of FMR LLC.
The third party marks appearing above are the marks of their respective owners.
1.924307.102 SRE-pro-0311-01
Fidelity® Series Real Estate Income Fund (FSREX)
A Class of shares of Fidelity Series Real Estate Income Fund
A Fund of Fidelity Securities Fund
STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
March 13, 2011
As Revised October 12, 2011
This statement of additional information (SAI) is not a prospectus. An annual report for the fund will be available once the fund has completed its first annual period.
To obtain a free additional copy of the prospectus or SAI, dated March 13, 2011, As Revised October 12, 2011, please call Fidelity at 1-800-544-8544 or visit Fidelity's web site at www.fidelity.com.
SRE-ptb-0311-01
1.924308.102
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Investment Policies and Limitations |
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Portfolio Transactions |
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Valuation |
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Buying and Selling Information |
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Distributions and Taxes |
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Trustees and Officers |
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Control of Investment Advisers |
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Management Contract |
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Proxy Voting Guidelines |
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Distribution Services |
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Transfer and Service Agent Agreements |
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Description of the Trust |
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Fund Holdings Information |
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Appendix |
INVESTMENT POLICIES AND LIMITATIONS
The following policies and limitations supplement those set forth in the prospectus. Unless otherwise noted, whenever an investment policy or limitation states a maximum percentage of the fund's assets that may be invested in any security or other asset, or sets forth a policy regarding quality standards, such standard or percentage limitation will be determined immediately after and as a result of the fund's acquisition of such security or other asset. Accordingly, any subsequent change in values, net assets, or other circumstances will not be considered when determining whether the investment complies with the fund's investment policies and limitations.
The fund's fundamental investment policies and limitations cannot be changed without approval by a "majority of the outstanding voting securities" (as defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940 (1940 Act)) of the fund. However, except for the fundamental investment limitations listed below, the investment policies and limitations described in this SAI are not fundamental and may be changed without shareholder approval.
The following are the fund's fundamental investment limitations set forth in their entirety.
Diversification
The fund may not with respect to 75% of the fund's total assets, purchase the securities of any issuer (other than securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government or any of its agencies or instrumentalities, or securities of other investment companies) if, as a result, (a) more than 5% of the fund's total assets would be invested in the securities of that issuer, or (b) the fund would hold more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of that issuer.
Senior Securities
The fund may not issue senior securities, except in connection with the insurance program established by the fund pursuant to an exemptive order issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission or as otherwise permitted under the Investment Company Act of 1940.
Borrowing
The fund may not borrow money, except that the fund may borrow money for temporary or emergency purposes (not for leveraging or investment) in an amount not exceeding 33 1/3% of its total assets (including the amount borrowed) less liabilities (other than borrowings). Any borrowings that come to exceed this amount will be reduced within three days (not including Sundays and holidays) to the extent necessary to comply with the 33 1/3% limitation.
Underwriting
The fund may not underwrite securities issued by others, except to the extent that the fund may be considered an underwriter within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933 in the disposition of restricted securities or in connection with investments in other investment companies.
Concentration
The fund may not purchase any security if, as a result, more than 25% of its total assets would be invested in the securities of companies having their principal business activities in the same industry, except that the fund will invest more than 25% of its total assets in the real estate industry (this limitation does not apply to securities issued or guaranteed by the United States Government or its agencies or instrumentalities).
For purposes of the fund's concentration limitation discussed above, with respect to any investment in Fidelity® Money Market Central Fund and/or any non-money market central fund, Fidelity Management & Research Company (FMR) looks through to the holdings of the central fund.
For purposes of the fund's concentration limitation discussed above, FMR may analyze the characteristics of a particular issuer and security and assign an industry or sector classification consistent with those characteristics in the event that the third party classification provider used by FMR does not assign a classification.
Real Estate
The fund may not purchase or sell real estate unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other instruments (but this shall not prevent the fund from investing in securities or other instruments backed by real estate or securities of companies engaged in the real estate business).
Commodities
The fund may not purchase or sell physical commodities unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other instruments (but this shall not prevent the fund from purchasing or selling options and futures contracts or from investing in securities or other instruments backed by physical commodities).
Loans
The fund may not lend any security or make any other loan if, as a result, more than 33 1/3% of its total assets would be lent to other parties, but this limitation does not apply to purchases of debt securities or to repurchase agreements, or to acquisitions of loans, loan participations or other forms of debt instruments.
The following investment limitations are not fundamental and may be changed without shareholder approval.
Short Sales
The fund does not currently intend to sell securities short, unless it owns or has the right to obtain securities equivalent in kind and amount to the securities sold short, and provided that transactions in futures contracts and options are not deemed to constitute selling securities short.
Margin Purchases
The fund does not currently intend to purchase securities on margin, except that the fund may obtain such short-term credits as are necessary for the clearance of transactions, and provided that margin payments in connection with futures contracts and options on futures contracts shall not constitute purchasing securities on margin.
Borrowing
The fund may borrow money only (a) from a bank or from a registered investment company or portfolio for which FMR or an affiliate serves as investment adviser or (b) by engaging in reverse repurchase agreements with any party (reverse repurchase agreements are treated as borrowings for purposes of the fundamental borrowing investment limitation).
Illiquid Securities
The fund does not currently intend to purchase any security if, as a result, more than 10% of its net assets would be invested in securities that are deemed to be illiquid because they are subject to legal or contractual restrictions on resale or because they cannot be sold or disposed of in the ordinary course of business at approximately the prices at which they are valued.
For purposes of the fund's illiquid securities limitation discussed above, if through a change in values, net assets, or other circumstances, the fund were in a position where more than 10% of its net assets were invested in illiquid securities, it would consider appropriate steps to protect liquidity.
Loans
The fund does not currently intend to lend assets other than securities to other parties, except by (a) lending money (up to 15% of the fund's net assets) to a registered investment company or portfolio for which FMR or an affiliate serves as investment adviser or (b) assuming any unfunded commitments in connection with the acquisition of loans, loan participations, or other forms of debt instruments. (This limitation does not apply to purchases of debt securities, to repurchase agreements, or to acquisitions of loans, loan participations or other forms of debt instruments.)
In addition to the fund's fundamental and non-fundamental investment limitations discussed above:
For the fund's limitations on futures and options transactions, see the section entitled "Futures, Options, and Swaps" on page <Click Here>.
The following pages contain more detailed information about types of instruments in which the fund may invest, techniques the fund's adviser (or a sub-adviser) may employ in pursuit of the fund's investment objective, and a summary of related risks. The fund's adviser (or a sub-adviser) may not buy all of these instruments or use all of these techniques unless it believes that doing so will help the fund achieve its goal. However, the fund's adviser (or a sub-adviser) is not required to buy any particular instrument or use any particular technique even if to do so might benefit the fund.
On the following pages in this section titled "Investment Policies and Limitations," and except as otherwise indicated, references to "an adviser" or "the adviser" may relate to the fund's adviser or a sub-adviser, as applicable.
Affiliated Bank Transactions. A Fidelity fund may engage in transactions with financial institutions that are, or may be considered to be, "affiliated persons" of the fund under the 1940 Act. These transactions may involve repurchase agreements with custodian banks; short-term obligations of, and repurchase agreements with, the 50 largest U.S. banks (measured by deposits); municipal securities; U.S. Government securities with affiliated financial institutions that are primary dealers in these securities; short-term currency transactions; and short-term borrowings. In accordance with exemptive orders issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Board of Trustees has established and periodically reviews procedures applicable to transactions involving affiliated financial institutions.
Asset-Backed Securities represent interests in pools of mortgages, loans, receivables, or other assets. Payment of interest and repayment of principal may be largely dependent upon the cash flows generated by the assets backing the securities and, in certain cases, supported by letters of credit, surety bonds, or other credit enhancements. Asset-backed security values may also be affected by other factors including changes in interest rates, the availability of information concerning the pool and its structure, the creditworthiness of the servicing agent for the pool, the originator of the loans or receivables, or the entities providing the credit enhancement. In addition, these securities may be subject to prepayment risk.
Borrowing. If a fund borrows money, its share price may be subject to greater fluctuation until the borrowing is paid off. If a fund makes additional investments while borrowings are outstanding, this may be considered a form of leverage.
Cash Management. A fund may hold uninvested cash or may invest it in cash equivalents such as money market securities, repurchase agreements, or shares of money market or short-term bond funds. Generally, these securities offer less potential for gains than other types of securities.
Central Funds are special types of investment vehicles created by Fidelity for use by the Fidelity funds and other advisory clients. Central funds are used to invest in particular security types or investment disciplines, or for cash management. Central funds incur certain costs related to their investment activity (such as custodial fees and expenses), but do not pay additional management fees to Fidelity. The investment results of the portions of a Fidelity fund's assets invested in the central funds will be based upon the investment results of those funds.
Common Stock represents an equity or ownership interest in an issuer. In the event an issuer is liquidated or declares bankruptcy, the claims of owners of bonds and preferred stock take precedence over the claims of those who own common stock.
Convertible Securities are bonds, debentures, notes, or other securities that may be converted or exchanged (by the holder or by the issuer) into shares of the underlying common stock (or cash or securities of equivalent value) at a stated exchange ratio. A convertible security may also be called for redemption or conversion by the issuer after a particular date and under certain circumstances (including a specified price) established upon issue. If a convertible security held by a fund is called for redemption or conversion, the fund could be required to tender it for redemption, convert it into the underlying common stock, or sell it to a third party.
Convertible securities generally have less potential for gain or loss than common stocks. Convertible securities generally provide yields higher than the underlying common stocks, but generally lower than comparable non-convertible securities. Because of this higher yield, convertible securities generally sell at prices above their "conversion value," which is the current market value of the stock to be received upon conversion. The difference between this conversion value and the price of convertible securities will vary over time depending on changes in the value of the underlying common stocks and interest rates. When the underlying common stocks decline in value, convertible securities will tend not to decline to the same extent because of the interest or dividend payments and the repayment of principal at maturity for certain types of convertible securities. However, securities that are convertible other than at the option of the holder generally do not limit the potential for loss to the same extent as securities convertible at the option of the holder. When the underlying common stocks rise in value, the value of convertible securities may also be expected to increase. At the same time, however, the difference between the market value of convertible securities and their conversion value will narrow, which means that the value of convertible securities will generally not increase to the same extent as the value of the underlying common stocks. Because convertible securities may also be interest-rate sensitive, their value may increase as interest rates fall and decrease as interest rates rise. Convertible securities are also subject to credit risk, and are often lower-quality securities.
Companies "Principally Engaged" in the Real Estate Industry. For purposes of a Fidelity fund's investment objective and policy to normally invest at least 80% of its assets in securities of companies principally engaged in the real estate industry and other real estate related investments, FMR may consider a company to be principally engaged in the real estate industry if: (i) at least a plurality of its assets (marked to market), gross income, or net profits are attributable to ownership, construction, management, or sale of residential, commercial, or industrial real estate, or (ii) a third party has given the company an industry or sector classification consistent with real estate.
Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) are shares of other investment companies, commodity pools, or other entities that are traded on an exchange. Typically, assets underlying the ETF shares are stocks, though they may also be commodities or other instruments, selected to track a particular index or other benchmark.
Typically, ETF shares are expected to increase in value as the value of the underlying benchmark increases. However, in the case of inverse ETFs (also called "short ETFs" or "bear ETFs"), ETF shares are expected to increase in value as the value of the underlying benchmark decreases. Inverse ETFs seek to deliver the opposite of the performance of the benchmark they track and are often marketed as a way for investors to profit from, or at least hedge their exposure to, downward moving markets. Investments in inverse ETFs are similar to holding short positions in the underlying benchmark.
ETF shares are redeemable only in large blocks (typically, 50,000 shares) often called "creation units" by persons other than a fund, and are redeemed principally in-kind at each day's next calculated net asset value per share (NAV). ETFs typically incur fees that are separate from those fees incurred directly by a fund. A fund's purchase of ETFs results in the layering of expenses, such that the fund would indirectly bear a proportionate share of any ETF's operating expenses. Further, while traditional investment companies are continuously offered at NAV, ETFs are traded in the secondary market (e.g. on a stock exchange) on an intra-day basis at prices that may be above or below the value of their underlying portfolios.
Some of the risks of investing in an ETF are similar to those of investing in an indexed mutual fund, including tracking error risk (the risk of errors in matching the ETF's underlying assets to the index or other benchmark); and the risk that because an ETF is not actively managed, it cannot sell stocks or other assets as long as they are represented in the index or other benchmark. Other ETF risks include the risk that ETFs may trade in the secondary market at a discount from their NAV and the risk that the ETFs may not be liquid. ETFs also may be leveraged. Leveraged ETFs seek to deliver multiples of the performance of the index or other benchmark they track and use derivatives in an effort to amplify the returns (or decline, in the case of inverse ETFs) of the underlying index or benchmark. While leveraged ETFs may offer the potential for greater return, the potential for loss and the speed at which losses can be realized also are greater. Most leveraged and inverse ETFs "reset" daily, meaning they are designed to achieve their stated objectives on a daily basis. Leveraged and inverse ETFs can deviate substantially from the performance of their underlying benchmark over longer periods of time, particularly in volatile periods.
Exchange Traded Notes (ETNs) are a type of senior, unsecured, unsubordinated debt security issued by financial institutions that combines aspects of both bonds and ETFs. An ETN's returns are based on the performance of a market index or other reference asset minus fees and expenses. Similar to ETFs, ETNs are listed on an exchange and traded in the secondary market. However, unlike an ETF, an ETN can be held until the ETN's maturity, at which time the issuer will pay a return linked to the performance of the market index or other reference asset to which the ETN is linked minus certain fees. Unlike regular bonds, ETNs typically do not make periodic interest payments and principal typically is not protected.
An ETN that is tied to a specific index may not be able to replicate and maintain exactly the composition and relative weighting of securities, commodities, or other components in the applicable index. ETNs also incur certain expenses not incurred by their applicable index. Additionally, certain components comprising the index tracked by an ETN may, at times, be temporarily unavailable, which may impede the ETN's ability to track its index. The market value of an ETN is determined by supply and demand, the current performance of the index or other reference asset, and the credit rating of the ETN issuer. The market value of ETN shares may differ from their NAV. This difference in price may be due to the fact that the supply and demand in the market for ETN shares at any point in time is not always identical to the supply and demand in the market for the securities underlying the index (or other reference asset) that the ETN seeks to track. The value of an ETN may also change due to a change in the issuer's credit rating. As a result, there may be times when an ETN share trades at a premium or discount to its NAV. Some ETNs that use leverage in an effort to amplify the returns of an underlying index or other reference asset can, at times, be relatively illiquid and, thus, they may be difficult to purchase or sell at a fair price. Leveraged ETNs may offer the potential for greater return, but the potential for loss and speed at which losses can be realized also are greater.
Exposure to Foreign Markets. Foreign securities, foreign currencies, and securities issued by U.S. entities with substantial foreign operations may involve significant risks in addition to the risks inherent in U.S. investments.
Foreign investments involve risks relating to local political, economic, regulatory, or social instability, military action or unrest, or adverse diplomatic developments, and may be affected by actions of foreign governments adverse to the interests of U.S. investors. Such actions may include expropriation or nationalization of assets, confiscatory taxation, restrictions on U.S. investment or on the ability to repatriate assets or convert currency into U.S. dollars, or other government intervention. Additionally, governmental issuers of foreign debt securities may be unwilling to pay interest and repay principal when due and may require that the conditions for payment be renegotiated. There is no assurance that a fund's adviser will be able to anticipate these potential events or counter their effects. In addition, the value of securities denominated in foreign currencies and of dividends and interest paid with respect to such securities will fluctuate based on the relative strength of the U.S. dollar.
It is anticipated that in most cases the best available market for foreign securities will be on an exchange or in over-the-counter (OTC) markets located outside of the United States. Foreign stock markets, while growing in volume and sophistication, are generally not as developed as those in the United States, and securities of some foreign issuers may be less liquid and more volatile than securities of comparable U.S. issuers. Foreign security trading, settlement and custodial practices (including those involving securities settlement where fund assets may be released prior to receipt of payment) are often less developed than those in U.S. markets, and may result in increased risk or substantial delays in the event of a failed trade or the insolvency of, or breach of duty by, a foreign broker-dealer, securities depository, or foreign subcustodian. In addition, the costs associated with foreign investments, including withholding taxes, brokerage commissions, and custodial costs, are generally higher than with U.S. investments.
Foreign markets may offer less protection to investors than U.S. markets. Foreign issuers are generally not bound by uniform accounting, auditing, and financial reporting requirements and standards of practice comparable to those applicable to U.S. issuers. Adequate public information on foreign issuers may not be available, and it may be difficult to secure dividends and information regarding corporate actions on a timely basis. In general, there is less overall governmental supervision and regulation of securities exchanges, brokers, and listed companies than in the United States. OTC markets tend to be less regulated than stock exchange markets and, in certain countries, may be totally unregulated. Regulatory enforcement may be influenced by economic or political concerns, and investors may have difficulty enforcing their legal rights in foreign countries.
Some foreign securities impose restrictions on transfer within the United States or to U.S. persons. Although securities subject to such transfer restrictions may be marketable abroad, they may be less liquid than foreign securities of the same class that are not subject to such restrictions.
American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) as well as other "hybrid" forms of ADRs, including European Depositary Receipts (EDRs) and Global Depositary Receipts (GDRs), are certificates evidencing ownership of shares of a foreign issuer. These certificates are issued by depository banks and generally trade on an established market in the United States or elsewhere. The underlying shares are held in trust by a custodian bank or similar financial institution in the issuer's home country. The depository bank may not have physical custody of the underlying securities at all times and may charge fees for various services, including forwarding dividends and interest and corporate actions. ADRs are alternatives to directly purchasing the underlying foreign securities in their national markets and currencies. However, ADRs continue to be subject to many of the risks associated with investing directly in foreign securities. These risks include foreign exchange risk as well as the political and economic risks of the underlying issuer's country.
The risks of foreign investing may be magnified for investments in emerging markets. Security prices in emerging markets can be significantly more volatile than those in more developed markets, reflecting the greater uncertainties of investing in less established markets and economies. In particular, countries with emerging markets may have relatively unstable governments, may present the risks of nationalization of businesses, restrictions on foreign ownership and prohibitions on the repatriation of assets, and may have less protection of property rights than more developed countries. The economies of countries with emerging markets may be based on only a few industries, may be highly vulnerable to changes in local or global trade conditions, and may suffer from extreme and volatile debt burdens or inflation rates. Local securities markets may trade a small number of securities and may be unable to respond effectively to increases in trading volume, potentially making prompt liquidation of holdings difficult or impossible at times.
Foreign Currency Transactions. A fund may conduct foreign currency transactions on a spot (i.e., cash) or forward basis (i.e., by entering into forward contracts to purchase or sell foreign currencies). Although foreign exchange dealers generally do not charge a fee for such conversions, they do realize a profit based on the difference between the prices at which they are buying and selling various currencies. Thus, a dealer may offer to sell a foreign currency at one rate, while offering a lesser rate of exchange should the counterparty desire to resell that currency to the dealer. Forward contracts are customized transactions that require a specific amount of a currency to be delivered at a specific exchange rate on a specific date or range of dates in the future. Forward contracts are generally traded in an interbank market directly between currency traders (usually large commercial banks) and their customers. The parties to a forward contract may agree to offset or terminate the contract before its maturity, or may hold the contract to maturity and complete the contemplated currency exchange.
The following discussion summarizes the principal currency management strategies involving forward contracts that could be used by a fund. A fund may also use swap agreements, indexed securities, and options and futures contracts relating to foreign currencies for the same purposes.
A "settlement hedge" or "transaction hedge" is designed to protect a fund against an adverse change in foreign currency values between the date a security is purchased or sold and the date on which payment is made or received. Entering into a forward contract for the purchase or sale of the amount of foreign currency involved in an underlying security transaction for a fixed amount of U.S. dollars "locks in" the U.S. dollar price of the security. Forward contracts to purchase or sell a foreign currency may also be used by a fund in anticipation of future purchases or sales of securities denominated in foreign currency, even if the specific investments have not yet been selected.
A fund may also use forward contracts to hedge against a decline in the value of existing investments denominated in foreign currency. For example, if a fund owned securities denominated in pounds sterling, it could enter into a forward contract to sell pounds sterling in return for U.S. dollars to hedge against possible declines in the pound's value. Such a hedge, sometimes referred to as a "position hedge," would tend to offset both positive and negative currency fluctuations, but would not offset changes in security values caused by other factors. A fund could also hedge the position by selling another currency expected to perform similarly to the pound sterling. This type of hedge, sometimes referred to as a "proxy hedge," could offer advantages in terms of cost, yield, or efficiency, but generally would not hedge currency exposure as effectively as a direct hedge into U.S. dollars. Proxy hedges may result in losses if the currency used to hedge does not perform similarly to the currency in which the hedged securities are denominated.
A fund may enter into forward contracts to shift its investment exposure from one currency into another. This may include shifting exposure from U.S. dollars to a foreign currency, or from one foreign currency to another foreign currency. This type of strategy, sometimes known as a "cross-hedge," will tend to reduce or eliminate exposure to the currency that is sold, and increase exposure to the currency that is purchased, much as if a fund had sold a security denominated in one currency and purchased an equivalent security denominated in another. A fund may cross-hedge its U.S. dollar exposure in order to achieve a representative weighted mix of the major currencies in its benchmark index and/or to cover an underweight country or region exposure in its portfolio. Cross-hedges protect against losses resulting from a decline in the hedged currency, but will cause a fund to assume the risk of fluctuations in the value of the currency it purchases.
Successful use of currency management strategies will depend on an adviser's skill in analyzing currency values. Currency management strategies may substantially change a fund's investment exposure to changes in currency exchange rates and could result in losses to a fund if currencies do not perform as an adviser anticipates. For example, if a currency's value rose at a time when a fund had hedged its position by selling that currency in exchange for dollars, the fund would not participate in the currency's appreciation. If a fund hedges currency exposure through proxy hedges, the fund could realize currency losses from both the hedge and the security position if the two currencies do not move in tandem. Similarly, if a fund increases its exposure to a foreign currency and that currency's value declines, the fund will realize a loss. A fund may be required to limit its hedging transactions in foreign currency forwards, futures, and options in order to maintain its classification as a "regulated investment company" under the Internal Revenue Code (Code). Hedging transactions could result in the application of the mark-to-market provisions of the Code, which may cause an increase (or decrease) in the amount of taxable dividends paid by a fund and could affect whether dividends paid by a fund are classified as capital gains or ordinary income. There is no assurance that an adviser's use of currency management strategies will be advantageous to a fund or that it will employ currency management strategies at appropriate times.
Options and Futures Relating to Foreign Currencies. Currency futures contracts are similar to forward currency exchange contracts, except that they are traded on exchanges (and have margin requirements) and are standardized as to contract size and delivery date. Most currency futures contracts call for payment or delivery in U.S. dollars. The underlying instrument of a currency option may be a foreign currency, which generally is purchased or delivered in exchange for U.S. dollars, or may be a futures contract. The purchaser of a currency call obtains the right to purchase the underlying currency, and the purchaser of a currency put obtains the right to sell the underlying currency.
The uses and risks of currency options and futures are similar to options and futures relating to securities or indices, as discussed below. A fund may purchase and sell currency futures and may purchase and write currency options to increase or decrease its exposure to different foreign currencies. Currency options may also be purchased or written in conjunction with each other or with currency futures or forward contracts. Currency futures and options values can be expected to correlate with exchange rates, but may not reflect other factors that affect the value of a fund's investments. A currency hedge, for example, should protect a Yen-denominated security from a decline in the Yen, but will not protect a fund against a price decline resulting from deterioration in the issuer's creditworthiness. Because the value of a fund's foreign-denominated investments changes in response to many factors other than exchange rates, it may not be possible to match the amount of currency options and futures to the value of the fund's investments exactly over time.
Fund's Rights as an Investor. Fidelity funds do not intend to direct or administer the day-to-day operations of any company. A fund may, however, exercise its rights as a shareholder or lender and may communicate its views on important matters of policy to a company's management, board of directors, and shareholders, and holders of a company's other securities when such matters could have a significant effect on the value of the fund's investment in the company. The activities in which a fund may engage, either individually or in conjunction with others, may include, among others, supporting or opposing proposed changes in a company's corporate structure or business activities; seeking changes in a company's directors or management; seeking changes in a company's direction or policies; seeking the sale or reorganization of the company or a portion of its assets; supporting or opposing third-party takeover efforts; supporting the filing of a bankruptcy petition; or foreclosing on collateral securing a security. This area of corporate activity is increasingly prone to litigation and it is possible that a fund could be involved in lawsuits related to such activities. Such activities will be monitored with a view to mitigating, to the extent possible, the risk of litigation against a fund and the risk of actual liability if a fund is involved in litigation. No guarantee can be made, however, that litigation against a fund will not be undertaken or liabilities incurred. The fund's proxy voting guidelines are included in this SAI.
Futures, Options, and Swaps. The success of any strategy involving futures, options, and swaps depends on an adviser's analysis of many economic and mathematical factors and a fund's return may be higher if it never invested in such instruments. Additionally, some of the contracts discussed below are new instruments without a trading history and there can be no assurance that a market for the instruments will continue to exist. Government legislation or regulation could affect the use of such instruments and could limit a fund's ability to pursue its investment strategies.
Fidelity® Series Real Estate Income Fund will not: (a) sell futures contracts, purchase put options, or write call options if, as a result, more than 25% of the fund's total assets would be hedged with futures and options under normal conditions; (b) purchase futures contracts or write put options if, as a result, the fund's total obligations upon settlement or exercise of purchased futures contracts and written put options would exceed 25% of its total assets under normal conditions; or (c) purchase call options if, as a result, the current value of option premiums for call options purchased by the fund would exceed 5% of the fund's total assets. These limitations do not apply to options attached to or acquired or traded together with their underlying securities, and do not apply to structured notes.
The limitations on the fund's investments in futures contracts, options, and swaps, and the fund's policies regarding futures contracts, options, and swaps discussed elsewhere in this SAI may be changed as regulatory agencies permit.
The requirements for qualification as a regulated investment company may limit the extent to which a fund may enter into futures, options on futures, and forward contracts. See "Distributions and Taxes."
Futures Contracts. In purchasing a futures contract, the buyer agrees to purchase a specified underlying instrument at a specified future date. In selling a futures contract, the seller agrees to sell a specified underlying instrument at a specified date. The price at which the purchase and sale will take place is fixed when the buyer and seller enter into the contract. Some currently available futures contracts are based on specific securities, some are based on commodities or commodities indices (for funds that seek commodities exposure), and some are based on indices of securities prices (including foreign indices for funds that seek foreign exposure). Futures on indices and futures not calling for physical delivery of the underlying instrument will be settled through cash payments rather than through delivery of the underlying instrument. Futures can be held until their delivery dates, or can be closed before then if a liquid market is available.
The value of a futures contract tends to increase and decrease in tandem with the value of its underlying instrument. Therefore, purchasing futures contracts will tend to increase a fund's exposure to positive and negative price fluctuations in the underlying instrument, much as if it had purchased the underlying instrument directly. When a fund sells a futures contract, by contrast, the value of its futures position will tend to move in a direction contrary to the market. Selling futures contracts, therefore, will tend to offset both positive and negative market price changes, much as if the underlying instrument had been sold.
The purchaser or seller of a futures contract or an option for a futures contract is not required to deliver or pay for the underlying instrument or the final cash settlement price, as applicable, unless the contract is held until the delivery date. However, both the purchaser and seller are required to deposit "initial margin" with a futures broker, known as a futures commission merchant (FCM), when the contract is entered into. If the value of either party's position declines, that party will be required to make additional "variation margin" payments to settle the change in value on a daily basis. This process of "marking to market" will be reflected in the daily calculation of open positions computed in a fund's NAV. The party that has a gain is entitled to receive all or a portion of this amount. Initial and variation margin payments do not constitute purchasing securities on margin for purposes of a fund's investment limitations. In the event of the bankruptcy or insolvency of an FCM that holds margin on behalf of a fund, the fund may be entitled to return of margin owed to it only in proportion to the amount received by the FCM's other customers, potentially resulting in losses to the fund. A fund is required to segregate liquid assets equivalent to the fund's outstanding obligations under the contract in excess of the initial margin and variation margin, if any.
Although futures exchanges generally operate similarly in the United States and abroad, foreign futures exchanges may follow trading, settlement, and margin procedures that are different from those for U.S. exchanges. Futures contracts traded outside the United States may involve greater risk of loss than U.S.-traded contracts, including potentially greater risk of losses due to insolvency of a futures broker, exchange member, or other party that may owe initial or variation margin to a fund. Because initial and variation margin payments may be measured in foreign currency, a futures contract traded outside the United States may also involve the risk of foreign currency fluctuation.
There is no assurance a liquid market will exist for any particular futures contract at any particular time. Exchanges may establish daily price fluctuation limits for futures contracts, and may halt trading if a contract's price moves upward or downward more than the limit in a given day. On volatile trading days when the price fluctuation limit is reached or a trading halt is imposed, it may be impossible to enter into new positions or close out existing positions. If the market for a contract is not liquid because of price fluctuation limits or other market conditions, it could prevent prompt liquidation of unfavorable positions, and potentially could require a fund to continue to hold a position until delivery or expiration regardless of changes in its value. As a result, a fund's access to other assets held to cover its futures positions could also be impaired. These risks may be heightened for commodity futures contracts, which have historically been subject to greater price volatility than exists for instruments such as stocks and bonds.
Because there are a limited number of types of exchange-traded futures contracts, it is likely that the standardized contracts available will not match a fund's current or anticipated investments exactly. A fund may invest in futures contracts based on securities with different issuers, maturities, or other characteristics from the securities in which the fund typically invests, which involves a risk that the futures position will not track the performance of the fund's other investments.
Futures prices can also diverge from the prices of their underlying instruments, even if the underlying instruments match a fund's investments well. Futures prices are affected by such factors as current and anticipated short-term interest rates, changes in volatility of the underlying instrument, and the time remaining until expiration of the contract, which may not affect security prices the same way. Imperfect correlation may also result from differing levels of demand in the futures markets and the securities markets, from structural differences in how futures and securities are traded, or from imposition of daily price fluctuation limits or trading halts. A fund may purchase or sell futures contracts with a greater or lesser value than the securities it wishes to hedge or intends to purchase in order to attempt to compensate for differences in volatility between the contract and the securities, although this may not be successful in all cases. If price changes in a fund's futures positions are poorly correlated with its other investments, the positions may fail to produce anticipated gains or result in losses that are not offset by gains in other investments. In addition, the price of a commodity futures contract can reflect the storage costs associated with the purchase of the physical commodity.
Options. By purchasing a put option, the purchaser obtains the right (but not the obligation) to sell the option's underlying instrument at a fixed strike price. In return for this right, the purchaser pays the current market price for the option (known as the option premium). Options have various types of underlying instruments, including specific assets or securities, indices of securities or commodities prices, and futures contracts (including commodity futures contracts). The purchaser may terminate its position in a put option by allowing it to expire or by exercising the option. If the option is allowed to expire, the purchaser will lose the entire premium. If the option is exercised, the purchaser completes the sale of the underlying instrument at the strike price. A purchaser may also terminate a put option position by closing it out in the secondary market at its current price, if a liquid secondary market exists.
The buyer of a typical put option can expect to realize a gain if the underlying instrument's price falls substantially. However, if the underlying instrument's price does not fall enough to offset the cost of purchasing the option, a put buyer can expect to suffer a loss (limited to the amount of the premium, plus related transaction costs).
The features of call options are essentially the same as those of put options, except that the purchaser of a call option obtains the right to purchase, rather than sell, the underlying instrument at the option's strike price. A call buyer typically attempts to participate in potential price increases of the underlying instrument with risk limited to the cost of the option if the underlying instrument's price falls. At the same time, the buyer can expect to suffer a loss if the underlying instrument's price does not rise sufficiently to offset the cost of the option.
The writer of a put or call option takes the opposite side of the transaction from the option's purchaser. In return for receipt of the premium, the writer assumes the obligation to pay or receive the strike price for the option's underlying instrument if the other party to the option chooses to exercise it. The writer may seek to terminate a position in a put option before exercise by closing out the option in the secondary market at its current price. If the secondary market is not liquid for a put option, however, the writer must continue to be prepared to pay the strike price while the option is outstanding, regardless of price changes. When writing an option on a futures contract, a fund will be required to make margin payments to an FCM as described above for futures contracts.
If the underlying instrument's price rises, a put writer would generally expect to profit, although its gain would be limited to the amount of the premium it received. If the underlying instrument's price remains the same over time, it is likely that the writer will also profit, because it should be able to close out the option at a lower price. If the underlying instrument's price falls, the put writer would expect to suffer a loss. This loss should be less than the loss from purchasing the underlying instrument directly, however, because the premium received for writing the option should mitigate the effects of the decline.
Writing a call option obligates the writer to sell or deliver the option's underlying instrument or make a net cash settlement payment, as applicable, in return for the strike price, upon exercise of the option. The characteristics of writing call options are similar to those of writing put options, except that writing calls generally is a profitable strategy if prices remain the same or fall. Through receipt of the option premium, a call writer mitigates the effects of a price increase. At the same time, because a call writer must be prepared to deliver the underlying instrument or make a net cash settlement payment, as applicable, in return for the strike price, even if its current value is greater, a call writer gives up some ability to participate in security price increases.
There is no assurance a liquid market will exist for any particular options contract at any particular time. Options may have relatively low trading volume and liquidity if their strike prices are not close to the underlying instrument's current price. In addition, exchanges may establish daily price fluctuation limits for options contracts, and may halt trading if a contract's price moves upward or downward more than the limit in a given day. On volatile trading days when the price fluctuation limit is reached or a trading halt is imposed, it may be impossible to enter into new positions or close out existing positions. If the market for a contract is not liquid because of price fluctuation limits or otherwise, it could prevent prompt liquidation of unfavorable positions, and potentially could require a fund to continue to hold a position until delivery or expiration regardless of changes in its value. As a result, a fund's access to other assets held to cover its options positions could also be impaired.
Unlike exchange-traded options, which are standardized with respect to the underlying instrument, expiration date, contract size, and strike price, the terms of OTC options (options not traded on exchanges) generally are established through negotiation with the other party to the option contract. While this type of arrangement allows the purchaser or writer greater flexibility to tailor an option to its needs, OTC options generally are less liquid and involve greater credit risk than exchange-traded options, which are backed by the clearing organization of the exchanges where they are traded.
Combined positions involve purchasing and writing options in combination with each other, or in combination with futures or forward contracts, to adjust the risk and return characteristics of the overall position. For example, purchasing a put option and writing a call option on the same underlying instrument would construct a combined position whose risk and return characteristics are similar to selling a futures contract. Another possible combined position would involve writing a call option at one strike price and buying a call option at a lower price, to reduce the risk of the written call option in the event of a substantial price increase. Because combined options positions involve multiple trades, they result in higher transaction costs and may be more difficult to open and close out.
A fund may also buy and sell options on swaps. Options on interest rate swaps are known as swaptions. An option on a swap gives a party the right to enter into a new swap agreement or to extend, shorten, cancel or modify an existing swap contract at a specific date in the future in exchange for a premium.
Because there are a limited number of types of exchange-traded options contracts, it is likely that the standardized contracts available will not match a fund's current or anticipated investments exactly. A fund may invest in options contracts based on securities with different issuers, maturities, or other characteristics from the securities in which the fund typically invests, which involves a risk that the options position will not track the performance of the fund's other investments.
Options prices can also diverge from the prices of their underlying instruments, even if the underlying instruments match a fund's investments well. Options prices are affected by such factors as current and anticipated short-term interest rates, changes in volatility of the underlying instrument, and the time remaining until expiration of the contract, which may not affect security prices the same way. Imperfect correlation may also result from differing levels of demand in the options and futures markets and the securities markets, from structural differences in how options and futures and securities are traded, or from imposition of daily price fluctuation limits or trading halts. A fund may purchase or sell options contracts with a greater or lesser value than the securities it wishes to hedge or intends to purchase in order to attempt to compensate for differences in volatility between the contract and the securities, although this may not be successful in all cases. If price changes in a fund's options positions are poorly correlated with its other investments, the positions may fail to produce anticipated gains or result in losses that are not offset by gains in other investments.
Swap Agreements. Swaps are individually negotiated and structured to include exposure to a variety of different types of investments or market factors. Swap agreements are two party contracts entered into primarily by institutional investors. Swap agreements can vary in term like other fixed-income investments. Most swap agreements are traded over-the-counter. In a standard "swap" transaction, two parties agree to exchange the returns (or differentials in rates of return) earned or realized on particular predetermined investments or instruments (such as securities, commodities, or indices). The gross returns to be exchanged or swapped between the parties are calculated with respect to a notional amount, which is the predetermined dollar principal of the trade representing the hypothetical underlying quantity upon which payment obligations are computed.
Swap agreements can take many different forms and are known by a variety of names. Depending on how they are used, swap agreements may increase or decrease the overall volatility of a fund's investments and its share price and, if applicable, its yield. Swap agreements are subject to liquidity risk, meaning that a fund may be unable to sell a swap contract to a third party at a favorable price.
A total return swap is a contract whereby one party agrees to make a series of payments to another party based on the change in the market value of the assets underlying such contract (which can include a security, commodity, index or baskets thereof) during the specified period. In exchange, the other party to the contract agrees to make a series of payments calculated by reference to an interest rate and/or some other agreed-upon amount (including the change in market value of other underlying assets). A fund may use total return swaps to gain exposure to an asset without owning it or taking physical custody of it. For example, a fund investing in total return commodity swaps will receive the price appreciation of a commodity, commodity index or portion thereof in exchange for payment of an agreed-upon fee.
In a credit default swap, the credit default protection buyer makes periodic payments, known as premiums, to the credit default protection seller. In return the credit default protection seller will make a payment to the credit default protection buyer upon the occurrence of a specified credit event. A credit default swap can refer to a single issuer or asset, a basket of issuers or assets or index of assets, each known as the reference entity or underlying asset. A fund may act as either the buyer or the seller of a credit default swap. A fund may buy or sell credit default protection on a basket of issuers or assets, even if a number of the underlying assets referenced in the basket are lower-quality debt securities. In an unhedged credit default swap, a fund buys credit default protection on a single issuer or asset, a basket of issuers or assets or index of assets without owning the underlying asset or debt issued by the reference entity. Credit default swaps involve greater and different risks than investing directly in the referenced asset, because, in addition to market risk, credit default swaps include liquidity, counterparty and operational risk.
Credit default swaps allow a fund to acquire or reduce credit exposure to a particular issuer, asset or basket of assets. If a swap agreement calls for payments by a fund, the fund must be prepared to make such payments when due. If a fund is the credit default protection seller, the fund will experience a loss if a credit event occurs and the credit of the reference entity or underlying asset has deteriorated. If a fund is the credit default protection buyer, the fund will be required to pay premiums to the credit default protection seller.
If the creditworthiness of a fund's swap counterparty declines, the risk that the counterparty may not perform could increase, potentially resulting in a loss to the fund. To limit the counterparty risk involved in swap agreements, a Fidelity fund will enter into swap agreements only with counterparties that meet certain standards of creditworthiness.
Swap agreements generally are entered into by "eligible participants" and in compliance with certain other criteria necessary to render them excluded from regulation under the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and, therefore not subject to regulation as futures or commodity option transactions under the CEA.
Illiquid Securities cannot be sold or disposed of in the ordinary course of business at approximately the prices at which they are valued. Difficulty in selling securities may result in a loss or may be costly to a fund.
Under the supervision of the Board of Trustees, a Fidelity fund's adviser determines the liquidity of the fund's investments and, through reports from the fund's adviser, the Board monitors investments in illiquid securities.
Various factors may be considered in determining the liquidity of a fund's investments, including (1) the frequency and volume of trades and quotations, (2) the number of dealers and prospective purchasers in the marketplace, (3) dealer undertakings to make a market, and (4) the nature of the security and the market in which it trades (including any demand, put or tender features, the mechanics and other requirements for transfer, any letters of credit or other credit enhancement features, any ratings, the number of holders, the method of soliciting offers, the time required to dispose of the security, and the ability to assign or offset the rights and obligations of the security).
Indexed Securities are instruments whose prices are indexed to the prices of other securities, securities indices, or other financial indicators. Indexed securities typically, but not always, are debt securities or deposits whose values at maturity or coupon rates are determined by reference to a specific instrument, statistic, or measure.
Indexed securities also include commercial paper, certificates of deposit, and other fixed-income securities whose values at maturity or coupon interest rates are determined by reference to the returns of particular stock indices. Indexed securities can be affected by stock prices as well as changes in interest rates and the creditworthiness of their issuers and may not track the indexes as accurately as direct investments in the indexes.
Mortgage-indexed securities, for example, could be structured to replicate the performance of mortgage securities and the characteristics of direct ownership.
Currency-indexed securities typically are short-term to intermediate-term debt securities whose maturity values or interest rates are determined by reference to the values of one or more specified foreign currencies, and may offer higher yields than U.S. dollar-denominated securities. Currency-indexed securities may be positively or negatively indexed; that is, their maturity value may increase when the specified currency value increases, resulting in a security that performs similarly to a foreign-denominated instrument, or their maturity value may decline when foreign currencies increase, resulting in a security whose price characteristics are similar to a put on the underlying currency. Currency-indexed securities may also have prices that depend on the values of a number of different foreign currencies relative to each other.
The performance of indexed securities depends to a great extent on the performance of the instrument or measure to which they are indexed, and may also be influenced by interest rate changes in the United States and abroad. Indexed securities may be more volatile than the underlying instruments or measures. Indexed securities are also subject to the credit risks associated with the issuer of the security, and their values may decline substantially if the issuer's creditworthiness deteriorates. Recent issuers of indexed securities have included banks, corporations, and certain U.S. Government agencies.
Interfund Borrowing and Lending Program. Pursuant to an exemptive order issued by the SEC, a Fidelity fund may lend money to, and borrow money from, other funds advised by FMR or its affiliates. A Fidelity fund will borrow through the program only when the costs are equal to or lower than the costs of bank loans. A Fidelity fund will lend through the program only when the returns are higher than those available from an investment in repurchase agreements. Interfund loans and borrowings normally extend overnight, but can have a maximum duration of seven days. Loans may be called on one day's notice. A Fidelity fund may have to borrow from a bank at a higher interest rate if an interfund loan is called or not renewed. Any delay in repayment to a lending fund could result in a lost investment opportunity or additional borrowing costs.
Investment-Grade Debt Securities. Investment-grade debt securities include all types of debt instruments that are of medium and high-quality. Investment-grade debt securities include repurchase agreements collateralized by U.S. Government securities as well as repurchase agreements collateralized by equity securities, non-investment-grade debt, and all other instruments in which a fund can perfect a security interest, provided the repurchase agreement counterparty has an investment-grade rating. Some investment-grade debt securities may possess speculative characteristics and may be more sensitive to economic changes and to changes in the financial conditions of issuers. An investment-grade rating means the security or issuer is rated investment-grade by a credit rating agency registered as a nationally recognized statistical rating organization (NRSRO) with the SEC (for example, Moody's Investors Service, Inc.), or is unrated but considered to be of equivalent quality by a fund's adviser. For purposes of determining the maximum maturity of an investment-grade debt security, an adviser may take into account normal settlement periods.
Investments by Funds of Funds or Other Large Shareholders. Certain funds and accounts that are managed by FMR or its affiliates (including funds of funds) invest in other funds and may at times have substantial investments in one or more other funds.
A fund may experience large redemptions or investments due to transactions in fund shares by funds of funds, other large shareholders, or similarly managed accounts. While it is impossible to predict the overall effect of these transactions over time, there could be an adverse impact on a fund's performance. In the event of such redemptions or investments, a fund could be required to sell securities or to invest cash at a time when it may not otherwise desire to do so. Such transactions may increase a fund's brokerage and/or other transaction costs. In addition, when funds of funds or other investors own a substantial portion of a fund's shares, a large redemption by a fund of funds could cause actual expenses to increase, or could result in the fund's current expenses being allocated over a smaller asset base, leading to an increase in the fund's expense ratio. Redemptions of fund shares could also accelerate the realization of taxable capital gains in the fund if sales of securities result in capital gains. The impact of these transactions is likely to be greater when a fund of funds or other significant investor purchases, redeems, or owns a substantial portion of the fund's shares.
When possible, Fidelity will consider how to minimize these potential adverse effects, and may take such actions as it deems appropriate to address potential adverse effects, including redemption of shares in-kind rather than in cash or carrying out the transactions over a period of time, although there can be no assurance that such actions will be successful.
Loans and Other Direct Debt Instruments. Direct debt instruments are interests in amounts owed by a corporate, governmental, or other borrower to lenders or lending syndicates (loans and loan participations), to suppliers of goods or services (trade claims or other receivables), or to other parties. Direct debt instruments involve a risk of loss in case of default or insolvency of the borrower and may offer less legal protection to the purchaser in the event of fraud or misrepresentation, or there may be a requirement that a fund supply additional cash to a borrower on demand.
Purchasers of loans and other forms of direct indebtedness depend primarily upon the creditworthiness of the borrower for payment of interest and repayment of principal. If scheduled interest or principal payments are not made, the value of the instrument may be adversely affected. Loans that are fully secured provide more protections than an unsecured loan in the event of failure to make scheduled interest or principal payments. However, there is no assurance that the liquidation of collateral from a secured loan would satisfy the borrower's obligation, or that the collateral could be liquidated. Indebtedness of borrowers whose creditworthiness is poor involves substantially greater risks and may be highly speculative. Borrowers that are in bankruptcy or restructuring may never pay off their indebtedness, or may pay only a small fraction of the amount owed. Direct indebtedness of developing countries also involves a risk that the governmental entities responsible for the repayment of the debt may be unable, or unwilling, to pay interest and repay principal when due.
Investments in loans through direct assignment of a financial institution's interests with respect to a loan may involve additional risks. For example, if a loan is foreclosed, the purchaser could become part owner of any collateral, and would bear the costs and liabilities associated with owning and disposing of the collateral. In addition, it is conceivable that under emerging legal theories of lender liability, a purchaser could be held liable as a co-lender. Direct debt instruments may also involve a risk of insolvency of the lending bank or other intermediary.
A loan is often administered by a bank or other financial institution that acts as agent for all holders. The agent administers the terms of the loan, as specified in the loan agreement. Unless, under the terms of the loan or other indebtedness, the purchaser has direct recourse against the borrower, the purchaser may have to rely on the agent to apply appropriate credit remedies against a borrower. If assets held by the agent for the benefit of a purchaser were determined to be subject to the claims of the agent's general creditors, the purchaser might incur certain costs and delays in realizing payment on the loan or loan participation and could suffer a loss of principal or interest.
Direct indebtedness may include letters of credit, revolving credit facilities, or other standby financing commitments that obligate purchasers to make additional cash payments on demand. These commitments may have the effect of requiring a purchaser to increase its investment in a borrower at a time when it would not otherwise have done so, even if the borrower's condition makes it unlikely that the amount will ever be repaid.
For a Fidelity fund that limits the amount of total assets that it will invest in any one issuer or in issuers within the same industry, the fund generally will treat the borrower as the "issuer" of indebtedness held by the fund. In the case of loan participations where a bank or other lending institution serves as financial intermediary between a fund and the borrower, if the participation does not shift to the fund the direct debtor-creditor relationship with the borrower, SEC interpretations require a fund, in appropriate circumstances, to treat both the lending bank or other lending institution and the borrower as "issuers" for these purposes. Treating a financial intermediary as an issuer of indebtedness may restrict a fund's ability to invest in indebtedness related to a single financial intermediary, or a group of intermediaries engaged in the same industry, even if the underlying borrowers represent many different companies and industries.
Lower-Quality Debt Securities. Lower-quality debt securities include all types of debt instruments that have poor protection with respect to the payment of interest and repayment of principal, or may be in default. These securities are often considered to be speculative and involve greater risk of loss or price changes due to changes in the issuer's capacity to pay. The market prices of lower-quality debt securities may fluctuate more than those of higher-quality debt securities and may decline significantly in periods of general economic difficulty, which may follow periods of rising interest rates.
The market for lower-quality debt securities may be thinner and less active than that for higher-quality debt securities, which can adversely affect the prices at which the former are sold. Adverse publicity and changing investor perceptions may affect the liquidity of lower-quality debt securities and the ability of outside pricing services to value lower-quality debt securities.
Because the risk of default is higher for lower-quality debt securities, research and credit analysis are an especially important part of managing securities of this type. Such analysis may focus on relative values based on factors such as interest or dividend coverage, asset coverage, earnings prospects, and the experience and managerial strength of the issuer, in an attempt to identify those issuers of high-yielding securities whose financial condition is adequate to meet future obligations, has improved, or is expected to improve in the future.
A fund may choose, at its expense or in conjunction with others, to pursue litigation or otherwise to exercise its rights as a security holder to seek to protect the interests of security holders if it determines this to be in the best interest of the fund's shareholders.
Mortgage Securities are issued by government and non-government entities such as banks, mortgage lenders, or other institutions. A mortgage security is an obligation of the issuer backed by a mortgage or pool of mortgages or a direct interest in an underlying pool of mortgages. Some mortgage securities, such as collateralized mortgage obligations (or "CMOs"), make payments of both principal and interest at a range of specified intervals; others make semiannual interest payments at a predetermined rate and repay principal at maturity (like a typical bond). Mortgage securities are based on different types of mortgages, including those on commercial real estate or residential properties. Stripped mortgage securities are created when the interest and principal components of a mortgage security are separated and sold as individual securities. In the case of a stripped mortgage security, the holder of the "principal-only" security (PO) receives the principal payments made by the underlying mortgage, while the holder of the "interest-only" security (IO) receives interest payments from the same underlying mortgage.
Fannie Maes and Freddie Macs are pass-through securities issued by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, respectively. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which guarantee payment of interest and repayment of principal on Fannie Maes and Freddie Macs, respectively, are federally chartered corporations supervised by the U.S. Government that act as governmental instrumentalities under authority granted by Congress. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are authorized to borrow from the U.S. Treasury to meet their obligations. Fannie Maes and Freddie Macs are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government.
The value of mortgage securities may change due to shifts in the market's perception of issuers and changes in interest rates. In addition, regulatory or tax changes may adversely affect the mortgage securities market as a whole. Non-government mortgage securities may offer higher yields than those issued by government entities, but also may be subject to greater price changes than government issues. Mortgage securities are subject to prepayment risk, which is the risk that early principal payments made on the underlying mortgages, usually in response to a reduction in interest rates, will result in the return of principal to the investor, causing it to be invested subsequently at a lower current interest rate. Alternatively, in a rising interest rate environment, mortgage security values may be adversely affected when prepayments on underlying mortgages do not occur as anticipated, resulting in the extension of the security's effective maturity and the related increase in interest rate sensitivity of a longer-term instrument. The prices of stripped mortgage securities tend to be more volatile in response to changes in interest rates than those of non-stripped mortgage securities.
A fund may seek to earn additional income by using a trading strategy (commonly known as "mortgage dollar rolls" or "reverse mortgage dollar rolls") that involves selling (or buying) mortgage securities, realizing a gain or loss, and simultaneously agreeing to purchase (or sell) mortgage securities on a later date at a set price. During the period between the sale and repurchase in a mortgage dollar roll transaction, a fund will not be entitled to receive interest and principal payments on the securities sold but will invest the proceeds of the sale in other securities that are permissible investments for the fund. During the period between the purchase and subsequent sale in a reverse mortgage dollar roll transaction, a fund is entitled to interest and principal payments on the securities purchased. Losses may arise due to changes in the value of the securities or if the counterparty does not perform under the terms of the agreement. If the counterparty files for bankruptcy or becomes insolvent, a fund's right to repurchase or sell securities may be limited. This trading strategy may increase interest rate exposure and result in an increased portfolio turnover rate which increases costs and may increase taxable gains.
Preferred Stock represents an equity or ownership interest in an issuer that pays dividends at a specified rate and that has precedence over common stock in the payment of dividends. In the event an issuer is liquidated or declares bankruptcy, the claims of owners of bonds take precedence over the claims of those who own preferred and common stock.
Real Estate Investment Trusts. Equity real estate investment trusts own real estate properties, while mortgage real estate investment trusts make construction, development, and long-term mortgage loans. Their value may be affected by changes in the value of the underlying property of the trusts, the creditworthiness of the issuer, property taxes, interest rates, and tax and regulatory requirements, such as those relating to the environment. Both types of trusts are dependent upon management skill, are not diversified, and are subject to heavy cash flow dependency, defaults by borrowers, self-liquidation, and the possibility of failing to qualify for tax-free status of income under the Internal Revenue Code and failing to maintain exemption from the 1940 Act.
Repurchase Agreements involve an agreement to purchase a security and to sell that security back to the original seller at an agreed-upon price. The resale price reflects the purchase price plus an agreed-upon incremental amount which is unrelated to the coupon rate or maturity of the purchased security. As protection against the risk that the original seller will not fulfill its obligation, the securities are held in a separate account at a bank, marked-to-market daily, and maintained at a value at least equal to the sale price plus the accrued incremental amount. The value of the security purchased may be more or less than the price at which the counterparty has agreed to purchase the security. In addition, delays or losses could result if the other party to the agreement defaults or becomes insolvent. A Fidelity fund may engage in repurchase agreement transactions with parties whose creditworthiness has been reviewed and found satisfactory by the fund's adviser.
Restricted Securities are subject to legal restrictions on their sale. Difficulty in selling securities may result in a loss or be costly to a fund. Restricted securities generally can be sold in privately negotiated transactions, pursuant to an exemption from registration under the Securities Act of 1933 (1933 Act), or in a registered public offering. Where registration is required, the holder of a registered security may be obligated to pay all or part of the registration expense and a considerable period may elapse between the time it decides to seek registration and the time it may be permitted to sell a security under an effective registration statement. If, during such a period, adverse market conditions were to develop, the holder might obtain a less favorable price than prevailed when it decided to seek registration of the security.
Reverse Repurchase Agreements. In a reverse repurchase agreement, a fund sells a security to another party, such as a bank or broker-dealer, in return for cash and agrees to repurchase that security at an agreed-upon price and time. A Fidelity fund may enter into reverse repurchase agreements with parties whose creditworthiness has been reviewed and found satisfactory by the fund's adviser. Such transactions may increase fluctuations in the market value of a fund's assets and, if applicable, a fund's yield, and may be viewed as a form of leverage.
Securities Lending. A Fidelity fund may lend securities to parties such as broker-dealers or other institutions, including an affiliate.
Securities lending allows a fund to retain ownership of the securities loaned and, at the same time, earn additional income. The borrower provides the fund with collateral in an amount at least equal to the value of the securities loaned. The fund seeks to maintain the ability to obtain the right to vote or consent on proxy proposals involving material events affecting securities loaned. If the borrower defaults on its obligation to return the securities loaned because of insolvency or other reasons, a fund could experience delays and costs in recovering the securities loaned or in gaining access to the collateral. These delays and costs could be greater for foreign securities. If a fund is not able to recover the securities loaned, the fund may sell the collateral and purchase a replacement investment in the market. The value of the collateral could decrease below the value of the replacement investment by the time the replacement investment is purchased. For a Fidelity fund, loans will be made only to parties deemed by the fund's adviser to be in good standing and when, in the adviser's judgment, the income earned would justify the risks.
Cash received as collateral through loan transactions may be invested in other eligible securities, including shares of a money market fund. Investing this cash subjects that investment, as well as the securities loaned, to market appreciation or depreciation.
Securities of Other Investment Companies, including shares of closed-end investment companies, unit investment trusts, and open-end investment companies, represent interests in professionally managed portfolios that may invest in any type of instrument. Investing in other investment companies involves substantially the same risks as investing directly in the underlying instruments, but may involve additional expenses at the investment company-level, such as portfolio management fees and operating expenses. Certain types of investment companies, such as closed-end investment companies, issue a fixed number of shares that trade on a stock exchange or over-the-counter at a premium or a discount to their NAV. Others are continuously offered at NAV, but may also be traded in the secondary market.
The extent to which a fund can invest in securities of other investment companies may be limited by federal securities laws.
Short Sales. Stocks underlying a fund's convertible security holdings can be sold short. For example, if a fund's adviser anticipates a decline in the price of the stock underlying a convertible security held by the fund, it may sell the stock short. If the stock price subsequently declines, the proceeds of the short sale could be expected to offset all or a portion of the effect of the stock's decline on the value of the convertible security. Fidelity funds that employ this strategy generally intend to hedge no more than 15% of total assets with short sales on equity securities underlying convertible security holdings under normal circumstances.
A fund will be required to set aside securities equivalent in kind and amount to those sold short (or securities convertible or exchangeable into such securities) and will be required to hold them aside while the short sale is outstanding. A fund will incur transaction costs, including interest expenses, in connection with opening, maintaining, and closing short sales.
Structured Securities (also called "structured notes") are derivative debt securities, the interest rate on or principal of which is determined by an unrelated indicator. The value of the interest rate on and/or the principal of structured securities is determined by reference to changes in the value of a reference instrument (e.g., a security or other financial instrument, asset, currency, interest rate, commodity, or index) or the relative change in two or more reference instruments. A structured security may be positively, negatively, or both positively and negatively indexed; that is, its value or interest rate may increase or decrease if the value of the reference instrument increases. Similarly, its value or interest rate may increase or decrease if the value of the reference instrument decreases. Further, the change in the principal amount payable with respect to, or the interest rate of, a structured security may be calculated as a multiple of the percentage change (positive or negative) in the value of the underlying reference instrument(s); therefore, the value of such structured security may be very volatile. Structured securities may entail a greater degree of market risk than other types of debt securities because the investor bears the risk of the reference instrument. Structured securities may also be more volatile, less liquid, and more difficult to accurately price than less complex securities or more traditional debt securities. In addition, because structured securities generally are traded over-the-counter, structured securities are subject to the creditworthiness of the counterparty of the structured security, and their values may decline substantially if the counterparty's creditworthiness deteriorates.
Temporary Defensive Policies.
Fidelity Series Real Estate Income Fund reserves the right to invest without limitation in preferred stocks and investment-grade debt instruments for temporary, defensive purposes.
Transfer Agent Bank Accounts. Proceeds from shareholder purchases of a Fidelity fund may pass through a series of demand deposit bank accounts before being held at the fund's custodian. Redemption proceeds may pass from the custodian to the shareholder through a similar series of bank accounts.
If a bank account is registered to the transfer agent or an affiliate, who acts as an agent for the fund when opening, closing, and conducting business in the bank account, the transfer agent or an affiliate may invest overnight balances in the account in repurchase agreements. Any balances that are not invested in repurchase agreements remain in the bank account overnight. Any risks associated with such an account are investment risks of the fund. The fund faces the risk of loss of these balances if the bank becomes insolvent.
Variable and Floating Rate Securities provide for periodic adjustments in the interest rate paid on the security. Variable rate securities provide for a specified periodic adjustment in the interest rate, while floating rate securities have interest rates that change whenever there is a change in a designated benchmark rate or the issuer's credit quality, sometimes subject to a cap or floor on such rate. Some variable or floating rate securities are structured with put features that permit holders to demand payment of the unpaid principal balance plus accrued interest from the issuers or certain financial intermediaries. For purposes of determining the maximum maturity of a variable or floating rate security, a fund's adviser may take into account normal settlement periods.
Warrants. Warrants are instruments which entitle the holder to buy an equity security at a specific price for a specific period of time. Changes in the value of a warrant do not necessarily correspond to changes in the value of its underlying security. The price of a warrant may be more volatile than the price of its underlying security, and a warrant may offer greater potential for capital appreciation as well as capital loss.
Warrants do not entitle a holder to dividends or voting rights with respect to the underlying security and do not represent any rights in the assets of the issuing company. A warrant ceases to have value if it is not exercised prior to its expiration date. These factors can make warrants more speculative than other types of investments.
When-Issued and Forward Purchase or Sale Transactions involve a commitment to purchase or sell specific securities at a predetermined price or yield in which payment and delivery take place after the customary settlement period for that type of security. Typically, no interest accrues to the purchaser until the security is delivered.
When purchasing securities pursuant to one of these transactions, the purchaser assumes the rights and risks of ownership, including the risks of price and yield fluctuations and the risk that the security will not be issued as anticipated. Because payment for the securities is not required until the delivery date, these risks are in addition to the risks associated with a fund's investments. If a fund remains substantially fully invested at a time when a purchase is outstanding, the purchases may result in a form of leverage. When a fund has sold a security pursuant to one of these transactions, the fund does not participate in further gains or losses with respect to the security. If the other party to a delayed-delivery transaction fails to deliver or pay for the securities, a fund could miss a favorable price or yield opportunity or suffer a loss.
A fund may renegotiate a when-issued or forward transaction and may sell the underlying securities before delivery, which may result in capital gains or losses for the fund.
Zero Coupon Bonds do not make interest payments; instead, they are sold at a discount from their face value and are redeemed at face value when they mature. Because zero coupon bonds do not pay current income, their prices can be more volatile than other types of fixed-income securities when interest rates change. In calculating a fund's dividend, a portion of the difference between a zero coupon bond's purchase price and its face value is considered income.
Orders for the purchase or sale of portfolio securities are placed on behalf of the fund by FMR pursuant to authority contained in the management contract. To the extent that FMR grants investment management authority to a sub-adviser (see the section entitled "Management Contracts"), that sub-adviser is authorized to provide the services described in the respective sub-advisory agreement, and in accordance with the policies described in this section.
FMR or a sub-adviser may be responsible for the placement of portfolio securities transactions for other investment companies and investment accounts for which it has or its affiliates have investment discretion.
The fund will not incur any commissions or sales charges when it invests in shares of open-end investment companies (including any underlying central funds), but it may incur such costs when it invests directly in other types of securities.
Purchases and sales of equity securities on a securities exchange or OTC are effected through brokers who receive compensation for their services. Generally, compensation relating to securities traded on foreign exchanges will be higher than compensation relating to securities traded on U.S. exchanges and may not be subject to negotiation. Compensation may also be paid in connection with principal transactions (in both OTC securities and securities listed on an exchange) and agency OTC transactions executed with an electronic communications network (ECN) or an alternative trading system. Equity securities may be purchased from underwriters at prices that include underwriting fees.
Purchases and sales of fixed-income securities are generally made with an issuer or a primary market-maker acting as principal. Although there is no stated brokerage commission paid by the fund for any fixed-income security, the price paid by the fund to an underwriter includes the disclosed underwriting fee and prices in secondary trades usually include an undisclosed dealer commission or markup reflecting the spread between the bid and ask prices of the fixed-income security. New issues of equity and fixed-income securities may also be purchased in underwritten fixed price offerings.
The Trustees of the fund periodically review FMR's performance of its responsibilities in connection with the placement of portfolio securities transactions on behalf of the fund. The Trustees also review the compensation paid by the fund over representative periods of time to determine if it was reasonable in relation to the benefits to the fund.
The Selection of Securities Brokers and Dealers
FMR or its affiliates generally have authority to select securities brokers (whether acting as a broker or a dealer) with which to place the fund's portfolio securities transactions. In selecting securities brokers, including affiliates of FMR, to execute the fund's portfolio securities transactions, FMR or its affiliates consider the factors they deem relevant in the context of a particular trade and in regard to FMR's or its affiliates' overall responsibilities with respect to the fund and other investment accounts, including any instructions from the fund's portfolio manager, which may emphasize, for example, speed of execution over other factors. Based on the factors considered, FMR or its affiliates may choose to execute an order using ECNs, including algorithmic trading, crossing networks, direct market access and program trading, or by actively working an order. Other possibly relevant factors may include, but are not limited to, the following: price; the size and type of the securities transaction; the reasonableness of compensation to be paid, including spreads and commission rates; the speed and certainty of trade executions, including broker willingness to commit capital; the nature and characteristics of the markets for the security to be purchased or sold, including the degree of specialization of the broker in such markets or securities; the availability of liquidity in the security, including the liquidity and depth afforded by a market center or market-maker; the reliability of a market center or broker; the broker's overall trading relationship with FMR or its affiliates; the trader's assessment of whether and how closely the broker likely will follow the trader's instructions to the broker; the degree of anonymity that a particular broker or market can provide; the potential for avoiding or lessening market impact; the execution services rendered on a continuing basis; the execution efficiency, settlement capability, and financial condition of the firm; arrangements for payment of fund expenses, if applicable; and the provision of additional brokerage and research products and services, if applicable.
The trading desks through which FMR or its affiliates may execute trades are instructed to execute portfolio transactions on behalf of the fund based on the quality of execution without any consideration of brokerage and research products and services the broker or dealer may provide. The administration of brokerage and research products and services is managed separately from the trading desks, which means that traders have no responsibility for administering soft dollar activities.
In seeking best qualitative execution for portfolio securities transactions, FMR or its affiliates may select a broker that uses a trading method, including algorithmic trading, for which the broker may charge a higher commission than its lowest available commission rate. FMR or its affiliates also may select a broker that charges more than the lowest available commission rate available from another broker. FMR or its affiliates may execute an entire securities transaction with a broker and allocate all or a portion of the transaction and/or related commissions to a second broker where a client does not permit trading with an affiliate of FMR or in other limited situations. In those situations, the commission rate paid to the second broker may be higher than the commission rate paid to the executing broker. For futures transactions, the selection of an FCM is generally based on the overall quality of execution and other services provided by the FCM. FMR or its affiliates may choose to execute futures transactions electronically.
FMR may enter into trading services agreements with its affiliates to facilitate transactions in non-United States markets. Therefore, transactions in overseas markets may be executed by FMR's affiliates.
The Acquisition of Brokerage and Research Products and Services
Brokers (who are not affiliates of FMR) that execute transactions for the fund may receive higher compensation from the fund than other brokers might have charged the fund, in recognition of the value of the brokerage or research products and services they provide to FMR or its affiliates.
Research Products and Services. These products and services may include: economic, industry, company, municipal, sovereign (U.S. and non-U.S.), legal, or political research reports; market color; company meeting facilitation; compilation of securities prices, earnings, dividends and similar data; quotation services, data, information and other services; analytical computer software and services; and investment recommendations. In addition to receiving brokerage and research products and services via written reports and computer-delivered services, such reports may also be provided by telephone and in-person meetings with securities analysts, corporate and industry spokespersons, economists, academicians and government representatives and others with relevant professional expertise. FMR or its affiliates may request that a broker provide a specific proprietary or third-party product or service. Some of these brokerage and research products and services supplement FMR's or its affiliates' own research activities in providing investment advice to the fund.
Execution Services. In addition, brokerage and research products and services may include those that assist in the execution, clearing, and settlement of securities transactions, as well as other incidental functions (including, but not limited to, communication services related to trade execution, order routing and algorithmic trading, post-trade matching, exchange of messages among brokers or dealers, custodians and institutions, and the use of electronic confirmation and affirmation of institutional trades).
Mixed-Use Products and Services. Although FMR or its affiliates do not use fund commissions to pay for products or services that do not qualify as brokerage and research products and services, they may use commission dollars to obtain certain products or services that are not used exclusively in FMR's or its affiliates' investment decision-making process (mixed-use products or services). In those circumstances, FMR or its affiliates will make a good faith judgment to evaluate the various benefits and uses to which they intend to put the mixed-use product or service, and will pay for that portion of the mixed-use product or service that does not qualify as brokerage and research products and services with their own resources (referred to as "hard dollars").
Benefit to FMR. FMR's or its affiliates' expenses likely would be increased if they attempted to generate these additional brokerage and research products and services through their own efforts, or if they paid for these brokerage and research products or services with their own resources. To minimize the potential for conflicts of interest, the trading desks through which FMR or its affiliates may execute trades are instructed to execute portfolio transactions on behalf of the fund based on the quality of execution without any consideration of brokerage and research products and services the broker or dealer may provide. The administration of brokerage and research products and services is managed separately from the trading desks, which means that traders have no responsibility for administering soft dollar activities. Furthermore, certain of the brokerage and research products and services that FMR or its affiliates receive are furnished by brokers on their own initiative, either in connection with a particular transaction or as part of their overall services. Some of these brokerage and research products or services may be provided at no additional cost to FMR or its affiliates or have no explicit cost associated with them. In addition, FMR or its affiliates may request that a broker provide a specific proprietary or third-party product or service, certain of which third-party products or services may be provided by a broker that is not a party to a particular transaction and is not connected with the transacting broker's overall services.
FMR's Decision-Making Process. In connection with the allocation of fund brokerage, FMR or its affiliates make a good faith determination that the compensation paid to brokers and dealers is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and/or research products and services provided to FMR or its affiliates, viewed in terms of the particular transaction for the fund or FMR's or its affiliates' overall responsibilities to the fund or other investment companies and investment accounts for which FMR or its affiliates have investment discretion; however, each brokerage and research product or service received in connection with the fund's brokerage may not benefit the fund. While FMR or its affiliates may take into account the brokerage and/or research products and services provided by a broker or dealer in determining whether compensation paid is reasonable, neither FMR, its affiliates, nor the fund incur an obligation to any broker, dealer, or third party to pay for any brokerage and research product or service (or portion thereof) by generating a specific amount of compensation or otherwise. Typically, these brokerage and research products and services assist FMR or its affiliates in terms of their overall investment responsibilities to the fund or any other investment companies and investment accounts for which FMR or its affiliates have investment discretion. Certain funds or investment accounts may use brokerage commissions to acquire brokerage and research products and services that may also benefit other funds or accounts managed by FMR or its affiliates.
Research Contracts. FMR or its affiliates have arrangements with certain third-party research providers and brokers through whom FMR or its affiliates effect fund trades, whereby FMR or its affiliates may pay with fund commissions or hard dollars for all or a portion of the cost of research products and services purchased from such research providers or brokers. If hard dollar payments are used, FMR or its affiliates may still cause the fund to pay more for execution than the lowest commission rate available from the broker providing research products and services to FMR or its affiliates, or that may be available from another broker. FMR or its affiliates view hard dollar payments for research products and services as likely to reduce the fund's total commission costs even though it is expected that in such hard dollar arrangements the commissions available for recapture and used to pay fund expenses, as described below, will decrease. FMR's or its affiliates' determination to pay for research products and services separately, rather than bundled with fund commissions, is wholly voluntary on FMR's or its affiliates' part and may be extended to additional brokers or discontinued with any broker participating in this arrangement.
Commission Recapture
FMR or its affiliates may allocate brokerage transactions to brokers (who are not affiliates of FMR) who have entered into arrangements with FMR or its affiliates under which the broker, using a predetermined methodology, rebates a portion of the compensation paid by a fund to offset that fund's expenses. Not all brokers with whom the fund trades have been asked to participate in brokerage commission recapture.
Affiliated Transactions
FMR or its affiliates may place trades with certain brokers, including National Financial Services LLC (NFS), with whom they are under common control, provided FMR or its affiliates determine that these affiliates' trade execution abilities and costs are comparable to those of non-affiliated, qualified brokerage firms. In addition, FMR or its affiliates may place trades with brokers that use NFS as a clearing agent.
The Trustees of the fund have approved procedures whereby the fund may purchase securities that are offered in underwritings in which an affiliate of FMR or certain other affiliates participate. In addition, for underwritings where such an affiliate participates as a principal underwriter, certain restrictions may apply that could, among other things, limit the amount of securities that the fund could purchase in the underwritings.
Non-U.S. Securities Transactions
To facilitate trade settlement and related activities in non-United States securities transactions, FMR or its affiliates may effect spot foreign currency transactions with foreign currency dealers.
Trade Allocation
Although the Trustees and officers of the fund are substantially the same as those of other funds managed by FMR or its affiliates, investment decisions for the fund are made independently from those of other funds or investment accounts (including proprietary accounts) managed by FMR or its affiliates. The same security is often held in the portfolio of more than one of these funds or investment accounts. Simultaneous transactions are inevitable when several funds and investment accounts are managed by the same investment adviser, or an affiliate thereof, particularly when the same security is suitable for the investment objective of more than one fund or investment account.
When two or more funds or investment accounts are simultaneously engaged in the purchase or sale of the same security, including a futures contract, the prices and amounts are allocated in accordance with procedures believed by FMR to be appropriate and equitable to each fund or investment account. In some cases this could have a detrimental effect on the price or value of the security as far as the fund is concerned. In other cases, however, the ability of the fund to participate in volume transactions will produce better executions and prices for the fund.
Commissions Paid
A fund may pay compensation including both commissions and spreads in connection with the placement of portfolio transactions. The amount of brokerage commissions paid by a fund may change from year to year because of, among other things, changing asset levels, shareholder activity, and/or portfolio turnover.
The class's NAV is the value of a single share. The NAV of the class is computed by adding the class's pro rata share of the value of the fund's investments, cash, and other assets, subtracting the class's pro rata share of the fund's liabilities, subtracting the liabilities allocated to the class, and dividing the result by the number of shares of that class that are outstanding.
The Board of Trustees has ultimate responsibility for pricing, but has delegated day-to-day valuation oversight responsibilities to FMR. FMR has established the FMR Fair Value Committee (FMR Committee) to fulfill these oversight responsibilities.
Shares of open-end investment companies (including any underlying central funds) held by the fund are valued at their respective NAVs.
Portfolio securities and assets held by an underlying money market central fund are valued on the basis of amortized cost. Generally, other portfolio securities and assets held by the fund, as well as portfolio securities and assets held by an underlying non-money market central fund, are valued as follows:
Most equity securities are valued at the official closing price or the last reported sale price or, if no sale has occurred, at the last quoted bid price on the primary market or exchange on which they are traded.
Debt securities and other assets for which market quotations are readily available may be valued at market values in the principal market in which they normally are traded, as furnished by recognized dealers in such securities or assets. Or, debt securities and convertible securities may be valued on the basis of information furnished by a pricing service that uses a valuation matrix which incorporates both dealer-supplied valuations and electronic data processing techniques. Use of pricing services has been approved by the Board of Trustees. A number of pricing services are available, and the fund may use various pricing services or discontinue the use of any pricing service.
Short-term securities with remaining maturities of sixty days or less for which market quotations and information furnished by a pricing service are not readily available are valued at amortized cost, which approximates current value.
Futures contracts are valued at the settlement or closing price. Options are valued at their market quotations, if available. Swaps are valued daily using quotations received from independent pricing services or recognized dealers.
Independent brokers or quotation services provide prices of foreign securities in their local currency. Fidelity Service Company, Inc. (FSC) gathers all exchange rates daily at the close of the NYSE using the last quoted bid price on the local currency and then translates the value of foreign securities from their local currencies into U.S. dollars. Any changes in the value of forward contracts due to exchange rate fluctuations and days to maturity are included in the calculation of NAV.
Other portfolio securities and assets for which market quotations, official closing prices, or information furnished by a pricing service are not readily available or, in the opinion of the FMR Committee, are deemed unreliable will be fair valued in good faith by the FMR Committee in accordance with applicable fair value pricing policies. For example, if, in the opinion of the FMR Committee, a security's value has been materially affected by events occurring before a fund's pricing time but after the close of the exchange or market on which the security is principally traded, that security will be fair valued in good faith by the FMR Committee in accordance with applicable fair value pricing policies. In fair valuing a security, the FMR Committee may consider factors including price movements in futures contracts and ADRs, market and trading trends, the bid/ask quotes of brokers, and off-exchange institutional trading.
BUYING AND SELLING INFORMATION
The fund may make redemption payments in whole or in part in readily marketable securities or other property pursuant to procedures approved by the Trustees if FMR determines it is in the best interests of the fund. Such securities or other property will be valued for this purpose as they are valued in computing the class's NAV. Shareholders that receive securities or other property will realize, upon receipt, a gain or loss for tax purposes, and will incur additional costs and be exposed to market risk prior to and upon the sale of such securities or other property.
The fund, in its discretion, may determine to issue its shares in kind in exchange for securities held by the purchaser having a value, determined in accordance with the fund's policies for valuation of portfolio securities, equal to the purchase price of the fund shares issued. The fund will accept for in-kind purchases only securities or other instruments that are appropriate under its investment objective and policies. In addition, the fund generally will not accept securities of any issuer unless they are liquid, have a readily ascertainable market value, and are not subject to restrictions on resale. All dividends, distributions, and subscription or other rights associated with the securities become the property of the fund, along with the securities. Shares purchased in exchange for securities in kind generally cannot be redeemed for fifteen days following the exchange to allow time for the transfer to settle.
DISTRIBUTIONS AND TAXES
Dividends. A portion of the fund's income may qualify for the dividends-received deduction available to corporate shareholders, but it is unlikely that all of the fund's income will qualify for the deduction. A portion of the fund's dividends, when distributed to individual shareholders, may qualify for taxation at long-term capital gains rates (provided certain holding period requirements are met).
Capital Gain Distributions. The fund's long-term capital gain distributions are federally taxable to shareholders generally as capital gains.
Returns of Capital. If the fund's distributions exceed its taxable income and capital gains realized during a taxable year, all or a portion of the distributions made in the same taxable year may be recharacterized as a return of capital to shareholders. A return of capital distribution will generally not be taxable, but will reduce each shareholder's cost basis in the fund and result in a higher reported capital gain or lower reported capital loss when those shares on which the distribution was received are sold.
Foreign Tax Credit or Deduction. Foreign governments may impose withholding taxes on dividends and interest earned by the fund with respect to foreign securities held directly by the fund. Foreign governments may also impose taxes on other payments or gains with respect to foreign securities held directly by the fund. Because the fund does not currently anticipate that securities of foreign issuers or underlying regulated investment companies will constitute more than 50% of its total assets at the end of its fiscal year, or fiscal quarter, respectively, shareholders should not expect to be eligible to claim a foreign tax credit or deduction on their federal income tax returns with respect to foreign taxes withheld.
Tax Status of the Fund. The fund intends to qualify each year as a "regulated investment company" under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code so that it will not be liable for federal tax on income and capital gains distributed to shareholders. In order to qualify as a regulated investment company, and avoid being subject to federal income or excise taxes at the fund level, the fund intends to distribute substantially all of its net investment income and net realized capital gains within each calendar year as well as on a fiscal year basis (if the fiscal year is other than the calendar year), and intends to comply with other tax rules applicable to regulated investment companies.
Other Tax Information. The information above is only a summary of some of the tax consequences generally affecting the fund and its shareholders, and no attempt has been made to discuss individual tax consequences. It is up to you or your tax preparer to determine whether the sale of shares of the fund resulted in a capital gain or loss or other tax consequence to you. In addition to federal income taxes, shareholders may be subject to state and local taxes on fund distributions, and shares may be subject to state and local personal property taxes. Investors should consult their tax advisers to determine whether the fund is suitable to their particular tax situation.
The Trustees, Members of the Advisory Board, and executive officers of the trust and fund, as applicable, are listed below. The Board of Trustees governs the fund and is responsible for protecting the interests of shareholders. The Trustees are experienced executives who meet periodically throughout the year to oversee the fund's activities, review contractual arrangements with companies that provide services to the fund, oversee management of the risks associated with such activities and contractual arrangements, and review the fund's performance. Except for James C. Curvey, each of the Trustees oversees 221 funds advised by FMR or an affiliate. Mr. Curvey oversees 424 funds advised by FMR or an affiliate.
The Trustees hold office without limit in time except that (a) any Trustee may resign; (b) any Trustee may be removed by written instrument, signed by at least two-thirds of the number of Trustees prior to such removal; (c) any Trustee who requests to be retired or who has become incapacitated by illness or injury may be retired by written instrument signed by a majority of the other Trustees; and (d) any Trustee may be removed at any special meeting of shareholders by a two-thirds vote of the outstanding voting securities of the trust. Each Trustee who is not an interested person (as defined in the 1940 Act) (Independent Trustee), shall retire not later than the last day of the calendar year in which his or her 75th birthday occurs. The Independent Trustees may waive this mandatory retirement age policy with respect to individual Trustees. The executive officers and Advisory Board Members hold office without limit in time, except that any officer and Advisory Board Member may resign or may be removed by a vote of a majority of the Trustees at any regular meeting or any special meeting of the Trustees. Except as indicated, each individual has held the office shown or other offices in the same company for the past five years.
Experience, Skills, Attributes, and Qualifications of the Fund's Trustees. The Governance and Nominating Committee has adopted a statement of policy that describes the experience, qualifications, attributes, and skills that are necessary and desirable for potential Independent Trustee candidates (Statement of Policy). The Board believes that each Trustee satisfied at the time he or she was initially elected or appointed a Trustee, and continues to satisfy, the standards contemplated by the Statement of Policy. The Governance and Nominating Committee also engages professional search firms to help identify potential Independent Trustee candidates who have the experience, qualifications, attributes, and skills consistent with the Statement of Policy. From time to time, additional criteria based on the composition and skills of the current Independent Trustees, as well as experience or skills that may be appropriate in light of future changes to board composition, business conditions, and regulatory or other developments, have also been considered by the professional search firms and the Governance and Nominating Committee. In addition, the Board takes into account the Trustees' commitment and participation in Board and committee meetings, as well as their leadership of standing and ad hoc committees throughout their tenure.
In determining that a particular Trustee was and continues to be qualified to serve as a Trustee, the Board has considered a variety of criteria, none of which, in isolation, was controlling. The Board believes that, collectively, the Trustees have balanced and diverse experience, qualifications, attributes, and skills, which allow the Board to operate effectively in governing the fund and protecting the interests of shareholders. Information about the specific experience, skills, attributes, and qualifications of each Trustee, which in each case led to the Board's conclusion that the Trustee should serve (or continue to serve) as a trustee of the fund, is provided below.
Board Structure and Oversight Function. James C. Curvey is an interested person (as defined in the 1940 Act) and currently serves as Acting Chairman. The Trustees have determined that an interested Chairman is appropriate and benefits shareholders because an interested Chairman has a personal and professional stake in the quality and continuity of services provided to the fund. Independent Trustees exercise their informed business judgment to appoint an individual of their choosing to serve as Chairman, regardless of whether the Trustee happens to be independent or a member of management. The Independent Trustees have determined that they can act independently and effectively without having an Independent Trustee serve as Chairman and that a key structural component for assuring that they are in a position to do so is for the Independent Trustees to constitute a substantial majority for the Board. The Independent Trustees also regularly meet in executive session. Ned C. Lautenbach serves as Chairman of the Independent Trustees and as such (i) acts as a liaison between the Independent Trustees and management with respect to matters important to the Independent Trustees and (ii) with management prepares agendas for Board meetings.
Fidelity funds are overseen by different Boards of Trustees. The fund's Board oversees Fidelity's equity and high income funds and another Board oversees Fidelity's investment-grade bond, money market, and asset allocation funds. The asset allocation funds may invest in Fidelity funds overseen by the fund's Board. The use of separate Boards, each with its own committee structure, allows the Trustees of each group of Fidelity funds to focus on the unique issues of the funds they oversee, including common research, investment, and operational issues. On occasion, the separate Boards establish joint committees to address issues of overlapping consequences for the Fidelity funds overseen by each Board.
The Trustees operate using a system of committees to facilitate the timely and efficient consideration of all matters of importance to the Trustees, the fund, and fund shareholders and to facilitate compliance with legal and regulatory requirements and oversight of the fund's activities and associated risks. The Board, acting through its committees, has charged FMR and its affiliates with (i) identifying events or circumstances the occurrence of which could have demonstrably adverse effects on the fund's business and/or reputation; (ii) implementing processes and controls to lessen the possibility that such events or circumstances occur or to mitigate the effects of such events or circumstances if they do occur; and (iii) creating and maintaining a system designed to evaluate continuously business and market conditions in order to facilitate the identification and implementation processes described in (i) and (ii) above. Because the day-to-day operations and activities of the fund are carried out by or through FMR, its affiliates and other service providers, the fund's exposure to risks is mitigated but not eliminated by the processes overseen by the Trustees. While each of the Board's committees has responsibility for overseeing different aspects of the fund's activities, oversight is exercised primarily through the Operations, Audit, and Compliance Committees. Appropriate personnel, including but not limited to the fund's Chief Compliance Officer (CCO), FMR's internal auditor, the independent accountants, the fund's Treasurer and portfolio management personnel, make periodic reports to the Board's committees, as appropriate. The responsibilities of each committee, including their oversight responsibilities, are described further under "Standing Committees of the Fund's Trustees."
Interested Trustees*:
Correspondence intended for each Trustee who is an interested person may be sent to Fidelity Investments, 82 Devonshire Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02109.
Name, Age; Principal Occupations and Other Relevant Experience+ |
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James C. Curvey (76) |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2007 Mr. Curvey is Trustee and Acting Chairman of the Board of Trustees of certain Trusts. Mr. Curvey also serves as Trustee (2007-present) of other investment companies advised by FMR. Mr. Curvey is a Director of Fidelity Investments Money Management, Inc. (2009-present), Director of Fidelity Research & Analysis Co. (2009-present) and Director of FMR and FMR Co., Inc. (2007-present). Mr. Curvey is also Vice Chairman (2007-present) and Director of FMR LLC. In addition, Mr. Curvey serves as an Overseer for the Boston Symphony Orchestra and a member of the Trustees of Villanova University. Previously, Mr. Curvey was the Vice Chairman (2006-2007) and Director (2000-2007) of FMR Corp. |
Ronald P. O'Hanley (54) |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2011 Mr. O'Hanley is Director of FMR Co., Inc. (2010-present), Director of Fidelity Investments Money Management, Inc. (2010-present), Director of Fidelity Research & Analysis Company (2010-present), President of Fidelity Asset Management and Corporate Services and a member of Fidelity's Executive Committee (2010-present). Previously, Mr. O'Hanley served as President and Chief Executive Officer of BNY Mellon Asset Management (2007-2010). Mr. O'Hanley also served as Vice Chairman of Bank New York Mellon Corp. and a member of that firm's Executive Committee. Prior to the 2007 merger of The Bank of New York and Mellon Financial Corporation, he was Vice Chairman of Mellon Financial Corporation and President and Chief Executive Officer of Mellon Asset Management. He joined Mellon in February 1997. Mr. O'Hanley currently serves as Chairman of the Boston Public Library Foundation Board of Directors and sits on the Board of Directors of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, the Board of Trustees of the Marine Biological Laboratory and the Advisory Board of the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Administration at Syracuse University. Mr. O'Hanley also chairs the Council on Asset Management for the Financial Services Roundtable and is a member of the Board of Directors of Institutional Investor's U.S. Institute. |
* Trustees have been determined to be "Interested Trustees" by virtue of, among other things, their affiliation with the trust or various entities under common control with FMR.
+ The information above includes each Trustee's principal occupation during the last five years and other information relating to the experience, attributes, and skills relevant to each Trustee's qualifications to serve as a Trustee, which led to the conclusion that each Trustee should serve as a Trustee for the fund.
Independent Trustees:
Correspondence intended for each Independent Trustee (that is, the Trustees other than the Interested Trustees) may be sent to Fidelity Investments, P.O. Box 55235, Boston, Massachusetts 02205-5235.
Name, Age; Principal Occupations and Other Relevant Experience+ |
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Dennis J. Dirks (63) |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2005 Prior to his retirement in May 2003, Mr. Dirks was Chief Operating Officer and a member of the Board of The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC). He also served as President, Chief Operating Officer, and Board member of The Depository Trust Company (DTC) and President and Board member of the National Securities Clearing Corporation (NSCC). In addition, Mr. Dirks served as Chief Executive Officer and Board member of the Government Securities Clearing Corporation, Chief Executive Officer and Board member of the Mortgage-Backed Securities Clearing Corporation, as a Trustee and a member of the Finance Committee of Manhattan College (2005-2008), and as a Trustee and a member of the Finance Committee of AHRC of Nassau County (2006-2008). Mr. Dirks is a member of the Independent Directors Council (IDC) Governing Council (2010-Present) and Board of Directors for The Brookville Center for Children's Services, Inc. (2009-present). |
Alan J. Lacy (57) |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2008 Mr. Lacy serves as Senior Adviser (2007-present) of Oak Hill Capital Partners, L.P. (private equity). Mr. Lacy also served as Chief Executive Officer (2000-2005) and Vice Chairman (2005-2006) of Sears Holdings Corporation and Sears, Roebuck and Co. (retail). In addition, Mr. Lacy serves as a member of the Board of Directors of Dave & Buster's, Inc. (restaurant and entertainment complexes, 2010-present), The Hillman Companies, Inc. (hardware wholesalers, 2010-present), and Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (global pharmaceuticals, 2007-present). Mr. Lacy is a member of the Board of Trustees of The National Parks Conservation Association (2006-Present). Previously, Mr. Lacy served as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the National Parks Conservation Association (2008-2011) and as a member of the Board of Directors for the Western Union Company (global money transfer, 2006-2011). |
Ned C. Lautenbach (67) |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2000 Mr. Lautenbach is Chairman of the Independent Trustees of the Equity and High Income Funds (2006-present). Mr. Lautenbach currently serves as the Lead Director of the Eaton Corporation Board of Directors (diversified industrial, 1997-present). Mr. Lautenbach is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Philharmonic Center for the Arts in Naples, Florida (1999-present); a member of the Board of Trustees of Fairfield University (2005-present); and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations (1994-present). Previously, Mr. Lautenbach was a Partner/Advisory Partner at Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, LLC (private equity investment, 1998-2010), as well as a Director of Sony Corporation (2006-2007). |
Joseph Mauriello (67) |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2008 Prior to his retirement in January 2006, Mr. Mauriello served in numerous senior management positions including Deputy Chairman and Chief Operating Officer (2004-2005), and Vice Chairman of Financial Services (2002-2004) of KPMG LLP US (professional services, 1965-2005). Mr. Mauriello currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors of XL Group plc. (global insurance and re-insurance, 2006-present) and of Arcadia Resources Inc. (health care services and products, 2007-present). Previously, Mr. Mauriello served as a Director of the Hamilton Funds of the Bank of New York (2006-2007). |
Robert W. Selander (61) |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2011 Previously, Mr. Selander served as a Member of the Advisory Board of Fidelity's Equity and High Income Funds (2011), Executive Vice Chairman (2010), Chief Executive Officer (2009-2010), and President and Chief Executive Officer (1997-2009) of Mastercard, Inc. |
Cornelia M. Small (67) |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2005 Ms. Small is a member of the Board of Directors of the Teagle Foundation (2009-present). Ms. Small is also a member of the Investment Committee, and Chair (2008-present) and a member of the Board of Trustees of Smith College. In addition, Ms. Small serves on the Investment Committee of the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation (2008-present). Previously, Ms. Small served as Chairperson of the Investment Committee (2002-2008) of Smith College. In addition, Ms. Small served as Chief Investment Officer, Director of Global Equity Investments, and a member of the Board of Directors of Scudder, Stevens & Clark and Scudder Kemper Investments. |
William S. Stavropoulos (72) |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2001 Mr. Stavropoulos is Vice Chairman of the Independent Trustees of the Equity and High Income Funds (2006-present). Mr. Stavropoulos serves as President and Founder of the Michigan Baseball Foundation, the Great Lakes Loons (2007-present). Mr. Stavropoulos is Chairman Emeritus of the Board of Directors of The Dow Chemical Company, where he previously served in numerous senior management positions, including President, CEO (1995-2000; 2002-2004), Chairman of the Executive Committee (2000-2006), and as a member of the Board of Directors (1990-2006). Currently, Mr. Stavropoulos is Chairman of Univar (global distributor of commodity and specialty chemicals, 2010-present), a Director of Teradata Corporation (data warehousing and technology solutions, 2008-present), Chemical Financial Corporation, Maersk Inc. (industrial conglomerate), Tyco International, Inc. (multinational manufacturing and services, 2007-present), and a member of the Advisory Board for Metalmark Capital (private equity investment, 2005-present). Mr. Stavropoulos is a special advisor to Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, LLC (private equity investment). In addition, Mr. Stavropoulos is a member of the University of Notre Dame Advisory Council for the College of Science. |
David M. Thomas (62) |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2008 Previously, Mr. Thomas served as Executive Chairman (2005-2006) and Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (2000-2005) of IMS Health, Inc. (pharmaceutical and healthcare information solutions). In addition, Mr. Thomas serves as a member of the Board of Directors of Fortune Brands, Inc. (consumer products), and Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (marketing communication, 2004-present). |
Michael E. Wiley (61) |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2008 Mr. Wiley also serves as a Director of Asia Pacific Exploration Consolidated (international oil and gas exploration and production, 2008-present). Mr. Wiley serves as a Director of Tesoro Corporation (independent oil refiner and marketer, 2005-present), and a Director of Bill Barrett Corporation (exploration and production, 2005-present). In addition, Mr. Wiley also serves as a Director of Post Oak Bank (privately-held bank, 2004-present). Previously, Mr. Wiley served as a member of the Board of Trustees of the University of Tulsa (2000-2006; 2007-2010), as a Senior Energy Advisor of Katzenbach Partners, LLC (consulting, 2006-2007), as an Advisory Director of Riverstone Holdings (private investment), Chairman, President, and CEO of Baker Hughes, Inc. (oilfield services, 2000-2004), and as Director of Spinnaker Exploration Company (exploration and production, 2001-2005). |
+ The information above includes each Trustee's principal occupation during the last five years and other information relating to the experience, attributes, and skills relevant to each Trustee's qualifications to serve as a Trustee, which led to the conclusion that each Trustee should serve as a Trustee for the fund.
Advisory Board Members and Executive Officers:
Correspondence intended for each executive officer, Edward C. Johnson 3d, and Peter S. Lynch may be sent to Fidelity Investments, 82 Devonshire Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02109.
Name, Age; Principal Occupation |
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Edward C. Johnson 3d (81) |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2011 Member of the Advisory Board of Fidelity's Equity and High Income Funds. Mr. Johnson serves as Chief Executive Officer, Chairman, and a Director of FMR LLC, and also serves as Chairman and Director of FIL Limited. Previously, Mr. Johnson served as a Trustee and Chairman of the Board of certain Fidelity Trusts, Chairman and a Director of FMR, Chairman and a Director of FMR Co., Inc., and President of FMR LLC (2006-2007). |
Peter S. Lynch (67) |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2003 Member of the Advisory Board of Fidelity's Equity and High Income Funds. Mr. Lynch is Vice Chairman and a Director of FMR and FMR Co., Inc. In addition, Mr. Lynch serves as a Trustee of Boston College and as the Chairman of the Inner-City Scholarship Fund. Previously, Mr. Lynch served on the Special Olympics International Board of Directors (1997-2006). |
Kenneth B. Robins (42) |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2008 President and Treasurer of Fidelity's Equity and High Income Funds. Mr. Robins also serves as President and Treasurer (2010-present) and Assistant Treasurer (2009-present) of other Fidelity funds and is an employee of Fidelity Investments (2004-present). Previously, Mr. Robins served as Deputy Treasurer of the Fidelity funds (2005-2008) and Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer of The North Carolina Capital Management Trust: Cash and Term Portfolios (2006-2008). |
Bruce T. Herring (46) |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2006 Vice President of certain Equity Funds. Mr. Herring also serves as Chief Investment Officer and Director of Fidelity Management & Research (U.K.) Inc. (2010-present) and Group Chief Investments Officer of FMR. Previously, Mr. Herring served as Vice President (2005-2006) and Senior Vice President (2006-2007) of Fidelity Management & Research Company, Vice President of FMR Co., Inc. (2001-2007) and as a portfolio manager for Fidelity U.S. Equity Funds. |
Brian B. Hogan (47) |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2009 Vice President of Equity and High Income Funds. Mr. Hogan also serves as President of FMR's Equity Division (2009-present). Previously, Mr. Hogan served as Senior Vice President, Equity Research of FMR (2006-2009) and as a portfolio manager. |
Scott C. Goebel (43) |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2008 Secretary and Chief Legal Officer (CLO) of the Fidelity funds. Mr. Goebel also serves as Secretary of Fidelity Investments Money Management, Inc. (FIMM) (2010-present) and Fidelity Research and Analysis Company (FRAC) (2010-present); Secretary and CLO of The North Carolina Capital Management Trust: Cash and Term Portfolios (2008-present); General Counsel, Secretary, and Senior Vice President of FMR (2008-present) and FMR Co., Inc. (2008-present); employed by FMR LLC or an affiliate (2001-present); Chief Legal Officer of Fidelity Management & Research (Hong Kong) Limited (2008-present) and Assistant Secretary of Fidelity Management & Research (Japan) Inc. (2008-present), and Fidelity Management & Research (U.K.) Inc. (2008-present). Previously, Mr. Goebel served as Assistant Secretary of FIMM (2008-2010), FRAC (2008-2010), and the Funds (2007-2008) and as Vice President and Secretary of Fidelity Distributors Corporation (FDC) (2005-2007). |
William C. Coffey (42) |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2009 Assistant Secretary of Fidelity's Equity and High Income Funds. Mr. Coffey also serves as Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel of FMR LLC (2010-present), and is an employee of Fidelity Investments. Previously, Mr. Coffey served as Vice President and Associate General Counsel of FMR LLC (2005-2009). |
Holly C. Laurent (57) |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2008 Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Officer of the Fidelity funds. Ms. Laurent also serves as AML Officer of The North Carolina Capital Management Trust: Cash and Term Portfolios (2008-present) and is an employee of Fidelity Investments. Previously, Ms. Laurent was Senior Vice President and Head of Legal for Fidelity Business Services India Pvt. Ltd. (2006-2008), and Senior Vice President, Deputy General Counsel and Group Head for FMR LLC (2005-2006). |
Christine Reynolds (53) |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2008 Chief Financial Officer of the Fidelity funds. Ms. Reynolds became President of Fidelity Pricing and Cash Management Services (FPCMS) in August 2008. Ms. Reynolds served as Chief Operating Officer of FPCMS (2007-2008). Previously, Ms. Reynolds served as President, Treasurer, and Anti-Money Laundering officer of the Fidelity funds (2004-2007). |
Kenneth A. Rathgeber (64) |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2004 Chief Compliance Officer of Fidelity's Equity and High Income Funds. Mr. Rathgeber is Chief Compliance Officer of Fidelity Management & Research (Hong Kong) Limited (2008-present), Fidelity Management & Research (Japan) Inc. (2008-present), FMR (2005-present), FMR Co., Inc. (2005-present), Fidelity Management & Research (U.K.) Inc. (2005-present), Fidelity Research & Analysis Company (2005-present), Fidelity Investments Money Management, Inc. (2005-present), Pyramis Global Advisors, LLC (2005-present), and Strategic Advisers, Inc. (2005-present). |
Jeffrey S. Christian (49) |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2009 Deputy Treasurer of the Fidelity funds. Mr. Christian is an employee of Fidelity Investments. Previously, Mr. Christian served as Chief Financial Officer (2008-2009) of certain Fidelity funds and Senior Vice President of Fidelity Pricing and Cash Management Services (FPCMS) (2004-2009). |
Bryan A. Mehrmann (50) |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2005 Deputy Treasurer of the Fidelity funds. Mr. Mehrmann is an employee of Fidelity Investments. |
Adrien E. Deberghes (44) |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2008 Deputy Treasurer of Fidelity's Equity and High Income Funds. Mr. Deberghes also serves as Vice President and Assistant Treasurer of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II and Fidelity Commonwealth Trust II (2011-present), Assistant Treasurer of other Fidelity funds (2010-present), and is an employee of Fidelity Investments (2008-present). Previously, Mr. Deberghes served as Senior Vice President of Mutual Fund Administration at State Street Corporation (2007-2008), Senior Director of Mutual Fund Administration at Investors Bank & Trust (2005-2007), and Director of Finance for Dunkin' Brands (2000-2005). |
Stephanie J. Dorsey (42) |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2010 Assistant Treasurer of Fidelity's Equity and High Income Funds. Ms. Dorsey also serves as Deputy Treasurer of other Fidelity funds (2008-present) and is an employee of Fidelity Investments (2008-present). Previously, Ms. Dorsey served as Treasurer (2004-2008) of the JPMorgan Mutual Funds and Vice President (2004-2008) of JPMorgan Chase Bank. |
John R. Hebble (53) |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2009 Assistant Treasurer of Fidelity's Equity and High Income Funds. Mr. Hebble also serves as President (2011-present), Treasurer, and Chief Financial Officer of The North Carolina Capital Management Trust: Cash and Term Portfolios (2008-present), President and Treasurer of other Fidelity funds (2008-present) and is an employee of Fidelity Investments. |
Gary W. Ryan (53) |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2005 Assistant Treasurer of the Fidelity funds. Mr. Ryan is an employee of Fidelity Investments. Previously, Mr. Ryan served as Vice President of Fund Reporting in Fidelity Pricing and Cash Management Services (FPCMS) (1999-2005). |
Jonathan Davis (43) |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2010 Assistant Treasurer of the Fidelity funds. Mr. Davis is also Assistant Treasurer of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II and Fidelity Commonwealth Trust II. Mr. Davis is an employee of Fidelity Investments. Previously, Mr. Davis served as Vice President and Associate General Counsel of FMR LLC (2003-2010). |
Standing Committees of the Fund's Trustees. The Board of Trustees has established various committees to support the Independent Trustees in acting independently in pursuing the best interests of the funds and their shareholders. Currently, the Board of Trustees has 10 standing committees. The members of each committee are Independent Trustees.
The Operations Committee is composed of all of the Independent Trustees, with Mr. Lautenbach currently serving as Chair and Mr. Stavropoulos serving as Vice Chair. The committee normally meets eight times a year, or more frequently as called by the Chair, and serves as a forum for consideration of issues of importance to, or calling for particular determinations by, the Independent Trustees. The committee also considers matters involving potential conflicts of interest between the funds and FMR and its affiliates and reviews proposed contracts and the proposed continuation of contracts between the funds and FMR and its affiliates, and annually reviews and makes recommendations regarding contracts with third parties unaffiliated with FMR, including insurance coverage and custody agreements. The committee also monitors additional issues including the nature, levels and quality of services provided to shareholders and significant litigation. The committee also has oversight of compliance issues not specifically within the scope of any other committee. The committee is also responsible for definitive action on all compliance matters involving the potential for significant reimbursement by FMR. During the 12-month period ended August 31, 2011, the committee held 15 meetings.
The Fair Value Oversight Committee is composed of all of the Independent Trustees, with Mr. Lautenbach currently serving as Chair. The committee normally meets quarterly, or more frequently as called by the Chair. The Fair Value Oversight Committee monitors and establishes policies concerning procedures and controls regarding the valuation of fund investments and monitors matters of disclosure to the extent required to fulfill its statutory responsibilities. The committee also reviews actions taken by FMR's Fair Value Committee. During the 12-month period ended August 31, 2011, the committee held three meetings.
The Board of Trustees has established two Fund Oversight Committees: the Equity I Committee (composed of Ms. Small (Chair), and Messrs. Dirks, Lacy, and Wiley) and the Equity II Committee (composed of Messrs. Stavropoulos (Chair), Lautenbach, Mauriello, and Thomas). Each committee normally meets in conjunction with in-person meetings of the Board of Trustees, or more frequently as called by the Chair of the respective committee. Each committee develops an understanding of and reviews the investment objectives, policies, and practices of each fund under its oversight. Each committee also monitors investment performance, compliance by each relevant fund with its investment policies and restrictions and reviews appropriate benchmarks, competitive universes, unusual or exceptional investment matters, the personnel and other resources devoted to the management of each fund and all other matters bearing on each fund's investment results. Each committee will review and recommend any required action to the Board in respect of specific funds, including new funds, changes in fundamental and non-fundamental investment policies and restrictions, partial or full closing to new investors, fund mergers, fund name changes, and liquidations of funds. The members of each committee may organize working groups to make recommendations concerning issues related to funds that are within the scope of the committee's review. These working groups report to the committee or to the Independent Trustees, or both, as appropriate. Each working group may request from FMR such information from FMR as may be appropriate to the working group's deliberations. During the 12-month period ended August 31, 2011, each Fund Oversight Committee held 15 meetings.
The Shareholder, Distribution and Brokerage Committee is composed of Messrs. Dirks (Chair), Stavropoulos, and Thomas, and Ms. Small. Mr. Lautenbach alternates his attendance of committee meetings with his attendance of Audit Committee meetings. The committee normally meets eight times a year, or more frequently as called by the Chair. Regarding shareholder services, the committee considers the structure and amount of the funds' transfer agency fees and fees, including direct fees to investors (other than sales loads), such as bookkeeping and custodial fees, and the nature and quality of services rendered by FMR and its affiliates or third parties (such as custodians) in consideration of these fees. The committee also considers other non-investment management services rendered to the funds by FMR and its affiliates, including pricing and bookkeeping services. The committee monitors and recommends policies concerning the securities transactions of the funds, including brokerage. The committee periodically reviews the policies and practices with respect to efforts to achieve best execution, commissions paid to firms supplying research and brokerage services or paying fund expenses, and policies and procedures designed to assure that any allocation of portfolio transactions is not influenced by the sale of fund shares. The committee also monitors brokerage and other similar relationships between the funds and firms affiliated with FMR that participate in the execution of securities transactions. Regarding the distribution of fund shares, the committee considers issues bearing on the various distribution channels employed by the funds, including issues regarding Rule 18f-3 plans and related consideration of classes of shares, sales load structures (including breakpoints), load waivers, selling concessions and service charges paid to intermediaries, Rule 12b-1 plans, contingent deferred sales charges, and finder's fees, and other means by which intermediaries are compensated for selling fund shares or providing shareholder servicing, including revenue sharing. The committee also considers issues bearing on the preparation and use of advertisements and sales literature for the funds, policies and procedures regarding frequent purchase of fund shares, and selective disclosure of portfolio holdings. During the 12-month period ended August 31, 2011, the Shareholder, Distribution and Brokerage Committee held seven meetings.
The Audit Committee is composed of Messrs. Mauriello (Chair), Lacy, and Wiley. Mr. Lautenbach alternates his attendance of committee meetings with his attendance of Shareholder, Distribution, and Brokerage Committee meetings. All committee members must be able to read and understand fundamental financial statements, including a company's balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow statement. At least one committee member will be an "audit committee financial expert" as defined by the SEC. The committee will have at least one committee member in common with the Compliance Committee. The committee normally meets four times a year, or more frequently as called by the Chair. The committee meets separately at least annually with the funds' Treasurer, with the funds' Chief Financial Officer (CFO), with personnel responsible for the internal audit function of FMR LLC, and with the funds' outside auditors. The committee has direct responsibility for the appointment, compensation, and oversight of the work of the outside auditors employed by the funds. The committee assists the Trustees in overseeing and monitoring: (i) the systems of internal accounting and financial controls of the funds and the funds' service providers, (to the extent such controls impact the funds' financial statements); (ii) the funds' auditors and the annual audits of the funds' financial statements; (iii) the financial reporting processes of the funds; (iv) whistleblower reports; and (v) the accounting policies and disclosures of the funds. The committee considers and acts upon (i) the provision by any outside auditor of any non-audit services for any fund, and (ii) the provision by any outside auditor of certain non-audit services to fund service providers and their affiliates to the extent that such approval (in the case of this clause (ii)) is required under applicable regulations of the SEC. In furtherance of the foregoing, the committee has adopted (and may from time to time amend or supplement) and provides oversight of policies and procedures for non-audit engagements by outside auditors of the funds. It is responsible for approving all audit engagement fees and terms for the funds and for resolving disagreements between a fund and any outside auditor regarding any fund's financial reporting. Auditors of the funds report directly to the committee. The committee will obtain assurance of independence and objectivity from the outside auditors, including a formal written statement delineating all relationships between the auditor and the funds and any service providers consistent with the rules of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board. The committee will receive reports of compliance with provisions of the Auditor Independence Regulations relating to the hiring of employees or former employees of the outside auditors. It oversees and receives reports on the funds' service providers' internal controls and reviews the adequacy and effectiveness of the service providers' accounting and financial controls, including: (i) any significant deficiencies or material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal controls over financial reporting that are reasonably likely to adversely affect the funds' ability to record, process, summarize, and report financial data; (ii) any change in the fund's internal control over financial reporting that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the fund's internal control over financial reporting; and (iii) any fraud, whether material or not, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the funds' or service providers internal controls over financial reporting. The committee will also review any correspondence with regulators or governmental agencies or published reports that raise material issues regarding the funds' financial statements or accounting policies. These matters may also be reviewed by the Compliance Committee or the Operations Committee. The Chair of the Audit Committee will coordinate with the Chair of the Compliance Committee, as appropriate. The committee reviews at least annually a report from each outside auditor describing any material issues raised by the most recent internal quality control, peer review, or Public Company Accounting Oversight Board examination of the auditing firm and any material issues raised by any inquiry or investigation by governmental or professional authorities of the auditing firm and in each case any steps taken to deal with such issues. The committee will oversee and receive reports on the funds' financial reporting process, will discuss with FMR, the funds' Treasurer, outside auditors and, if appropriate, internal audit personnel of FMR LLC, their qualitative judgments about the appropriateness and acceptability of accounting principles and financial disclosure practices used or proposed for adoption by the funds. The committee will review with FMR, the funds' Treasurer, outside auditor, and internal audit personnel of FMR LLC and, as appropriate, legal counsel the results of audits of the funds' financial statements. The committee will review periodically the funds' major internal controls exposures and the steps that have been taken to monitor and control such exposures. During the 12-month period ended August 31, 2011, the committee held six meetings.
The Governance and Nominating Committee is composed of Messrs. Lautenbach (Chair) and Stavropoulos. The committee meets as called by the Chair. With respect to fund governance and board administration matters, the committee periodically reviews procedures of the Board of Trustees and its committees (including committee charters) and periodically reviews compensation of Independent Trustees. The committee monitors corporate governance matters and makes recommendations to the Board of Trustees on the frequency and structure of the Board of Trustee meetings and on any other aspect of Board procedures. It acts as the administrative committee under the retirement plan for Independent Trustees who retired prior to December 30, 1996 and under the fee deferral plan for Independent Trustees. It reviews the performance of legal counsel employed by the funds and the Independent Trustees. On behalf of the Independent Trustees, the committee will make such findings and determinations as to the independence of counsel for the Independent Trustees as may be necessary or appropriate under applicable regulations or otherwise. The committee is also responsible for Board administrative matters applicable to Independent Trustees, such as expense reimbursement policies and compensation for attendance at meetings, conferences and other events. The committee monitors compliance with, acts as the administrator of, and makes determinations in respect of, the provisions of the code of ethics and any supplemental policies regarding personal securities transactions applicable to the Independent Trustees. The committee monitors the functioning of each Board committee and makes recommendations for any changes, including the creation or elimination of standing or ad hoc Board committees. The committee monitors regulatory and other developments to determine whether to recommend modifications to the committee's responsibilities or other Trustee policies and procedures in light of rule changes, reports concerning "best practices" in corporate governance and other developments in mutual fund governance. The committee meets with Independent Trustees at least once a year to discuss matters relating to fund governance. The committee recommends that the Board establish such special or ad hoc Board committees as may be desirable or necessary from time to time in order to address ethical, legal, or other matters that may arise. The committee also oversees the annual self-evaluation of the Board of Trustees and establishes procedures to allow it to exercise this oversight function. In conducting this oversight, the committee shall address all matters that it considers relevant to the performance of the Board of Trustees and shall report the results of its evaluation to the Board of Trustees, including any recommended amendments to the principles of governance, and any recommended changes to the funds' or the Board of Trustees' policies, procedures, and structures. The committee reviews periodically the size and composition of the Board of Trustees as a whole and recommends, if necessary, measures to be taken so that the Board of Trustees reflects the appropriate balance of knowledge, experience, skills, expertise, and diversity required for the Board as a whole and contains at least the minimum number of Independent Trustees required by law. The committee makes nominations for the election or appointment of Independent Trustees and non-management Members of any Advisory Board, and for membership on committees. The committee shall have authority to retain and terminate any third-party advisers, including authority to approve fees and other retention terms. Such advisers may include search firms to identify Independent Trustee candidates and board compensation consultants. The committee may conduct or authorize investigations into or studies of matters within the committee's scope of responsibilities, and may retain, at the funds' expense, such independent counsel or other advisers as it deems necessary. The committee will consider nominees to the Board of Trustees recommended by shareholders based upon the criteria applied to candidates presented to the committee by a search firm or other source. Recommendations, along with appropriate background material concerning the candidate that demonstrates his or her ability to serve as an Independent Trustee of the funds, should be submitted to the Chair of the committee at the address maintained for communications with Independent Trustees. If the committee retains a search firm, the Chair will generally forward all such submissions to the search firm for evaluation. With respect to the criteria for selecting Independent Trustees, it is expected that all candidates will possess the following minimum qualifications: (i) unquestioned personal integrity; (ii) not an interested person of FMR or its affiliates within the meaning of the 1940 Act; (iii) does not have a material relationship (e.g., commercial, banking, consulting, legal, or accounting) that could create an appearance of lack of independence in respect of FMR and its affiliates; (iv) has the disposition to act independently in respect of FMR and its affiliates and others in order to protect the interests of the funds and all shareholders; (v) ability to attend regularly scheduled meetings during the year; (vi) demonstrates sound business judgment gained through broad experience in significant positions where the candidate has dealt with management, technical, financial, or regulatory issues; (vii) sufficient financial or accounting knowledge to add value in the complex financial environment of the funds; (viii) experience on corporate or other institutional oversight bodies having similar responsibilities, but which board memberships or other relationships could not result in business or regulatory conflicts with the funds; and (ix) capacity for the hard work and attention to detail that is required to be an effective Independent Trustee in light of the funds' complex regulatory, operational, and marketing setting. The Governance and Nominating Committee may determine that a candidate who does not have the type of previous experience or knowledge referred to above should nevertheless be considered as a nominee if the Governance and Nominating Committee finds that the candidate has additional qualifications such that his or her qualifications, taken as a whole, demonstrate the same level of fitness to serve as an Independent Trustee. During the 12-month period ended August 31, 2011, the committee held nine meetings.
The Compliance Committee is composed of Messrs. Wiley (Chair), Lautenbach, and Mauriello. The committee normally meets quarterly, or more frequently as called by the Chair. The committee oversees the administration and operation of the compliance policies and procedures of the funds and their service providers as required by Rule 38a-1 of the 1940 Act. The committee is responsible for the review and approval of policies and procedures relating to (i) provisions of the Code of Ethics, (ii) anti-money laundering requirements, (iii) compliance with investment restrictions and limitations, (iv) privacy, (v) recordkeeping, and (vi) other compliance policies and procedures which are not otherwise delegated to another committee. The committee has responsibility for recommending to the Board the designation of a CCO of the funds. The committee serves as the primary point of contact between the CCO and the Board, it oversees the annual performance review and compensation of the CCO, and if required, makes recommendations to the Board with respect to the removal of the appointed CCO. The committee receives reports of significant correspondence with regulators or governmental agencies, employee complaints or published reports which raise concerns regarding compliance matters, and copies of significant non-routine correspondence with the SEC. The committee receives reports from the CCO including the annual report concerning the funds' compliance policies as required by Rule 38a-1, quarterly reports in respect of any breaches of fiduciary duty or violations of federal securities laws, and reports on any other compliance or related matters that would otherwise be subject to periodic reporting or that may have a significant impact on the funds. The committee will recommend to the Board, what actions, if any, should be taken with respect to such reports. During the 12-month period ended August 31, 2011, the committee held seven meetings.
The Proxy Voting Committee is composed of Messrs. Thomas (Chair), Dirks, and Wiley. The committee will meet as needed to review the fund's proxy voting policies, consider changes to the policies, and review the manner in which the policies have been applied. The committee will receive reports on the manner in which proxy votes have been cast under the proxy voting policies and reports on consultations between the fund's investment advisers and portfolio companies concerning matters presented to shareholders for approval. The committee will address issues relating to the fund's annual voting report filed with the SEC. The committee will receive reports concerning the implementation of procedures and controls designed to ensure that the proxy voting policies are implemented in accordance with their terms. The committee will consider FMR's recommendations concerning certain non-routine proposals not covered by the proxy voting policies. The committee will receive reports with respect to steps taken by FMR to assure that proxy voting has been done without regard to any other FMR relationships, business or otherwise, with that portfolio company. The committee will make recommendations to the Board concerning the casting of proxy votes in circumstances where FMR has determined that, because of a conflict of interest, the proposal to be voted on should be reviewed by the Board. During the 12-month period ended August 31, 2011, the committee held three meetings.
The Research Committee is composed of Messrs. Lacy (Chair) and Thomas, and Ms. Small. The Committee will meet as needed. The Committee's purpose is to assess the quality of the investment research available to FMR's investment professionals. As such, the Committee reviews information pertaining to the sources of such research, the categories of research, the manner in which the funds bear the cost of research, and FMR's internal research capabilities, including performance metrics, interactions between FMR portfolio managers and research analysts, and the professional quality of analysts in research careers. Where necessary, the Committee recommends actions with respect to various reports providing information on FMR's research function. During the 12-month period ended August 31, 2011, the committee held five meetings.
The following table sets forth information describing the dollar range of equity securities beneficially owned by each Trustee in the fund and in all funds in the aggregate within the same fund family overseen by the Trustee for the calendar year ended December 31, 2010 (or as of February 28, 2011, for Mr. O'Hanley, Trustee as of January 1, 2011, and as of August 31, 2011, for Mr. Selander, Trustee as of September 1, 2011).
Interested Trustees |
||
DOLLAR RANGE OF |
James C. Curvey |
Ronald P. O'Hanley |
Fidelity Series Real Estate Income Fund |
none |
none |
AGGREGATE DOLLAR RANGE OF |
over $100,000 |
over $100,000 |
Independent Trustees |
|||||
DOLLAR RANGE OF |
Dennis J. Dirks |
Alan J. Lacy |
Ned C. Lautenbach |
Joseph Mauriello |
Robert W. Selander |
Fidelity Series Real Estate Income Fund |
none |
none |
none |
none |
none |
AGGREGATE DOLLAR RANGE OF |
over $100,000 |
over $100,000 |
over $100,000 |
over $100,000 |
over $100,000 |
DOLLAR RANGE OF |
Cornelia M. Small |
William S. Stavropoulos |
David M. Thomas |
Michael E. Wiley |
Fidelity Series Real Estate Income Fund |
none |
none |
none |
none |
AGGREGATE DOLLAR RANGE OF |
over $100,000 |
over $100,000 |
over $100,000 |
over $100,000 |
The following table sets forth information describing the compensation of each Trustee and Member of the Advisory Board for his or her services for the fiscal year ending July 31, 2011, or calendar year ended December 31, 2010, as applicable.
Compensation Table1 |
||||||
AGGREGATE |
Dennis J. |
Alan J. |
Ned C. |
Joseph |
Robert W. |
|
Fidelity Series Real Estate Income Fund+ |
$ 299 |
$ 277 |
$ 349 |
$ 299 |
$ 277 |
|
TOTAL COMPENSATION |
$ 436,500 |
$ 396,000 |
$ 496,000 |
$ 427,500 |
$ 0 |
|
AGGREGATE |
Cornelia M. |
William S. |
David M. |
Michael E. |
|
Fidelity Series Real Estate Income Fund+ |
$ 277 |
$ 313 |
$ 277 |
$ 277 |
|
TOTAL COMPENSATION |
$ 396,000 |
$ 444,500 |
$ 392,500 |
$ 399,000 |
|
1 Edward C. Johnson 3d, James C. Curvey, Ronald P. O'Hanley, and Peter S. Lynch are interested persons and are compensated by FMR.
2 For the period May 1, 2011 through August 31, 2011, Mr. Selander served as a Member of the Advisory Board. Effective September 1, 2011, Mr. Selander serves as a Member of the Board of Trustees.
+ Estimated for the fund's first full year.
A Reflects compensation received for the calendar year ended December 31, 2010 for 219 funds of 29 trusts (including Fidelity Central Investment Portfolios LLC). Compensation figures include cash and may include amounts deferred at the election of Trustees. Certain of the Independent Trustees elected voluntarily to defer a portion of their compensation as follows: Ned C. Lautenbach, $283,922; Cornelia M. Small, $175,000; William S. Stavropoulos, $200,000; and Michael E. Wiley, $180,000.
As of the initial offering of shares of the fund, 100% of the fund's total outstanding shares was held by FMR, an FMR affiliate, and/or mutual funds managed by FMR or an FMR affiliate.
CONTROL OF INVESTMENT ADVISERS
FMR LLC, as successor by merger to FMR Corp., is the ultimate parent company of FMR, Fidelity Management & Research (U.K.) Inc. (FMR U.K.), Fidelity Management & Research (Hong Kong) Limited (FMR H.K.), Fidelity Management & Research (Japan) Inc. (FMR Japan), and FMR Co., Inc. (FMRC). The voting common shares of FMR LLC are divided into two series. Series B is held predominantly by members of the Edward C. Johnson 3d and Abigail P. Johnson family, directly or through trust and limited liability companies, and is entitled to 49% of the vote on any matter acted upon by the voting common shares. Series A is held predominantly by non-Johnson family member employees of FMR LLC and its affiliates and is entitled to 51% of the vote on any such matter. The Johnson family group and all other Series B shareholders have entered into a shareholders' voting agreement under which all Series B shares will be voted in accordance with the majority vote of Series B shares. Under the 1940 Act, control of a company is presumed where one individual or group of individuals owns more than 25% of the voting securities of that company. Therefore, through their ownership of voting common shares and the execution of the shareholders' voting agreement, members of the Johnson family may be deemed, under the 1940 Act, to form a controlling group with respect to FMR LLC.
At present, the primary business activities of FMR LLC and its subsidiaries are: (i) the provision of investment advisory, management, shareholder, investment information and assistance and certain fiduciary services for individual and institutional investors; (ii) the provision of securities brokerage services; (iii) the management and development of real estate; and (iv) the investment in and operation of a number of emerging businesses.
FMR, FMRC, FMR U.K., FMR H.K., FMR Japan (the Investment Advisers), FDC, and the fund have adopted a code of ethics under Rule 17j-1 of the 1940 Act that sets forth employees' fiduciary responsibilities regarding the fund, establishes procedures for personal investing, and restricts certain transactions. Employees subject to the code of ethics, including Fidelity investment personnel, may invest in securities for their own investment accounts, including securities that may be purchased or held by the fund.
The fund has entered into a management contract with FMR, pursuant to which FMR furnishes investment advisory and other services.
Management Services. Under the terms of its management contract with the fund, FMR acts as investment adviser and, subject to the supervision of the Board of Trustees, has overall responsibility for directing the investments of the fund in accordance with its investment objective, policies and limitations. FMR also provides the fund with all necessary office facilities and personnel for servicing the fund's investments, compensates all officers of the fund and all Trustees who are interested persons of the trust or of FMR, and all personnel of the fund or FMR performing services relating to research, statistical and investment activities.
In addition, FMR or its affiliates, subject to the supervision of the Board of Trustees, provide the management and administrative services necessary for the operation of the fund. These services include providing facilities for maintaining the fund's organization; supervising relations with custodians, transfer and pricing agents, accountants, underwriters and other persons dealing with the fund; preparing all general shareholder communications and conducting shareholder relations; maintaining the fund's records and the registration of the fund's shares under federal securities laws and making necessary filings under state securities laws; developing management and shareholder services for the fund; and furnishing reports, evaluations and analyses on a variety of subjects to the Trustees.
Management-Related Expenses. In addition to the management fee payable to FMR and the fees payable to the transfer agent and pricing and bookkeeping agent, and the costs associated with securities lending, the fund or each class thereof, as applicable, pays all of its expenses that are not assumed by those parties. The fund pays for the typesetting, printing, and mailing of its proxy materials to shareholders, legal expenses, and the fees of the custodian, auditor, and Independent Trustees. The fund's management contract further provides that the fund will pay for typesetting, printing, and mailing prospectuses, statements of additional information, notices, and reports to shareholders; however, under the terms of the fund's transfer agent agreement, the transfer agent bears these costs. Other expenses paid by the fund include interest, taxes, brokerage commissions, the fund's proportionate share of insurance premiums and Investment Company Institute dues, and the costs of registering shares under federal securities laws and making necessary filings under state securities laws. The fund is also liable for such non-recurring expenses as may arise, including costs of any litigation to which the fund may be a party, and any obligation it may have to indemnify its officers and Trustees with respect to litigation.
Management Fee. For the services of FMR under the management contract, the fund pays FMR a monthly management fee which has two components: a group fee rate and an individual fund fee rate.
The group fee rate is based on the monthly average net assets of all of the registered investment companies with which FMR has management contracts.
GROUP FEE RATE SCHEDULE |
EFFECTIVE ANNUAL FEE RATES |
||||
Average Group |
Annualized |
Group Net |
Effective Annual Fee |
||
0 |
- |
$3 billion |
.5200% |
$ 1 billion |
.5200% |
3 |
- |
6 |
.4900 |
50 |
.3823 |
6 |
- |
9 |
.4600 |
100 |
.3512 |
9 |
- |
12 |
.4300 |
150 |
.3371 |
12 |
- |
15 |
.4000 |
200 |
.3284 |
15 |
- |
18 |
.3850 |
250 |
.3219 |
18 |
- |
21 |
.3700 |
300 |
.3163 |
21 |
- |
24 |
.3600 |
350 |
.3113 |
24 |
- |
30 |
.3500 |
400 |
.3067 |
30 |
- |
36 |
.3450 |
450 |
.3024 |
36 |
- |
42 |
.3400 |
500 |
.2982 |
42 |
- |
48 |
.3350 |
550 |
.2942 |
48 |
- |
66 |
.3250 |
600 |
.2904 |
66 |
- |
84 |
.3200 |
650 |
.2870 |
84 |
- |
102 |
.3150 |
700 |
.2838 |
102 |
- |
138 |
.3100 |
750 |
.2809 |
138 |
- |
174 |
.3050 |
800 |
.2782 |
174 |
- |
210 |
.3000 |
850 |
.2756 |
210 |
- |
246 |
.2950 |
900 |
.2732 |
246 |
- |
282 |
.2900 |
950 |
.2710 |
282 |
- |
318 |
.2850 |
1,000 |
.2689 |
318 |
- |
354 |
.2800 |
1,050 |
.2669 |
354 |
- |
390 |
.2750 |
1,100 |
.2649 |
390 |
- |
426 |
.2700 |
1,150 |
.2631 |
426 |
- |
462 |
.2650 |
1,200 |
.2614 |
462 |
- |
498 |
.2600 |
1,250 |
.2597 |
498 |
- |
534 |
.2550 |
1,300 |
.2581 |
534 |
- |
587 |
.2500 |
1,350 |
.2566 |
587 |
- |
646 |
.2463 |
1,400 |
.2551 |
646 |
- |
711 |
.2426 |
1,450 |
.2536 |
711 |
- |
782 |
.2389 |
1,500 |
.2523 |
782 |
- |
860 |
.2352 |
1,550 |
.2510 |
860 |
- |
946 |
.2315 |
1,600 |
.2497 |
946 |
- |
1,041 |
.2278 |
1,650 |
.2484 |
1,041 |
- |
1,145 |
.2241 |
1,700 |
.2472 |
1,145 |
- |
1,260 |
.2204 |
1,750 |
.2460 |
1,260 |
- |
1,386 |
.2167 |
1,800 |
.2449 |
1,386 |
- |
1,525 |
.2130 |
1,850 |
.2438 |
1,525 |
- |
1,677 |
.2093 |
1,900 |
.2427 |
1,677 |
- |
1,845 |
.2056 |
1,950 |
.2417 |
Over |
|
1,845 |
.2019 |
2,000 |
.2407 |
The group fee rate is calculated on a cumulative basis pursuant to the graduated fee rate schedule shown above on the left. The schedule above on the right shows the effective annual group fee rate at various asset levels, which is the result of cumulatively applying the annualized rates on the left. For example, the effective annual fee rate at $1,341 billion of group net assets - the approximate level for January 2011 - was 0.2568%, which is the weighted average of the respective fee rates for each level of group net assets up to $1,341 billion.
The fund's individual fund fee rate is 0.30%. Based on the average group net assets of the funds advised by FMR for January 2011, the fund's annual management fee rate would be calculated as follows:
Fund |
Group Fee Rate |
|
Individual Fund Fee Rate |
|
Management Fee Rate |
Fidelity Series Real Estate Income Fund |
0.2568% |
+ |
0.3000% |
= |
0.5568% |
One-twelfth of the management fee rate is applied to the fund's average net assets for the month, giving a dollar amount which is the fee for that month.
FMR may, from time to time, voluntarily reimburse all or a portion of a class's operating expenses. FMR retains the ability to be repaid for these expense reimbursements in the amount that expenses fall below the limit prior to the end of the fiscal year.
Expense reimbursements by FMR will increase a class's returns and yield, and repayment of the reimbursement by a class will decrease its returns and yield.
Sub-Adviser - FMRC. On behalf of the fund, FMR has entered into a sub-advisory agreement with FMRC pursuant to which FMRC has day-to-day responsibility for choosing investments for the fund. Under the terms of the sub-advisory agreement for the fund, FMR, and not the fund, pays FMRC's fees.
Sub-Advisers - FMR U.K., FMR H.K., and FMR Japan. On behalf of the fund, FMR has entered into sub-advisory agreements with FMR U.K., FMR H.K., and FMR Japan. Pursuant to the sub-advisory agreements, FMR may receive from the sub-advisers investment research and advice on issuers outside the United States (non-discretionary services) and FMR may grant the sub-advisers investment management authority and the authority to buy and sell securities if FMR believes it would be beneficial to the fund (discretionary services). FMR, and not the fund, pays the sub-advisers.
Mark Snyderman is the portfolio manager of the fund and receives compensation for his services. As of January 31, 2011, portfolio manager compensation generally consists of a fixed base salary determined periodically (typically annually), a bonus, in certain cases, participation in several types of equity-based compensation plans, and, if applicable, relocation plan benefits. A portion of the portfolio manager's compensation may be deferred based on criteria established by FMR or at the election of the portfolio manager.
The portfolio manager's base salary is determined by level of responsibility and tenure at FMR or its affiliates. The portfolio manager's bonus is based on several components. The primary components of the portfolio manager's bonus are based on (i) the pre-tax investment performance of the portfolio manager's fund(s) and account(s) measured against a benchmark index and within a defined peer group assigned to each fund or account, and (ii) the investment performance of other FMR real estate funds and accounts. The pre-tax investment performance of the portfolio manager's fund(s) and account(s) is weighted according to his tenure on those fund(s) and account(s) and the average asset size of those fund(s) and account(s) over his tenure. Each component is calculated separately over the portfolio manager's tenure on those fund(s) and account(s) over a measurement period that initially is contemporaneous with his tenure, but that eventually encompasses rolling periods of up to five years for the comparison to a benchmark index and rolling periods of up to five years for the comparison to a peer group. A smaller, subjective component of the portfolio manager's bonus is based on the portfolio manager's overall contribution to management of FMR. The portion of the portfolio manager's bonus that is linked to the investment performance of the fund is based on the pre-tax investment performance of the fund measured against the Fidelity Series Real Estate Income Composite Index, the components of which are 50% The BofA Merrill LynchSM U.S. Real Estate Index, 40% MSCI® REIT Preferred Index and 10% FTSE® NAREIT® ALL REITs Index, and the pre-tax investment performance of the fund (based on the performance of the fund's retail class) within the LipperSM Real Estate Funds Average. The portfolio manager also is compensated under equity-based compensation plans linked to increases or decreases in the net asset value of the stock of FMR LLC, FMR's parent company. FMR LLC is a diverse financial services company engaged in various activities that include fund management, brokerage, retirement, and employer administrative services. If requested to relocate their primary residence, portfolio managers also may be eligible to receive benefits, such as home sale assistance and payment of certain moving expenses, under relocation plans for most full-time employees of FMR LLC and its affiliates.
The portfolio manager's compensation plan may give rise to potential conflicts of interest. The portfolio manager's compensation is linked to the pre-tax performance of the fund, rather than its after-tax performance. The portfolio manager's base pay tends to increase with additional and more complex responsibilities that include increased assets under management and a portion of the bonus relates to marketing efforts, which together indirectly link compensation to sales. When a portfolio manager takes over a fund or an account, the time period over which performance is measured may be adjusted to provide a transition period in which to assess the portfolio. The management of multiple funds and accounts (including proprietary accounts) may give rise to potential conflicts of interest if the funds and accounts have different objectives, benchmarks, time horizons, and fees as the portfolio manager must allocate his time and investment ideas across multiple funds and accounts. In addition, a fund's trade allocation policies and procedures may give rise to conflicts of interest if the fund's orders do not get fully executed due to being aggregated with those of other accounts managed by FMR or an affiliate. The portfolio manager may execute transactions for another fund or account that may adversely impact the value of securities held by a fund. Securities selected for other funds or accounts may outperform the securities selected for the fund. Portfolio managers may be permitted to invest in the funds they manage, even if a fund is closed to new investors. Trading in personal accounts, which may give rise to potential conflicts of interest, is restricted by a fund's Code of Ethics.
The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Snyderman as of January 31, 2011:
|
Registered |
Other Pooled |
Other |
Number of Accounts Managed |
2 |
none |
1 |
Number of Accounts Managed with Performance-Based Advisory Fees |
none |
none |
1 |
Assets Managed (in millions) |
$ 2,160 |
none |
$ 269 |
Assets Managed with Performance-Based Advisory Fees (in millions) |
none |
none |
$ 269 |
* Does not include the fund. The fund is expected to commence operations on October 20, 2011.
As of January 31, 2011, the dollar range of shares of the fund beneficially owned by Mr. Snyderman was none.
The following Proxy Voting Guidelines were established by the Board of Trustees of the Fidelity funds, after consultation with Fidelity. (The guidelines are reviewed periodically by Fidelity and by the Independent Trustees of the Fidelity funds, and, accordingly, are subject to change.)
I. General Principles
A. Voting of shares will be conducted in a manner consistent with the best interests of Fidelity Fund shareholders as follows: (i) securities of a portfolio company will generally be voted in a manner consistent with the Guidelines; and (ii) voting will be done without regard to any other Fidelity companies' relationship, business or otherwise, with that portfolio company.
B. FMR Investment Proxy Research votes proxies. In the event an Investment Proxy Research employee has a personal conflict with a portfolio company or an employee or director of a portfolio company, that employee will withdraw from making any proxy voting decisions with respect to that portfolio company. A conflict of interest arises when there are factors that may prompt one to question whether a Fidelity employee is acting solely in the best interests of Fidelity and its customers. Employees are expected to avoid situations that could present even the appearance of a conflict between their interests and the interests of Fidelity and its customers.
C. Except as set forth herein, FMR will generally vote in favor of routine management proposals.
D. Non-routine proposals will generally be voted in accordance with the Guidelines.
E. Non-routine proposals not covered by the Guidelines or involving other special circumstances will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis with input from the appropriate FMR analyst or portfolio manager, as applicable, subject to review by an attorney within FMR's General Counsel's office and a member of senior management within FMR Investment Proxy Research. A significant pattern of such proposals or other special circumstances will be referred to the appropriate Fidelity Fund Board Committee or its designee.
F. FMR will vote on shareholder proposals not specifically addressed by the Guidelines based on an evaluation of a proposal's likelihood to enhance the economic returns or profitability of the portfolio company or to maximize shareholder value. Where information is not readily available to analyze the economic impact of the proposal, FMR will generally abstain.
G. Many Fidelity Funds invest in voting securities issued by companies that are domiciled outside the United States and are not listed on a U.S. securities exchange. Corporate governance standards, legal or regulatory requirements and disclosure practices in foreign countries can differ from those in the United States. When voting proxies relating to non-U.S. securities, FMR will generally evaluate proposals in the context of the Guidelines and, where applicable and feasible, take into consideration differing laws, regulations and practices in the relevant foreign market in determining how to vote shares.
H. In certain non-U.S. jurisdictions, shareholders voting shares of a portfolio company may be restricted from trading the shares for a period of time around the shareholder meeting date. Because such trading restrictions can hinder portfolio management and could result in a loss of liquidity for a fund, FMR will generally not vote proxies in circumstances where such restrictions apply. In addition, certain non-U.S. jurisdictions require voting shareholders to disclose current share ownership on a fund-by-fund basis. When such disclosure requirements apply, FMR will generally not vote proxies in order to safeguard fund holdings information.
I. Where a management-sponsored proposal is inconsistent with the Guidelines, FMR may receive a company's commitment to modify the proposal or its practice to conform to the Guidelines, and FMR will generally support management based on this commitment. If a company subsequently does not abide by its commitment, FMR will generally withhold authority for the election of directors at the next election.
II. Definitions (as used in this document)
A. Anti-Takeover Provision - includes fair price amendments; classified boards; "blank check" preferred stock; Golden Parachutes; supermajority provisions; Poison Pills; restricting the right to call special meetings; and any other provision that eliminates or limits shareholder rights.
B. Golden Parachute - Employment contracts, agreements, or policies that include an excise tax gross-up provision; single trigger for cash incentives; or may result in a lump sum payment of cash and acceleration of equity that may total more than three times annual compensation (salary and bonus) in the event of a termination following a change in control.
C. Greenmail - payment of a premium to repurchase shares from a shareholder seeking to take over a company through a proxy contest or other means.
D. Sunset Provision - a condition in a charter or plan that specifies an expiration date.
E. Permitted Bid Feature - a provision suspending the application of a Poison Pill, by shareholder referendum, in the event a potential acquirer announces a bona fide offer for all outstanding shares.
F. Poison Pill - a strategy employed by a potential take-over/target company to make its stock less attractive to an acquirer. Poison Pills are generally designed to dilute the acquirer's ownership and value in the event of a take-over.
G. Large-Capitalization Company - a company included in the Russell 1000 stock index.
H. Small-Capitalization Company - a company not included in the Russell 1000 stock index that is not a Micro-Capitalization Company.
I. Micro-Capitalization Company - a company with a market capitalization under US $300 million.
J. Evergreen Provision - a feature which provides for an automatic increase in the shares available for grant under an equity award plan on a regular basis.
III. Directors
A. Incumbent Directors
FMR will generally vote in favor of incumbent and nominee directors except where one or more such directors clearly appear to have failed to exercise reasonable judgment. FMR will also generally withhold authority for the election of all directors or directors on responsible committees if:
1. An Anti-Takeover Provision was introduced, an Anti-Takeover Provision was extended, or a new Anti-Takeover Provision was adopted upon the expiration of an existing Anti-Takeover Provision, without shareholder approval except as set forth below.
With respect to Poison Pills, however, FMR will consider not withholding authority on the election of directors if all of the following conditions are met when a Poison Pill is introduced, extended, or adopted:
a. The Poison Pill includes a Sunset Provision of less than five years;
b. The Poison Pill includes a Permitted Bid Feature;
c. The Poison Pill is linked to a business strategy that will result in greater value for the shareholders; and
d. Shareholder approval is required to reinstate the Poison Pill upon expiration.
FMR will also consider not withholding authority on the election of directors when one or more of the conditions above are not met if a board is willing to strongly consider seeking shareholder ratification of, or adding above conditions noted a. and b. to an existing Poison Pill. In such a case, if the company does not take appropriate action prior to the next annual shareholder meeting, FMR will withhold authority on the election of directors.
2. The company refuses, upon request by FMR, to amend the Poison Pill to allow Fidelity to hold an aggregate position of up to 20% of a company's total voting securities and of any class of voting securities.
3. Within the last year and without shareholder approval, a company's board of directors or compensation committee has repriced outstanding options, exchanged outstanding options for equity, or tendered cash for outstanding options.
4. Executive compensation appears misaligned with shareholder interests or otherwise problematic, taking into account such factors as: (i) whether the company has an independent compensation committee; (ii) whether the compensation committee engaged independent compensation consultants; (iii) whether the company has admitted to or settled a regulatory proceeding relating to options backdating; (iv) whether the compensation committee has lapsed or waived equity vesting restrictions; and (v) whether the company has adopted or extended a Golden Parachute without shareholder approval.
5. To gain FMR's support on a proposal, the company made a commitment to modify a proposal or practice to conform to the Guidelines and the company has failed to act on that commitment.
6. The director attended fewer than 75% of the aggregate number of meetings of the board or its committees on which the director served during the company's prior fiscal year, absent extenuating circumstances.
7. The board is not composed of a majority of independent directors.
B. Indemnification
FMR will generally vote in favor of charter and by-law amendments expanding the indemnification of directors and/or limiting their liability for breaches of care unless FMR is otherwise dissatisfied with the performance of management or the proposal is accompanied by Anti-Takeover Provisions.
C. Independent Chairperson
FMR will generally vote against shareholder proposals calling for or recommending the appointment of a non-executive or independent chairperson. However, FMR will consider voting for such proposals in limited cases if, based upon particular facts and circumstances, appointment of a non-executive or independent chairperson appears likely to further the interests of shareholders and to promote effective oversight of management by the board of directors.
D. Majority Director Elections
FMR will generally vote in favor of proposals calling for directors to be elected by an affirmative majority of votes cast in a board election, provided that the proposal allows for plurality voting standard in the case of contested elections (i.e., where there are more nominees than board seats). FMR may consider voting against such shareholder proposals where a company's board has adopted an alternative measure, such as a director resignation policy, that provides a meaningful alternative to the majority voting standard and appropriately addresses situations where an incumbent director fails to receive the support of a majority of the votes cast in an uncontested election.
IV. Compensation
A. Executive Compensation
1. Advisory votes on executive compensation
a. FMR will generally vote for proposals to ratify executive compensation unless such compensation appears misaligned with shareholder interests or otherwise problematic, taking into account such factors as, among other things, (i) whether the company has an independent compensation committee; (ii) whether the compensation committee engaged independent compensation consultants; (iii) whether the compensation committee has lapsed or waived equity vesting restriction; and (iv) whether the company has adopted or extended a Golden Parachute without shareholder approval.
b. FMR will generally vote against proposals to ratify Golden Parachutes.
2. Frequency of advisory vote on executive compensation
FMR will generally support annual advisory votes on executive compensation.
B. Equity award plans (including stock options, restricted stock awards, and other stock awards).
FMR will generally vote against equity award plans or amendments to authorize additional shares under such plans if:
1. (a) The company's average three year burn rate is greater than 1.5% for a Large-Capitalization Company, 2.5% for a Small-Capitalization Company or 3.5% for a Micro-Capitalization Company; and (b) there were no circumstances specific to the company or the plans that lead FMR to conclude that the burn rate is acceptable.
2. In the case of stock option plans, (a) the offering price of options is less than 100% of fair market value on the date of grant, except that the offering price may be as low as 85% of fair market value if the discount is expressly granted in lieu of salary or cash bonus; (b) the plan's terms allow repricing of underwater options; or (c) the board/committee has repriced options outstanding under the plan in the past two years without shareholder approval.
3. In the case of stock awards, the restriction period is less than three years for non-performance-based awards, and less than one year for performance-based awards.
FMR will consider approving an equity award plan or an amendment to authorize additional shares under such plan if, without complying with Guideline 3 immediately above, the following two conditions are met:
a. The shares are granted by a compensation committee composed entirely of independent directors; and
b. The shares are limited to 5% (Large-Capitalization Company) and 10% (Small- or Micro-Capitalization Company) of the shares authorized for grant under the plan.
4. The plan includes an Evergreen Provision.
5. The plan provides for the acceleration of vesting of equity awards even though an actual change in control may not occur.
C. Equity Exchanges and Repricing
FMR will generally vote in favor of a management proposal to exchange, reprice or tender for cash, outstanding options if the proposed exchange, repricing, or tender offer is consistent with the interests of shareholders, taking into account such factors as:
1. Whether the proposal excludes senior management and directors;
2. Whether the exchange or repricing proposal is value neutral to shareholders based upon an acceptable pricing model;
3. The company's relative performance compared to other companies within the relevant industry or industries;
4. Economic and other conditions affecting the relevant industry or industries in which the company competes; and
5. Any other facts or circumstances relevant to determining whether an exchange or repricing proposal is consistent with the interests of shareholders.
D. Employee Stock Purchase Plans
FMR will generally vote in favor of employee stock purchase plans if the minimum stock purchase price is equal to or greater than 85% of the stock's fair market value and the plan constitutes a reasonable effort to encourage broad based participation in the company's equity. In the case of non-U.S. company stock purchase plans, FMR may permit a lower minimum stock purchase price equal to the prevailing "best practices" in the relevant non-U.S. market, provided that the minimum stock purchase price must be at least 75% of the stock's fair market value.
E. Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs)
FMR will generally vote in favor of non-leveraged ESOPs. For leveraged ESOPs, FMR may examine the company's state of incorporation, existence of supermajority vote rules in the charter, number of shares authorized for the ESOP, and number of shares held by insiders. FMR may also examine where the ESOP shares are purchased and the dilution effect of the purchase. FMR will generally vote against leveraged ESOPs if all outstanding loans are due immediately upon change in control.
F. Bonus Plans and Tax Deductibility Proposals
FMR will generally vote in favor of cash and stock incentive plans that are submitted for shareholder approval in order to qualify for favorable tax treatment under Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code, provided that the plan includes well defined and appropriate performance criteria, and with respect to any cash component, that the maximum award per participant is clearly stated and is not unreasonable or excessive.
V. Anti-Takeover Provisions
FMR will generally vote against a proposal to adopt or approve the adoption of an Anti-Takeover Provision unless:
A. The Poison Pill includes the following features:
1. A Sunset Provision of no greater than five years;
2. Linked to a business strategy that is expected to result in greater value for the shareholders;
3. Requires shareholder approval to be reinstated upon expiration or if amended;
4. Contains a Permitted Bid Feature; and
5. Allows the Fidelity Funds to hold an aggregate position of up to 20% of a company's total voting securities and of any class of voting securities.
B. An Anti-Greenmail proposal that does not include other Anti-Takeover Provisions; or
C. It is a fair price amendment that considers a two-year price history or less.
FMR will generally vote in favor of proposals to eliminate Anti-Takeover Provisions unless:
D. In the case of proposals to declassify a board of directors, FMR will generally vote against such a proposal if the issuer's Articles of Incorporation or applicable statutes include a provision whereby a majority of directors may be removed at any time, with or without cause, by written consent, or other reasonable procedures, by a majority of shareholders entitled to vote for the election of directors.
E. In the case of proposals regarding shareholders' rights to call special meetings, FMR generally will vote against each proposal if the threshold required to call a special meeting is less than 25% of the outstanding stock.
VI. Capital Structure/Incorporation
A. Increases in Common Stock
FMR will generally vote against a provision to increase a company's common stock if such increase will result in a total number of authorized shares greater than three times the current number of outstanding and scheduled to be issued shares, including stock options, except in the case of real estate investment trusts, where an increase that will result in a total number of authorized shares up to five times the current number of outstanding and scheduled to be issued shares is generally acceptable.
B. New Classes of Shares
FMR will generally vote against the introduction of new classes of stock with differential voting rights.
C. Cumulative Voting Rights
FMR will generally vote against the introduction and in favor of the elimination of cumulative voting rights.
D. Acquisition or Business Combination Statutes
FMR will generally vote in favor of proposed amendments to a company's certificate of incorporation or by-laws that enable the company to opt out of the control shares acquisition or business combination statutes.
E. Incorporation or Reincorporation in Another State or Country
FMR will generally vote against shareholder proposals calling for or recommending that a portfolio company reincorporate in the United States and vote in favor of management proposals to reincorporate in a jurisdiction outside the United States if (i) it is lawful under United States, state and other applicable law for the company to be incorporated under the laws of the relevant foreign jurisdiction and to conduct its business and (ii) reincorporating or maintaining a domicile in the United States would likely give rise to adverse tax or other economic consequences detrimental to the interests of the company and its shareholders. However, FMR will consider supporting such shareholder proposals and opposing such management proposals in limited cases if, based upon particular facts and circumstances, reincorporating in or maintaining a domicile in the relevant foreign jurisdiction gives rise to significant risks or other potential adverse consequences that appear reasonably likely to be detrimental to the interests of the company or its shareholders.
VII. Shares of Investment Companies
A. When a Fidelity Fund invests in an underlying Fidelity Fund with public shareholders, an exchange traded fund (ETF), or non-affiliated fund, FMR will vote in the same proportion as all other voting shareholders of such underlying fund or class ("echo voting"). FMR may choose not to vote if "echo voting" is not operationally feasible.
B. Certain Fidelity Funds may invest in shares of underlying Fidelity Funds which are held exclusively by Fidelity Funds or accounts managed by an FMR or an affiliate. FMR will generally vote in favor of proposals recommended by the underlying funds' Board of Trustees.
VIII. Other
A. Voting Process
FMR will generally vote in favor of proposals to adopt confidential voting and independent vote tabulation practices.
B. Regulated Industries
Voting of shares in securities of any regulated industry (e.g. U.S. banking) organization shall be conducted in a manner consistent with conditions that may be specified by the industry's regulator (e.g. the Federal Reserve Board) for a determination under applicable law (e.g. federal banking law) that no fund or group of funds has acquired control of such organization.
To view a fund's proxy voting record for the most recent 12-month period ended June 30, if applicable, visit www.fidelity.com/proxyvotingresults or visit the SEC's web site at www.sec.gov.
For purposes of the following "Distribution Services" discussion, the term "shares" (as it relates to the fund) means the one class of shares of the fund offered through the prospectus to which this SAI relates.
The fund has entered into a distribution agreement with FDC, an affiliate of FMR. The principal business address of FDC is 82 Devonshire Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02109. FDC is a broker-dealer registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. The distribution agreement calls for FDC to use all reasonable efforts, consistent with its other business, to secure purchasers for shares of the fund, which are continuously offered at NAV. Promotional and administrative expenses in connection with the offer and sale of shares are paid by FMR.
The Trustees have approved a Distribution and Service Plan with respect to shares of the fund (the Plan) pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act (the Rule). The Rule provides in substance that a mutual fund may not engage directly or indirectly in financing any activity that is primarily intended to result in the sale of shares of the fund except pursuant to a plan approved on behalf of the fund under the Rule. The Plan, as approved by the Trustees, allows shares of the fund and FMR to incur certain expenses that might be considered to constitute indirect payment by the fund of distribution expenses.
Under the Plan, if the payment of management fees by the fund to FMR is deemed to be indirect financing by the fund of the distribution of its shares, such payment is authorized by the Plan. The Plan specifically recognizes that FMR may use its management fee revenue, as well as its past profits or its other resources, to pay FDC for expenses incurred in connection with providing services intended to result in the sale of shares of the fund and/or shareholder support services. In addition, the Plan provides that FMR, directly or through FDC, may pay significant amounts to intermediaries, including retirement plan sponsors, administrators, and service-providers (who may be affiliated with FMR or FDC), that provide those services. Currently, the Board of Trustees has authorized such payments for shares of the fund.
Prior to approving the Plan, the Trustees carefully considered all pertinent factors relating to the implementation of the Plan, and determined that there is a reasonable likelihood that the Plan will benefit the fund or class, as applicable, and its shareholders. In particular, the Trustees noted that the Plan does not authorize payments by shares of the fund other than those made to FMR under its management contract with the fund. To the extent that the Plan gives FMR and FDC greater flexibility in connection with the distribution of shares of the fund, additional sales of shares of the fund or stabilization of cash flows may result. Furthermore, certain shareholder support services may be provided more effectively under the Plan by local entities with whom shareholders have other relationships.
FDC or an affiliate may compensate, or upon direction make payments for certain retirement plan expenses to, intermediaries, including retirement plan sponsors, administrators, and service-providers (including affiliates of FDC). A number of factors are considered in determining whether to pay these additional amounts. Such factors may include, without limitation, the level or type of services provided by the intermediary, the level or expected level of assets or sales of shares, and other factors. In addition to such payments, FDC or an affiliate may offer other incentives such as sponsorship of educational or client seminars relating to current products and issues, payments or reimbursements for travel and related expenses associated with due diligence trips that an intermediary may undertake in order to explore possible business relationships with affiliates of FDC, and/or payments of costs and expenses associated with attendance at seminars, including travel, lodging, entertainment, and meals. Certain of the payments described above may be significant to an intermediary. As permitted by SEC and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority rules and other applicable laws and regulations, FDC or an affiliate may pay or allow other incentives or payments to intermediaries.
The fund's transfer agent or an affiliate may also make payments and reimbursements from its own resources to certain intermediaries (who may be affiliated with the transfer agent) for providing recordkeeping and administrative services to plan participants or for providing other services to retirement plans. Please see "Transfer and Service Agent Agreements" in this SAI for more information.
FDC or an affiliate may also make payments to banks, broker-dealers and other service-providers (who may be affiliated with FDC) for distribution-related activities and/or shareholder services. If you have purchased shares of the fund through an investment professional, please speak with your investment professional to learn more about any payments his or her firm may receive from FMR, FDC, and/or their affiliates, as well as fees and/or commissions the investment professional charges. You should also consult disclosures made by your investment professional at the time of purchase.
Any of the payments described in this section may represent a premium over payments made by other fund families. Investment professionals may have an added incentive to sell or recommend a fund over others offered by competing fund families, or retirement plan sponsors may take these payments into account when deciding whether to include a fund as a plan investment option.
TRANSFER AND SERVICE AGENT AGREEMENTS
For purposes of the following "Transfer and Service Agent Agreements" discussion, the term "shares" (as it relates to the fund) means the one class of shares of the fund offered through the prospectus to which this SAI relates.
The fund has entered into a transfer agent agreement with Fidelity Investments Institutional Operations Company, Inc. (FIIOC), an affiliate of FMR, which is located at 82 Devonshire Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02109. Under the terms of the agreement, FIIOC (or an agent, including an affiliate) performs transfer agency services for shares of the fund.
For providing transfer agency services, FIIOC receives a position fee and an asset-based fee with respect to each position in the fund. For retail accounts, these fees are based on fund type. For certain institutional accounts, these fees are based on size of position and fund type. For institutional retirement accounts, these fees are based on account type and fund type. The position fee is billed monthly on a pro rata basis at one-twelfth of the applicable annual rate as of the end of each calendar month. The asset-based fee is calculated and paid monthly on the basis of each class's average daily net assets. The position fees are subject to increase based on postage rate changes.
The asset-based fees are subject to adjustment in any month in which the total return of the S&P 500 Index exceeds a positive or negative 15% from a pre-established base value.
FIIOC also may collect fees charged in connection with providing certain types of services such as exchanges, closing out fund balances, maintaining fund positions with low balances, checkwriting, wire transactions, and providing historical account research.
In addition, FIIOC receives the pro rata portion of the transfer agency fees applicable to shareholder accounts in a qualified tuition program (QTP), as defined under the Small Business Job Protection Act of 1996, managed by FMR or an affiliate and in certain funds of funds managed by an FMR affiliate, according to the percentage of the QTP's, or a fund of funds' assets that is invested in the fund.
FIIOC bears the expense of typesetting, printing, and mailing prospectuses, statements of additional information, and all other reports, notices, and statements to existing shareholders, with the exception of proxy statements.
The fund has also entered into a service agent agreement with FSC, an affiliate of FMR (or an agent, including an affiliate). The fund has also entered into a securities lending administration agreement with FSC. Under the terms of the agreements, FSC calculates the NAV and dividends for shares of the fund, maintains the fund's portfolio and general accounting records, and administers the fund's securities lending program.
For providing pricing and bookkeeping services, FSC receives a monthly fee based on the fund's average daily net assets throughout the month.
The annual rates for pricing and bookkeeping services for the fund are 0.0389% of the first $500 million of average net assets, 0.0275% of average net assets between $500 million and $3.5 billion, 0.0041% of average net assets between $3.5 billion and $25 billion, and 0.0019% of average net assets in excess of $25 billion.
For administering the fund's securities lending program, FSC is paid based on the number and duration of individual securities loans.
DESCRIPTION OF THE TRUST
Trust Organization. Fidelity Series Real Estate Income Fund is a fund of Fidelity Securities Fund, an open-end management investment company created under an initial declaration of trust dated October 1, 1984. Currently, there are 14 funds offered in the trust: Fidelity Advisor Growth Strategies Fund, Fidelity Blue Chip Growth Fund, Fidelity Blue Chip Value Fund, Fidelity Dividend Growth Fund, Fidelity Growth & Income Portfolio, Fidelity International Real Estate Fund, Fidelity Leveraged Company Stock Fund, Fidelity OTC Portfolio, Fidelity Real Estate Income Fund, Fidelity Series Real Estate Equity Fund, Fidelity Series Real Estate Income Fund, Fidelity Series Small Cap Opportunities Fund, Fidelity Small Cap Growth Fund, and Fidelity Small Cap Value Fund. The Trustees are permitted to create additional funds in the trust and to create additional classes of the fund.
The assets of the trust received for the issue or sale of shares of each of its funds and all income, earnings, profits, and proceeds thereof, subject to the rights of creditors, are allocated to such fund, and constitute the underlying assets of such fund. The underlying assets of each fund in the trust shall be charged with the liabilities and expenses attributable to such fund, except that liabilities and expenses may be allocated to a particular class. Any general expenses of the trust shall be allocated between or among any one or more of the funds or classes.
Shareholder Liability. The trust is an entity commonly known as a "Massachusetts business trust." Under Massachusetts law, shareholders of such a trust may, under certain circumstances, be held personally liable for the obligations of the trust.
The Declaration of Trust contains an express disclaimer of shareholder liability for the debts, liabilities, obligations, and expenses of the trust or fund. The Declaration of Trust provides that the trust shall not have any claim against shareholders except for the payment of the purchase price of shares and requires that each agreement, obligation, or instrument entered into or executed by the trust or the Trustees relating to the trust or to a fund shall include a provision limiting the obligations created thereby to the trust or to one or more funds and its or their assets. The Declaration of Trust further provides that shareholders of a fund shall not have a claim on or right to any assets belonging to any other fund.
The Declaration of Trust provides for indemnification out of each fund's property of any shareholder or former shareholder held personally liable for the obligations of the fund solely by reason of his or her being or having been a shareholder and not because of his or her acts or omissions or for some other reason. The Declaration of Trust also provides that each fund shall, upon request, assume the defense of any claim made against any shareholder for any act or obligation of the fund and satisfy any judgment thereon. Thus, the risk of a shareholder incurring financial loss on account of shareholder liability is limited to circumstances in which a fund itself would be unable to meet its obligations. FMR believes that, in view of the above, the risk of personal liability to shareholders is remote. Claims asserted against one class of shares may subject holders of another class of shares to certain liabilities.
Voting Rights. Each fund's capital consists of shares of beneficial interest. As a shareholder, you are entitled to one vote for each dollar of net asset value you own. The voting rights of shareholders can be changed only by a shareholder vote. Shares may be voted in the aggregate, by fund, and by class.
The shares have no preemptive or conversion rights. Shares are fully paid and nonassessable, except as set forth under the heading "Shareholder Liability" above.
The trust or a fund or a class may be terminated upon the sale of its assets to, or merger with, another open-end management investment company, series, or class thereof, or upon liquidation and distribution of its assets. The Trustees may reorganize, terminate, merge, or sell all or a portion of the assets of the trust or a fund or a class without prior shareholder approval. In the event of the dissolution or liquidation of the trust, shareholders of each of its funds are entitled to receive the underlying assets of such fund available for distribution. In the event of the dissolution or liquidation of a fund or a class, shareholders of that fund or that class are entitled to receive the underlying assets of the fund or class available for distribution.
Custodians. The Northern Trust Company, 50 South LaSalle Street, Chicago, Illinois, is custodian of the assets of the fund. The custodian is responsible for the safekeeping of the fund's assets and the appointment of any subcustodian banks and clearing agencies. The Bank of New York Mellon and JPMorgan Chase Bank, each headquartered in New York, also may serve as special purpose custodians of certain assets in connection with repurchase agreement transactions. From time to time, subject to approval by a fund's Treasurer, the fund may enter into escrow arrangements with other banks if necessary to participate in certain investment offerings.
FMR, its officers and directors, its affiliated companies, Members of the Advisory Board, and Members of the Board of Trustees may, from time to time, conduct transactions with various banks, including banks serving as custodians for certain funds advised by FMR. Transactions that have occurred to date include mortgages and personal and general business loans. In the judgment of FMR, the terms and conditions of those transactions were not influenced by existing or potential custodial or other fund relationships.
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm. Deloitte & Touche LLP, 200 Berkeley Street, Boston, Massachusetts, independent registered public accounting firm, audits financial statements for the fund and provides other audit related services.
The fund views holdings information as sensitive and limits its dissemination. The Board authorized FMR to establish and administer guidelines for the dissemination of fund holdings information, which may be amended at any time without prior notice. FMR's Disclosure Policy Committee (comprising executive officers of FMR) evaluates disclosure policy with the goal of serving the fund's best interests by striking an appropriate balance between providing information about the fund's portfolio and protecting the fund from potentially harmful disclosure. The Board reviews the administration and modification of these guidelines and receives reports from the fund's chief compliance officer periodically.
The fund will provide a full list of holdings, including its top ten holdings, as of the end of the fund's fiscal quarter on www.fidelity.com 60 days after its fiscal quarter-end.
The fund will provide its top ten holdings (excluding cash and futures) as of the end of the calendar quarter on Fidelity's web site 15 or more days after the calendar quarter-end.
Unless otherwise indicated, this information will be available on the web site until updated for the next applicable period.
The fund may also from time to time provide or make available to the Board or third parties upon request specific fund level performance attribution information and statistics. Third parties may include fund shareholders or prospective fund shareholders, members of the press, consultants, and ratings and ranking organizations.
The Use of Holdings In Connection With Fund Operations. Material non-public holdings information may be provided as part of the investment activities of the fund to: entities which, by explicit agreement or by virtue of their respective duties to the fund, are required to maintain the confidentiality of the information disclosed; other parties if legally required; or persons FMR believes will not misuse the disclosed information. These entities, parties, and persons include: the fund's trustees; the fund's manager, its sub-advisers, if any, and their affiliates whose access persons are subject to a code of ethics; contractors who are subject to a confidentiality agreement; the fund's auditors; the fund's custodians; proxy voting service providers; financial printers; pricing service vendors; broker-dealers in connection with the purchase or sale of securities or requests for price quotations or bids on one or more securities; securities lending agents; counsel to the fund or its Independent Trustees; regulatory authorities; stock exchanges and other listing organizations; parties to litigation; third parties in connection with a bankruptcy proceeding relating to a fund holding; and third parties who have submitted a standing request to a money market fund for daily holdings information. Non-public holdings information may also be provided to an issuer regarding the number or percentage of its shares that are owned by the fund and in connection with redemptions in kind.
Other Uses Of Holdings Information. In addition, the fund may provide material non-public holdings information to (i) third parties that calculate information derived from holdings for use by FMR or its affiliates, (ii) third parties that supply their analyses of holdings (but not the holdings themselves) to their clients (including sponsors of retirement plans or their consultants), (iii) ratings and rankings organizations, and (iv) an investment adviser, trustee, or their agents to whom holdings are disclosed for due diligence purposes or in anticipation of a merger involving the fund. Each individual request is reviewed by the Disclosure Policy Committee which must find, in its sole discretion that, based on the specific facts and circumstances, the disclosure appears unlikely to be harmful to the fund. Entities receiving this information must have in place control mechanisms to reasonably ensure or otherwise agree that, (a) the holdings information will be kept confidential, (b) no employee shall use the information to effect trading or for their personal benefit, and (c) the nature and type of information that they, in turn, may disclose to third parties is limited. FMR relies primarily on the existence of non-disclosure agreements and/or control mechanisms when determining that disclosure is not likely to be harmful to the fund.
At this time, the entities receiving information described in the preceding paragraph are: Factset Research Systems Inc. (full or partial fund holdings daily, on the next business day); Thomson Vestek (full holdings, as of the end of the calendar quarter, 15 calendar days after the calendar quarter-end); Standard & Poor's Ratings Services (full holdings weekly (generally as of the previous Friday), generally 5 business days thereafter); Moody's Investors Service, Inc. (full holdings monthly, (generally as of the last Friday of each month), generally the first Friday of the following month); Anacomp Inc. (full or partial holdings daily, on the next business day); and MSCI Inc. and certain affiliates (full or partial fund holdings daily, on the next business day).
FMR, its affiliates, or the fund will not enter into any arrangements with third parties from which they derive consideration for the disclosure of material non-public holdings information. If, in the future, FMR desired to make such an arrangement, it would seek prior Board approval and any such arrangements would be disclosed in the fund's SAI.
There can be no assurance that the fund's policies and procedures with respect to disclosure of fund portfolio holdings will prevent the misuse of such information by individuals and firms that receive such information.
Fidelity and Fidelity Investments & Pyramid Design are registered service marks of FMR LLC.
The third party marks appearing above are the marks of their respective owners.
Fidelity® Series Real Estate Income Fund
Class/Ticker
F/FSRWX
Class F shares of the fund are available for purchase only by mutual funds for which FMR or an affiliate serves as investment manager.
Prospectus
March 13, 2011
As Revised October 12, 2011
Fund Summary |
Fidelity® Series Real Estate Income Fund |
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Fund Basics |
Investment Details |
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Valuing Shares |
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Shareholder Information |
Additional Information about the Purchase and Sale of Shares |
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Account Policies |
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Dividends and Capital Gain Distributions |
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Tax Consequences |
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Fund Services |
Fund Management |
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Fund Distribution |
Prospectus
Fund/Class:
Fidelity® Series Real Estate Income Fund/F
The fund seeks higher than average income. As a secondary objective, the fund also seeks capital growth.
The following table describes the fees and expenses that may be incurred when you buy and hold shares of the fund.
Shareholder fees (fees paid directly from your investment) |
None |
Annual class operating expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)
Management fee |
0.56% |
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) fees |
None |
Other expensesA |
0.07% |
Total annual operating expenses |
0.63% |
A Based on estimated amounts for the current fiscal year.
This example helps compare the cost of investing in the fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.
Let's say, hypothetically, that the annual return for shares of the fund is 5% and that your shareholder fees and the annual operating expenses for shares of the fund are exactly as described in the fee table. This example illustrates the effect of fees and expenses, but is not meant to suggest actual or expected fees and expenses or returns, all of which may vary. For every $10,000 you invested, here's how much you would pay in total expenses if you sell all of your shares at the end of each time period indicated:
1 year |
$ 64 |
3 years |
$ 202 |
The fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual operating expenses or in the example, affect the fund's performance.
Prospectus
Fund Summary - continued
An investment in the fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. You could lose money by investing in the fund.
Performance history will be available for the fund after the fund has been in operation for one calendar year.
Fidelity Management & Research Company (FMR) is the fund's manager. FMR Co., Inc. (FMRC) and other investment advisers serve as sub-advisers for the fund.
Prospectus
Mark Snyderman (portfolio manager) has managed the fund since October 2011.
The fund offers Class F shares only to certain other mutual funds managed by FMR or an affiliate.
The price to buy one share of Class F is its net asset value per share (NAV). Your shares will be bought at the NAV next calculated after your order is received in proper form.
The price to sell one share of Class F is its NAV. Your shares will be sold at the NAV next calculated after your order is received in proper form.
The fund is open for business each day the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is open.
There is no purchase minimum for Class F shares.
Distributions you receive from the fund are subject to federal income tax and generally will be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains, and may also be subject to state or local taxes, unless you are investing through a tax-advantaged retirement account (in which case you may be taxed later, upon withdrawal of your investment from such account).
The fund, FMR, Fidelity Distributors Corporation (FDC), and/or their affiliates may pay intermediaries, including retirement plan sponsors, administrators, or service-providers (who may be affiliated with FMR or FDC), for the sale of fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing your intermediary and your investment professional to recommend the fund over another investment. Ask your investment professional or visit your intermediary's web site for more information.
Prospectus
Investment Objective
The fund seeks higher than average income. As a secondary objective, the fund also seeks capital growth.
Principal Investment Strategies
FMR normally invests the fund's assets primarily in preferred and common stocks of REITs; debt securities of real estate entities; and commercial and other mortgage-backed securities, with an emphasis on lower-quality debt securities. Many lower-quality debt securities are subject to legal or contractual restrictions limiting FMR's ability to resell the securities to the general public. FMR does not currently intend to invest more than 50% of the fund's assets in common stocks.
FMR normally invests at least 80% of the fund's assets in securities of companies principally engaged in the real estate industry and other real estate related investments. Companies in the real estate industry and real estate related investments may include, for example, REITs that either own properties or make construction or mortgage loans, real estate developers, companies with substantial real estate holdings, and other companies whose products and services are related to the real estate industry, such as building supply manufacturers, mortgage lenders, or mortgage servicing companies.
FMR may invest the fund's assets in securities of foreign issuers in addition to securities of domestic issuers.
In buying and selling securities for the fund, FMR relies on fundamental analysis of each issuer and its potential for success in light of its current financial condition, its industry position, and economic and market conditions. Factors considered include a security's structural features and current price compared to its long-term value, and the earnings potential, yield, credit standing, and management of the security's issuer.
In addition to the principal investment strategies discussed above, FMR may lend the fund's securities to broker-dealers or other institutions to earn income for the fund.
FMR may also use various techniques, such as buying and selling futures contracts and exchange traded funds, to increase or decrease the fund's exposure to changing security prices or other factors that affect security values.
If FMR's strategies do not work as intended, the fund may not achieve its objective.
Description of Principal Security Types
Equity securities represent an ownership interest, or the right to acquire an ownership interest, in an issuer. Different types of equity securities provide different voting and dividend rights and priority in the event of the bankruptcy of the issuer. Equity securities include common stocks, preferred stocks, convertible securities, and warrants.
Debt securities are used by issuers to borrow money. The issuer usually pays a fixed, variable, or floating rate of interest, and must repay the amount borrowed, usually at the maturity of the security. Some debt securities, such as zero coupon bonds, do not pay current interest but are sold at a discount from their face values. Debt securities include corporate bonds, government securities, repurchase agreements, mortgage and other asset-backed securities, loans and loan participations, and other securities that FMR believes have debt-like characteristics, including hybrids and synthetic securities.
Prospectus
Fund Basics - continued
Principal Investment Risks
Many factors affect the fund's performance. The fund's share price changes daily based on changes in market conditions and interest rates and in response to other economic, political, or financial developments. The fund's reaction to these developments will be affected by the types of securities in which the fund invests, the financial condition, industry and economic sector, and geographic location of an issuer, and the fund's level of investment in the securities of that issuer. Because FMR concentrates the fund's investments in a particular industry, the fund's performance could depend heavily on the performance of that industry and could be more volatile than the performance of less concentrated funds. When you sell your shares they may be worth more or less than what you paid for them, which means that you could lose money by investing in the fund.
The following factors can significantly affect the fund's performance:
Stock Market Volatility. The value of equity securities fluctuates in response to issuer, political, market, and economic developments. Fluctuations can be dramatic over the short as well as long term, and different parts of the market and different types of equity securities can react differently to these developments. For example, large cap stocks can react differently from small cap stocks, and "growth" stocks can react differently from "value" stocks. Issuer, political, or economic developments can affect a single issuer, issuers within an industry or economic sector or geographic region, or the market as a whole. Changes in the financial condition of a single issuer can impact the market as a whole. Terrorism and related geo-political risks have led, and may in the future lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on world economies and markets generally.
Interest Rate Changes. Debt securities have varying levels of sensitivity to changes in interest rates. In general, the price of a debt security can fall when interest rates rise and can rise when interest rates fall. Securities with longer maturities and mortgage securities can be more sensitive to interest rate changes. In other words, the longer the maturity of a security, the greater the impact a change in interest rates could have on the security's price. In addition, short-term and long-term interest rates do not necessarily move in the same amount or the same direction. Short-term securities tend to react to changes in short-term interest rates, and long-term securities tend to react to changes in long-term interest rates.
Foreign Exposure. Foreign securities, foreign currencies, and securities issued by U.S. entities with substantial foreign operations can involve additional risks relating to political, economic, or regulatory conditions in foreign countries. These risks include fluctuations in foreign currencies; withholding or other taxes; trading, settlement, custodial, and other operational risks; and the less stringent investor protection and disclosure standards of some foreign markets. All of these factors can make foreign investments, especially those in emerging markets, more volatile and potentially less liquid than U.S. investments. In addition, foreign markets can perform differently from the U.S. market.
Prospectus
Industry Concentration. Market conditions, interest rates, and economic, regulatory, or financial developments could significantly affect a single industry, and the securities of companies in that industry could react similarly to these or other developments. In addition, from time to time, a small number of companies may represent a large portion of a single industry, and these companies can be sensitive to adverse economic, regulatory, or financial developments.
The real estate industry is particularly sensitive to economic downturns. The value of securities of issuers in the real estate industry, including REITs, can be affected by changes in real estate values and rental income, property taxes, interest rates, tax and regulatory requirements, and the management skill and creditworthiness of the issuer. In addition, the value of a REIT can depend on the structure of and cash flow generated by the REIT, and REITs may not have diversified holdings. Because REITs are pooled investment vehicles that have expenses of their own, the fund will indirectly bear its proportionate share of those expenses.
Prepayment. Many types of debt securities, including mortgage securities, are subject to prepayment risk. Prepayment risk occurs when the issuer of a security can repay principal prior to the security's maturity. Securities subject to prepayment can offer less potential for gains during a declining interest rate environment and similar or greater potential for loss in a rising interest rate environment. In addition, the potential impact of prepayment features on the price of a debt security can be difficult to predict and result in greater volatility.
Issuer-Specific Changes. Changes in the financial condition of an issuer or counterparty, changes in specific economic or political conditions that affect a particular type of security or issuer, and changes in general economic or political conditions can increase the risk of default by an issuer or counterparty, which can affect a security's or instrument's credit quality or value. The value of securities of smaller, less well-known issuers can be more volatile than that of larger issuers. Entities providing credit support or a maturity-shortening structure also can be affected by these types of changes. If the structure of a security fails to function as intended, the security could decline in value. Lower-quality debt securities (those of less than investment-grade quality) and certain types of other securities tend to be particularly sensitive to these changes.
Lower-quality debt securities and certain types of other securities involve greater risk of default or price changes due to changes in the credit quality of the issuer. The value of lower-quality debt securities and certain types of other securities often fluctuates in response to company, political, or economic developments and can decline significantly over short as well as long periods of time or during periods of general or regional economic difficulty. Lower-quality debt securities can be thinly traded or have restrictions on resale, making them difficult to sell at an acceptable price. The default rate for lower-quality debt securities is likely to be higher during economic recessions or periods of high interest rates.
Prospectus
Fund Basics - continued
In response to market, economic, political, or other conditions, FMR may temporarily use a different investment strategy for defensive purposes. If FMR does so, different factors could affect the fund's performance and the fund may not achieve its investment objective.
The following policies are fundamental, that is, subject to change only by shareholder approval:
The fund seeks higher than average income. As a secondary objective, the fund also seeks capital growth.
The following policy is subject to change only upon 60 days' prior notice to shareholders:
The fund normally invests at least 80% of its assets in securities of companies principally engaged in the real estate industry and other real estate related investments.
The fund is open for business each day the NYSE is open.
A class's NAV is the value of a single share. Fidelity normally calculates the class's NAV as of the close of business of the NYSE, normally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time. The fund's assets normally are valued as of this time for the purpose of computing the class's NAV.
NAV is not calculated and the fund will not process purchase and redemption requests submitted on days when the fund is not open for business. The time at which shares are priced and until which purchase and redemption orders are accepted may be changed as permitted by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
To the extent that the fund's assets are traded in other markets on days when the fund is not open for business, the value of the fund's assets may be affected on those days. In addition, trading in some of the fund's assets may not occur on days when the fund is open for business.
Shares of open-end funds in which the fund may invest (referred to as underlying funds) are valued at their respective NAVs. The fund's NAV is calculated using the values of any underlying funds in which it invests. Other assets (as well as assets held by an underlying Fidelity non-money market fund) are valued primarily on the basis of market quotations, official closing prices, or information furnished by a pricing service. Certain short-term securities are valued on the basis of amortized cost. If market quotations, official closing prices, or information furnished by a pricing service are not readily available or, in FMR's opinion, are deemed unreliable for a security, then that security will be fair valued in good faith by FMR in accordance with applicable fair value pricing policies. For example, if, in FMR's opinion, a security's value has been materially affected by events occurring before the fund's pricing time but after the close of the exchange or market on which the security is principally traded, then that security will be fair valued in good faith by FMR in accordance with applicable fair value pricing policies. Fair value pricing will be used for high yield debt securities when available pricing information is determined to be stale or for other reasons not to accurately reflect fair value. Assets held by an underlying Fidelity money market fund are valued on the basis of amortized cost.
Prospectus
Arbitrage opportunities may exist when trading in a portfolio security or securities is halted and does not resume before a fund calculates its NAV. These arbitrage opportunities may enable short-term traders to dilute the NAV of long-term investors. Securities trading in overseas markets present time zone arbitrage opportunities when events affecting portfolio security values occur after the close of the overseas markets but prior to the close of the U.S. market. Fair valuation of a fund's portfolio securities can serve to reduce arbitrage opportunities available to short-term traders, but there is no assurance that fair value pricing policies will prevent dilution of a fund's NAV by short-term traders.
Although the fund has policies regarding excessive trading, these too may not be effective to prevent short-term NAV arbitrage trading, particularly in regard to omnibus accounts.
Fair value pricing is based on subjective judgments and it is possible that the fair value of a security may differ materially from the value that would be realized if the security were sold.
Prospectus
The fund may reject for any reason, or cancel as permitted or required by law, any purchase orders, including transactions deemed to represent excessive trading, at any time.
Excessive trading of fund shares can harm shareholders in various ways, including reducing the returns to long-term shareholders by increasing costs to the fund (such as brokerage commissions), disrupting portfolio management strategies, and diluting the value of the shares in cases in which fluctuations in markets are not fully priced into the fund's NAV.
Because the fund is offered for investment only to certain other mutual funds managed by FMR or an affiliate, the potential for excessive or short-term disruptive purchases and sales is reduced. Accordingly, the Board of Trustees has not adopted policies and procedures designed to discourage excessive trading of fund shares and the fund accommodates frequent trading.
The fund may in its discretion restrict, reject, or cancel any purchases that, in FMR's opinion, may be disruptive to the management of the fund or otherwise not be in the fund's interests.
The fund has no exchange privilege with any other fund. The fund has no limit on purchase transactions, but is offered for investment only to certain other mutual funds managed by FMR or an affiliate, which in turn have in place FMR's policies and procedures concerning frequent trading. The fund reserves the right at any time to restrict purchases or impose conditions that are more restrictive on excessive or disruptive trading than those stated in this prospectus.
The price to buy one share of Class F is its NAV. Class F shares are sold without a sales charge.
Your shares will be bought at the NAV next calculated after your order is received in proper form.
Orders by funds of funds for which FMR or an affiliate serves as investment manager will be treated as received by the fund at the same time that the corresponding orders are received in proper form by the funds of funds.
The fund may stop offering shares completely or may offer shares only on a limited basis, for a period of time or permanently.
All wires must be received in proper form by Fidelity at the fund's designated wire bank before the close of the Federal Reserve Wire System on the day of purchase or you could be liable for any losses or fees the fund or Fidelity has incurred or for interest and penalties.
Under applicable anti-money laundering regulations and other federal regulations, purchase orders may be suspended, restricted, or canceled and the monies may be withheld.
The price to sell one share of Class F is its NAV.
Prospectus
Your shares will be sold at the NAV next calculated after your order is received in proper form. Normally, redemptions will be processed by the next business day, but it may take up to seven days to pay the redemption proceeds if making immediate payment would adversely affect the fund.
Orders by funds of funds for which FMR or an affiliate serves as investment manager will be treated as received by the fund at the same time that the corresponding orders are received in proper form by the funds of funds.
When you place an order to sell shares, note the following:
Fidelity will send monthly account statements detailing fund balances and all transactions completed during the prior month.
You may be asked to provide additional information in order for Fidelity to verify your identity in accordance with requirements under anti-money laundering regulations. Accounts may be restricted and/or closed, and the monies withheld, pending verification of this information or as otherwise required under these and other federal regulations.
The fund earns dividends, interest, and other income from its investments, and distributes this income (less expenses) to shareholders as dividends. The fund also realizes capital gains from its investments, and distributes these gains (less any losses) to shareholders as capital gain distributions.
The fund normally pays dividends in March, June, September, and December and pays capital gain distributions in September and December.
Your dividends and capital gain distributions will be automatically reinvested in additional Class F shares of the fund.
As with any investment, your investment in the fund could have tax consequences for you. If you are not investing through a tax-advantaged retirement account, you should consider these tax consequences.
Taxes on distributions. Distributions you receive from the fund are subject to federal income tax, and may also be subject to state or local taxes.
For federal tax purposes, certain of the fund's distributions, including dividends and distributions of short-term capital gains, are taxable to you as ordinary income, while certain of the fund's distributions, including distributions of long-term capital gains, are taxable to you generally as capital gains. A percentage of certain distributions of dividends may qualify for taxation at long-term capital gains rates (provided certain holding period requirements are met).
Prospectus
Shareholder Information - continued
If you buy shares when a fund has realized but not yet distributed income or capital gains, you will be "buying a dividend" by paying the full price for the shares and then receiving a portion of the price back in the form of a taxable distribution.
Any taxable distributions you receive from the fund will normally be taxable to you when you receive them.
Taxes on transactions. Your redemptions may result in a capital gain or loss for federal tax purposes. A capital gain or loss on your investment in the fund generally is the difference between the cost of your shares and the price you receive when you sell them.
Prospectus
The fund is a mutual fund, an investment that pools shareholders' money and invests it toward a specified goal.
FMR is the fund's manager. The address of FMR and its affiliates, unless otherwise indicated below, is 82 Devonshire Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02109.
As of December 31, 2010, FMR had approximately $1.2 billion in discretionary assets under management.
As the manager, FMR has overall responsibility for directing the fund's investments and handling its business affairs.
FMRC serves as a sub-adviser for the fund. FMRC has day-to-day responsibility for choosing investments for the fund.
FMRC is an affiliate of FMR. As of December 31, 2010, FMRC had approximately $658.7 billion in discretionary assets under management.
Other investment advisers assist FMR with foreign investments:
Mark Snyderman is portfolio manager of the fund, which he has managed since October 2011. He also manages other Fidelity funds. Since joining Fidelity Investments in 1994, Mr. Snyderman has worked as an investment officer for commercial mortgage-backed securities in the real estate group and as a portfolio manager.
The statement of additional information (SAI) provides additional information about the compensation of, any other accounts managed by, and any fund shares held by Mr. Snyderman.
Prospectus
Fund Services - continued
From time to time a manager, analyst, or other Fidelity employee may express views regarding a particular company, security, industry, or market sector. The views expressed by any such person are the views of only that individual as of the time expressed and do not necessarily represent the views of Fidelity or any other person in the Fidelity organization. Any such views are subject to change at any time based upon market or other conditions and Fidelity disclaims any responsibility to update such views. These views may not be relied on as investment advice and, because investment decisions for a Fidelity fund are based on numerous factors, may not be relied on as an indication of trading intent on behalf of any Fidelity fund.
The fund pays a management fee to FMR. The management fee is calculated and paid to FMR every month. The fee is calculated by adding a group fee rate to an individual fund fee rate, dividing by twelve, and multiplying the result by the fund's average net assets throughout the month.
The group fee rate is based on the average net assets of all the mutual funds advised by FMR. This rate cannot rise above 0.52%, and it drops as total assets under management increase.
For January 2011, the group fee rate was 0.26%. The individual fund fee rate is 0.30%.
FMR pays FMRC, FMR U.K., FMR H.K., and FMR Japan for providing sub-advisory services.
The basis for the Board of Trustees approving the management contract and sub-advisory agreements for the fund will be included in the fund's semi-annual report for the fiscal period ended January 31, 2012, when available.
FMR may, from time to time, agree to reimburse a class for, or waive, management fees and other expenses above a specified limit. FMR retains the ability to be repaid by a class if expenses fall below the specified limit prior to the end of the fiscal year.
Reimbursement or waiver arrangements can decrease expenses and boost performance.
Effective October 20, 2011, FMR has voluntarily agreed to reimburse Class F of the fund to the extent that total operating expenses (excluding interest, taxes, certain securities lending costs, brokerage commissions, extraordinary expenses, and acquired fund fees and expenses, if any), as a percentage of its average net assets, exceed 1.00%. This arrangement may be discontinued by FMR at any time.
The fund is composed of multiple classes of shares. All classes of the fund have a common investment objective and investment portfolio.
Class F has adopted a Distribution and Service Plan pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (1940 Act) with respect to its shares that recognizes that FMR may use its management fee revenues, as well as its past profits or its resources from any other source, to pay FDC for expenses incurred in connection with providing services intended to result in the sale of Class F shares and/or shareholder support services. FMR, directly or through FDC, may pay significant amounts to intermediaries, including retirement plan sponsors, service-providers, and administrators, that provide those services. Currently, the Board of Trustees of the fund has authorized such payments for Class F shares.
Prospectus
If payments made by FMR to FDC or to intermediaries under the Distribution and Service Plan were considered to be paid out of Class F's assets on an ongoing basis, they might increase the cost of your investment and might cost you more than paying other types of sales charges.
No dealer, sales representative, or any other person has been authorized to give any information or to make any representations, other than those contained in this prospectus and in the related SAI, in connection with the offer contained in this prospectus. If given or made, such other information or representations must not be relied upon as having been authorized by the fund or FDC. This prospectus and the related SAI do not constitute an offer by the fund or by FDC to sell shares of the fund to or to buy shares of the fund from any person to whom it is unlawful to make such offer.
Prospectus
Notes
IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT OPENING A NEW ACCOUNT To help the government fight the funding of terrorism and money laundering activities, the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (USA PATRIOT ACT), requires all financial institutions to obtain, verify, and record information that identifies each person or entity that opens an account. For investors other than individuals: When you open an account, you will be asked for the name of the entity, its principal place of business and taxpayer identification number (TIN) and may be requested to provide information on persons with authority or control over the account such as name, residential address, date of birth and social security number. You may also be asked to provide documents, such as drivers' licenses, articles of incorporation, trust instruments or partnership agreements and other information that will help Fidelity identify the entity. |
You can obtain additional information about the fund. A description of the fund's policies and procedures for disclosing its holdings is available in its SAI and on Fidelity's web sites. The SAI also includes more detailed information about the fund and its investments. The SAI is incorporated herein by reference (legally forms a part of the prospectus). A financial report will be available once the fund has completed its first annual or semi-annual period. The fund's annual and semi-annual reports also include additional information. The fund's annual report includes a discussion of the fund's holdings and recent market conditions and the fund's investment strategies that affected performance.
For a free copy of any of these documents or to request other information or ask questions about the fund, call Fidelity at 1-800-835-5092. In addition, existing investors may visit the web site at www.401k.com for a free copy of a prospectus, SAI, or annual or semi-annual report or to request other information.
The SAI, the fund's annual and semi-annual reports and other related materials are available from the Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval (EDGAR) Database on the SEC's web site (http://www.sec.gov). You can obtain copies of this information, after paying a duplicating fee, by sending a request by e-mail to publicinfo@sec.gov or by writing the Public Reference Section of the SEC, Washington, D.C. 20549-1520. You can also review and copy information about the fund, including the fund's SAI, at the SEC's Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C. Call 1-202-551-8090 for information on the operation of the SEC's Public Reference Room. Investment Company Act of 1940, File Number, 811-04118 |
FDC is a member of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC). You may obtain information about SIPC, including the SIPC brochure, by visiting www.sipc.org or calling SIPC at 202-371-8300.
Fidelity and Fidelity Investments & Pyramid Design are registered service marks of FMR LLC.
The third party marks appearing above are the marks of their respective owners.
1.924297.102 SRE-F-pro-0311-01
Fidelity® Series Real Estate Income Fund Class F (FSRWX)
A Fund of Fidelity Securities Fund
STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
March 13, 2011
As Revised October 12, 2011
This statement of additional information (SAI) is not a prospectus. An annual report for the fund will be available once the fund has completed its first annual period.
To obtain a free additional copy of the prospectus or SAI, dated March 13, 2011, As Revised October 12, 2011, please call Fidelity at 1-800-835-5092 or visit Fidelity's web site at www.401k.com.
SRE-F-ptb-0311-01
1.924298.102
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Investment Policies and Limitations |
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Portfolio Transactions |
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Valuation |
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Buying and Selling Information |
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Distributions and Taxes |
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Trustees and Officers |
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Control of Investment Advisers |
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Management Contract |
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Proxy Voting Guidelines |
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Distribution Services |
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Transfer and Service Agent Agreements |
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Description of the Trust |
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Fund Holdings Information |
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Appendix |
INVESTMENT POLICIES AND LIMITATIONS
The following policies and limitations supplement those set forth in the prospectus. Unless otherwise noted, whenever an investment policy or limitation states a maximum percentage of the fund's assets that may be invested in any security or other asset, or sets forth a policy regarding quality standards, such standard or percentage limitation will be determined immediately after and as a result of the fund's acquisition of such security or other asset. Accordingly, any subsequent change in values, net assets, or other circumstances will not be considered when determining whether the investment complies with the fund's investment policies and limitations.
The fund's fundamental investment policies and limitations cannot be changed without approval by a "majority of the outstanding voting securities" (as defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940 (1940 Act)) of the fund. However, except for the fundamental investment limitations listed below, the investment policies and limitations described in this SAI are not fundamental and may be changed without shareholder approval.
The following are the fund's fundamental investment limitations set forth in their entirety.
Diversification
The fund may not with respect to 75% of the fund's total assets, purchase the securities of any issuer (other than securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government or any of its agencies or instrumentalities, or securities of other investment companies) if, as a result, (a) more than 5% of the fund's total assets would be invested in the securities of that issuer, or (b) the fund would hold more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of that issuer.
Senior Securities
The fund may not issue senior securities, except in connection with the insurance program established by the fund pursuant to an exemptive order issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission or as otherwise permitted under the Investment Company Act of 1940.
Borrowing
The fund may not borrow money, except that the fund may borrow money for temporary or emergency purposes (not for leveraging or investment) in an amount not exceeding 33 1/3% of its total assets (including the amount borrowed) less liabilities (other than borrowings). Any borrowings that come to exceed this amount will be reduced within three days (not including Sundays and holidays) to the extent necessary to comply with the 33 1/3% limitation.
Underwriting
The fund may not underwrite securities issued by others, except to the extent that the fund may be considered an underwriter within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933 in the disposition of restricted securities or in connection with investments in other investment companies.
Concentration
The fund may not purchase any security if, as a result, more than 25% of its total assets would be invested in the securities of companies having their principal business activities in the same industry, except that the fund will invest more than 25% of its total assets in the real estate industry (this limitation does not apply to securities issued or guaranteed by the United States Government or its agencies or instrumentalities).
For purposes of the fund's concentration limitation discussed above, with respect to any investment in Fidelity® Money Market Central Fund and/or any non-money market central fund, Fidelity Management & Research Company (FMR) looks through to the holdings of the central fund.
For purposes of the fund's concentration limitation discussed above, FMR may analyze the characteristics of a particular issuer and security and assign an industry or sector classification consistent with those characteristics in the event that the third party classification provider used by FMR does not assign a classification.
Real Estate
The fund may not purchase or sell real estate unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other instruments (but this shall not prevent the fund from investing in securities or other instruments backed by real estate or securities of companies engaged in the real estate business).
Commodities
The fund may not purchase or sell physical commodities unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other instruments (but this shall not prevent the fund from purchasing or selling options and futures contracts or from investing in securities or other instruments backed by physical commodities).
Loans
The fund may not lend any security or make any other loan if, as a result, more than 33 1/3% of its total assets would be lent to other parties, but this limitation does not apply to purchases of debt securities or to repurchase agreements, or to acquisitions of loans, loan participations or other forms of debt instruments.
The following investment limitations are not fundamental and may be changed without shareholder approval.
Short Sales
The fund does not currently intend to sell securities short, unless it owns or has the right to obtain securities equivalent in kind and amount to the securities sold short, and provided that transactions in futures contracts and options are not deemed to constitute selling securities short.
Margin Purchases
The fund does not currently intend to purchase securities on margin, except that the fund may obtain such short-term credits as are necessary for the clearance of transactions, and provided that margin payments in connection with futures contracts and options on futures contracts shall not constitute purchasing securities on margin.
Borrowing
The fund may borrow money only (a) from a bank or from a registered investment company or portfolio for which FMR or an affiliate serves as investment adviser or (b) by engaging in reverse repurchase agreements with any party (reverse repurchase agreements are treated as borrowings for purposes of the fundamental borrowing investment limitation).
Illiquid Securities
The fund does not currently intend to purchase any security if, as a result, more than 10% of its net assets would be invested in securities that are deemed to be illiquid because they are subject to legal or contractual restrictions on resale or because they cannot be sold or disposed of in the ordinary course of business at approximately the prices at which they are valued.
For purposes of the fund's illiquid securities limitation discussed above, if through a change in values, net assets, or other circumstances, the fund were in a position where more than 10% of its net assets were invested in illiquid securities, it would consider appropriate steps to protect liquidity.
Loans
The fund does not currently intend to lend assets other than securities to other parties, except by (a) lending money (up to 15% of the fund's net assets) to a registered investment company or portfolio for which FMR or an affiliate serves as investment adviser or (b) assuming any unfunded commitments in connection with the acquisition of loans, loan participations, or other forms of debt instruments. (This limitation does not apply to purchases of debt securities, to repurchase agreements, or to acquisitions of loans, loan participations or other forms of debt instruments.)
In addition to the fund's fundamental and non-fundamental investment limitations discussed above:
For the fund's limitations on futures and options transactions, see the section entitled "Futures, Options, and Swaps" on page <Click Here>.
The following pages contain more detailed information about types of instruments in which the fund may invest, techniques the fund's adviser (or a sub-adviser) may employ in pursuit of the fund's investment objective, and a summary of related risks. The fund's adviser (or a sub-adviser) may not buy all of these instruments or use all of these techniques unless it believes that doing so will help the fund achieve its goal. However, the fund's adviser (or a sub-adviser) is not required to buy any particular instrument or use any particular technique even if to do so might benefit the fund.
On the following pages in this section titled "Investment Policies and Limitations," and except as otherwise indicated, references to "an adviser" or "the adviser" may relate to the fund's adviser or a sub-adviser, as applicable.
Affiliated Bank Transactions. A Fidelity fund may engage in transactions with financial institutions that are, or may be considered to be, "affiliated persons" of the fund under the 1940 Act. These transactions may involve repurchase agreements with custodian banks; short-term obligations of, and repurchase agreements with, the 50 largest U.S. banks (measured by deposits); municipal securities; U.S. Government securities with affiliated financial institutions that are primary dealers in these securities; short-term currency transactions; and short-term borrowings. In accordance with exemptive orders issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Board of Trustees has established and periodically reviews procedures applicable to transactions involving affiliated financial institutions.
Asset-Backed Securities represent interests in pools of mortgages, loans, receivables, or other assets. Payment of interest and repayment of principal may be largely dependent upon the cash flows generated by the assets backing the securities and, in certain cases, supported by letters of credit, surety bonds, or other credit enhancements. Asset-backed security values may also be affected by other factors including changes in interest rates, the availability of information concerning the pool and its structure, the creditworthiness of the servicing agent for the pool, the originator of the loans or receivables, or the entities providing the credit enhancement. In addition, these securities may be subject to prepayment risk.
Borrowing. If a fund borrows money, its share price may be subject to greater fluctuation until the borrowing is paid off. If a fund makes additional investments while borrowings are outstanding, this may be considered a form of leverage.
Cash Management. A fund may hold uninvested cash or may invest it in cash equivalents such as money market securities, repurchase agreements, or shares of money market or short-term bond funds. Generally, these securities offer less potential for gains than other types of securities.
Central Funds are special types of investment vehicles created by Fidelity for use by the Fidelity funds and other advisory clients. Central funds are used to invest in particular security types or investment disciplines, or for cash management. Central funds incur certain costs related to their investment activity (such as custodial fees and expenses), but do not pay additional management fees to Fidelity. The investment results of the portions of a Fidelity fund's assets invested in the central funds will be based upon the investment results of those funds.
Common Stock represents an equity or ownership interest in an issuer. In the event an issuer is liquidated or declares bankruptcy, the claims of owners of bonds and preferred stock take precedence over the claims of those who own common stock.
Convertible Securities are bonds, debentures, notes, or other securities that may be converted or exchanged (by the holder or by the issuer) into shares of the underlying common stock (or cash or securities of equivalent value) at a stated exchange ratio. A convertible security may also be called for redemption or conversion by the issuer after a particular date and under certain circumstances (including a specified price) established upon issue. If a convertible security held by a fund is called for redemption or conversion, the fund could be required to tender it for redemption, convert it into the underlying common stock, or sell it to a third party.
Convertible securities generally have less potential for gain or loss than common stocks. Convertible securities generally provide yields higher than the underlying common stocks, but generally lower than comparable non-convertible securities. Because of this higher yield, convertible securities generally sell at prices above their "conversion value," which is the current market value of the stock to be received upon conversion. The difference between this conversion value and the price of convertible securities will vary over time depending on changes in the value of the underlying common stocks and interest rates. When the underlying common stocks decline in value, convertible securities will tend not to decline to the same extent because of the interest or dividend payments and the repayment of principal at maturity for certain types of convertible securities. However, securities that are convertible other than at the option of the holder generally do not limit the potential for loss to the same extent as securities convertible at the option of the holder. When the underlying common stocks rise in value, the value of convertible securities may also be expected to increase. At the same time, however, the difference between the market value of convertible securities and their conversion value will narrow, which means that the value of convertible securities will generally not increase to the same extent as the value of the underlying common stocks. Because convertible securities may also be interest-rate sensitive, their value may increase as interest rates fall and decrease as interest rates rise. Convertible securities are also subject to credit risk, and are often lower-quality securities.
Companies "Principally Engaged" in the Real Estate Industry. For purposes of a Fidelity fund's investment objective and policy to normally invest at least 80% of its assets in securities of companies principally engaged in the real estate industry and other real estate related investments, FMR may consider a company to be principally engaged in the real estate industry if: (i) at least a plurality of its assets (marked to market), gross income, or net profits are attributable to ownership, construction, management, or sale of residential, commercial, or industrial real estate, or (ii) a third party has given the company an industry or sector classification consistent with real estate.
Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) are shares of other investment companies, commodity pools, or other entities that are traded on an exchange. Typically, assets underlying the ETF shares are stocks, though they may also be commodities or other instruments, selected to track a particular index or other benchmark.
Typically, ETF shares are expected to increase in value as the value of the underlying benchmark increases. However, in the case of inverse ETFs (also called "short ETFs" or "bear ETFs"), ETF shares are expected to increase in value as the value of the underlying benchmark decreases. Inverse ETFs seek to deliver the opposite of the performance of the benchmark they track and are often marketed as a way for investors to profit from, or at least hedge their exposure to, downward moving markets. Investments in inverse ETFs are similar to holding short positions in the underlying benchmark.
ETF shares are redeemable only in large blocks (typically, 50,000 shares) often called "creation units" by persons other than a fund, and are redeemed principally in-kind at each day's next calculated net asset value per share (NAV). ETFs typically incur fees that are separate from those fees incurred directly by a fund. A fund's purchase of ETFs results in the layering of expenses, such that the fund would indirectly bear a proportionate share of any ETF's operating expenses. Further, while traditional investment companies are continuously offered at NAV, ETFs are traded in the secondary market (e.g. on a stock exchange) on an intra-day basis at prices that may be above or below the value of their underlying portfolios.
Some of the risks of investing in an ETF are similar to those of investing in an indexed mutual fund, including tracking error risk (the risk of errors in matching the ETF's underlying assets to the index or other benchmark); and the risk that because an ETF is not actively managed, it cannot sell stocks or other assets as long as they are represented in the index or other benchmark. Other ETF risks include the risk that ETFs may trade in the secondary market at a discount from their NAV and the risk that the ETFs may not be liquid. ETFs also may be leveraged. Leveraged ETFs seek to deliver multiples of the performance of the index or other benchmark they track and use derivatives in an effort to amplify the returns (or decline, in the case of inverse ETFs) of the underlying index or benchmark. While leveraged ETFs may offer the potential for greater return, the potential for loss and the speed at which losses can be realized also are greater. Most leveraged and inverse ETFs "reset" daily, meaning they are designed to achieve their stated objectives on a daily basis. Leveraged and inverse ETFs can deviate substantially from the performance of their underlying benchmark over longer periods of time, particularly in volatile periods.
Exchange Traded Notes (ETNs) are a type of senior, unsecured, unsubordinated debt security issued by financial institutions that combines aspects of both bonds and ETFs. An ETN's returns are based on the performance of a market index or other reference asset minus fees and expenses. Similar to ETFs, ETNs are listed on an exchange and traded in the secondary market. However, unlike an ETF, an ETN can be held until the ETN's maturity, at which time the issuer will pay a return linked to the performance of the market index or other reference asset to which the ETN is linked minus certain fees. Unlike regular bonds, ETNs typically do not make periodic interest payments and principal typically is not protected.
An ETN that is tied to a specific index may not be able to replicate and maintain exactly the composition and relative weighting of securities, commodities, or other components in the applicable index. ETNs also incur certain expenses not incurred by their applicable index. Additionally, certain components comprising the index tracked by an ETN may, at times, be temporarily unavailable, which may impede the ETN's ability to track its index. The market value of an ETN is determined by supply and demand, the current performance of the index or other reference asset, and the credit rating of the ETN issuer. The market value of ETN shares may differ from their NAV. This difference in price may be due to the fact that the supply and demand in the market for ETN shares at any point in time is not always identical to the supply and demand in the market for the securities underlying the index (or other reference asset) that the ETN seeks to track. The value of an ETN may also change due to a change in the issuer's credit rating. As a result, there may be times when an ETN share trades at a premium or discount to its NAV. Some ETNs that use leverage in an effort to amplify the returns of an underlying index or other reference asset can, at times, be relatively illiquid and, thus, they may be difficult to purchase or sell at a fair price. Leveraged ETNs may offer the potential for greater return, but the potential for loss and speed at which losses can be realized also are greater.
Exposure to Foreign Markets. Foreign securities, foreign currencies, and securities issued by U.S. entities with substantial foreign operations may involve significant risks in addition to the risks inherent in U.S. investments.
Foreign investments involve risks relating to local political, economic, regulatory, or social instability, military action or unrest, or adverse diplomatic developments, and may be affected by actions of foreign governments adverse to the interests of U.S. investors. Such actions may include expropriation or nationalization of assets, confiscatory taxation, restrictions on U.S. investment or on the ability to repatriate assets or convert currency into U.S. dollars, or other government intervention. Additionally, governmental issuers of foreign debt securities may be unwilling to pay interest and repay principal when due and may require that the conditions for payment be renegotiated. There is no assurance that a fund's adviser will be able to anticipate these potential events or counter their effects. In addition, the value of securities denominated in foreign currencies and of dividends and interest paid with respect to such securities will fluctuate based on the relative strength of the U.S. dollar.
It is anticipated that in most cases the best available market for foreign securities will be on an exchange or in over-the-counter (OTC) markets located outside of the United States. Foreign stock markets, while growing in volume and sophistication, are generally not as developed as those in the United States, and securities of some foreign issuers may be less liquid and more volatile than securities of comparable U.S. issuers. Foreign security trading, settlement and custodial practices (including those involving securities settlement where fund assets may be released prior to receipt of payment) are often less developed than those in U.S. markets, and may result in increased risk or substantial delays in the event of a failed trade or the insolvency of, or breach of duty by, a foreign broker-dealer, securities depository, or foreign subcustodian. In addition, the costs associated with foreign investments, including withholding taxes, brokerage commissions, and custodial costs, are generally higher than with U.S. investments.
Foreign markets may offer less protection to investors than U.S. markets. Foreign issuers are generally not bound by uniform accounting, auditing, and financial reporting requirements and standards of practice comparable to those applicable to U.S. issuers. Adequate public information on foreign issuers may not be available, and it may be difficult to secure dividends and information regarding corporate actions on a timely basis. In general, there is less overall governmental supervision and regulation of securities exchanges, brokers, and listed companies than in the United States. OTC markets tend to be less regulated than stock exchange markets and, in certain countries, may be totally unregulated. Regulatory enforcement may be influenced by economic or political concerns, and investors may have difficulty enforcing their legal rights in foreign countries.
Some foreign securities impose restrictions on transfer within the United States or to U.S. persons. Although securities subject to such transfer restrictions may be marketable abroad, they may be less liquid than foreign securities of the same class that are not subject to such restrictions.
American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) as well as other "hybrid" forms of ADRs, including European Depositary Receipts (EDRs) and Global Depositary Receipts (GDRs), are certificates evidencing ownership of shares of a foreign issuer. These certificates are issued by depository banks and generally trade on an established market in the United States or elsewhere. The underlying shares are held in trust by a custodian bank or similar financial institution in the issuer's home country. The depository bank may not have physical custody of the underlying securities at all times and may charge fees for various services, including forwarding dividends and interest and corporate actions. ADRs are alternatives to directly purchasing the underlying foreign securities in their national markets and currencies. However, ADRs continue to be subject to many of the risks associated with investing directly in foreign securities. These risks include foreign exchange risk as well as the political and economic risks of the underlying issuer's country.
The risks of foreign investing may be magnified for investments in emerging markets. Security prices in emerging markets can be significantly more volatile than those in more developed markets, reflecting the greater uncertainties of investing in less established markets and economies. In particular, countries with emerging markets may have relatively unstable governments, may present the risks of nationalization of businesses, restrictions on foreign ownership and prohibitions on the repatriation of assets, and may have less protection of property rights than more developed countries. The economies of countries with emerging markets may be based on only a few industries, may be highly vulnerable to changes in local or global trade conditions, and may suffer from extreme and volatile debt burdens or inflation rates. Local securities markets may trade a small number of securities and may be unable to respond effectively to increases in trading volume, potentially making prompt liquidation of holdings difficult or impossible at times.
Foreign Currency Transactions. A fund may conduct foreign currency transactions on a spot (i.e., cash) or forward basis (i.e., by entering into forward contracts to purchase or sell foreign currencies). Although foreign exchange dealers generally do not charge a fee for such conversions, they do realize a profit based on the difference between the prices at which they are buying and selling various currencies. Thus, a dealer may offer to sell a foreign currency at one rate, while offering a lesser rate of exchange should the counterparty desire to resell that currency to the dealer. Forward contracts are customized transactions that require a specific amount of a currency to be delivered at a specific exchange rate on a specific date or range of dates in the future. Forward contracts are generally traded in an interbank market directly between currency traders (usually large commercial banks) and their customers. The parties to a forward contract may agree to offset or terminate the contract before its maturity, or may hold the contract to maturity and complete the contemplated currency exchange.
The following discussion summarizes the principal currency management strategies involving forward contracts that could be used by a fund. A fund may also use swap agreements, indexed securities, and options and futures contracts relating to foreign currencies for the same purposes.
A "settlement hedge" or "transaction hedge" is designed to protect a fund against an adverse change in foreign currency values between the date a security is purchased or sold and the date on which payment is made or received. Entering into a forward contract for the purchase or sale of the amount of foreign currency involved in an underlying security transaction for a fixed amount of U.S. dollars "locks in" the U.S. dollar price of the security. Forward contracts to purchase or sell a foreign currency may also be used by a fund in anticipation of future purchases or sales of securities denominated in foreign currency, even if the specific investments have not yet been selected.
A fund may also use forward contracts to hedge against a decline in the value of existing investments denominated in foreign currency. For example, if a fund owned securities denominated in pounds sterling, it could enter into a forward contract to sell pounds sterling in return for U.S. dollars to hedge against possible declines in the pound's value. Such a hedge, sometimes referred to as a "position hedge," would tend to offset both positive and negative currency fluctuations, but would not offset changes in security values caused by other factors. A fund could also hedge the position by selling another currency expected to perform similarly to the pound sterling. This type of hedge, sometimes referred to as a "proxy hedge," could offer advantages in terms of cost, yield, or efficiency, but generally would not hedge currency exposure as effectively as a direct hedge into U.S. dollars. Proxy hedges may result in losses if the currency used to hedge does not perform similarly to the currency in which the hedged securities are denominated.
A fund may enter into forward contracts to shift its investment exposure from one currency into another. This may include shifting exposure from U.S. dollars to a foreign currency, or from one foreign currency to another foreign currency. This type of strategy, sometimes known as a "cross-hedge," will tend to reduce or eliminate exposure to the currency that is sold, and increase exposure to the currency that is purchased, much as if a fund had sold a security denominated in one currency and purchased an equivalent security denominated in another. A fund may cross-hedge its U.S. dollar exposure in order to achieve a representative weighted mix of the major currencies in its benchmark index and/or to cover an underweight country or region exposure in its portfolio. Cross-hedges protect against losses resulting from a decline in the hedged currency, but will cause a fund to assume the risk of fluctuations in the value of the currency it purchases.
Successful use of currency management strategies will depend on an adviser's skill in analyzing currency values. Currency management strategies may substantially change a fund's investment exposure to changes in currency exchange rates and could result in losses to a fund if currencies do not perform as an adviser anticipates. For example, if a currency's value rose at a time when a fund had hedged its position by selling that currency in exchange for dollars, the fund would not participate in the currency's appreciation. If a fund hedges currency exposure through proxy hedges, the fund could realize currency losses from both the hedge and the security position if the two currencies do not move in tandem. Similarly, if a fund increases its exposure to a foreign currency and that currency's value declines, the fund will realize a loss. A fund may be required to limit its hedging transactions in foreign currency forwards, futures, and options in order to maintain its classification as a "regulated investment company" under the Internal Revenue Code (Code). Hedging transactions could result in the application of the mark-to-market provisions of the Code, which may cause an increase (or decrease) in the amount of taxable dividends paid by a fund and could affect whether dividends paid by a fund are classified as capital gains or ordinary income. There is no assurance that an adviser's use of currency management strategies will be advantageous to a fund or that it will employ currency management strategies at appropriate times.
Options and Futures Relating to Foreign Currencies. Currency futures contracts are similar to forward currency exchange contracts, except that they are traded on exchanges (and have margin requirements) and are standardized as to contract size and delivery date. Most currency futures contracts call for payment or delivery in U.S. dollars. The underlying instrument of a currency option may be a foreign currency, which generally is purchased or delivered in exchange for U.S. dollars, or may be a futures contract. The purchaser of a currency call obtains the right to purchase the underlying currency, and the purchaser of a currency put obtains the right to sell the underlying currency.
The uses and risks of currency options and futures are similar to options and futures relating to securities or indices, as discussed below. A fund may purchase and sell currency futures and may purchase and write currency options to increase or decrease its exposure to different foreign currencies. Currency options may also be purchased or written in conjunction with each other or with currency futures or forward contracts. Currency futures and options values can be expected to correlate with exchange rates, but may not reflect other factors that affect the value of a fund's investments. A currency hedge, for example, should protect a Yen-denominated security from a decline in the Yen, but will not protect a fund against a price decline resulting from deterioration in the issuer's creditworthiness. Because the value of a fund's foreign-denominated investments changes in response to many factors other than exchange rates, it may not be possible to match the amount of currency options and futures to the value of the fund's investments exactly over time.
Fund's Rights as an Investor. Fidelity funds do not intend to direct or administer the day-to-day operations of any company. A fund may, however, exercise its rights as a shareholder or lender and may communicate its views on important matters of policy to a company's management, board of directors, and shareholders, and holders of a company's other securities when such matters could have a significant effect on the value of the fund's investment in the company. The activities in which a fund may engage, either individually or in conjunction with others, may include, among others, supporting or opposing proposed changes in a company's corporate structure or business activities; seeking changes in a company's directors or management; seeking changes in a company's direction or policies; seeking the sale or reorganization of the company or a portion of its assets; supporting or opposing third-party takeover efforts; supporting the filing of a bankruptcy petition; or foreclosing on collateral securing a security. This area of corporate activity is increasingly prone to litigation and it is possible that a fund could be involved in lawsuits related to such activities. Such activities will be monitored with a view to mitigating, to the extent possible, the risk of litigation against a fund and the risk of actual liability if a fund is involved in litigation. No guarantee can be made, however, that litigation against a fund will not be undertaken or liabilities incurred. The fund's proxy voting guidelines are included in this SAI.
Futures, Options, and Swaps. The success of any strategy involving futures, options, and swaps depends on an adviser's analysis of many economic and mathematical factors and a fund's return may be higher if it never invested in such instruments. Additionally, some of the contracts discussed below are new instruments without a trading history and there can be no assurance that a market for the instruments will continue to exist. Government legislation or regulation could affect the use of such instruments and could limit a fund's ability to pursue its investment strategies.
Fidelity® Series Real Estate Income Fund will not: (a) sell futures contracts, purchase put options, or write call options if, as a result, more than 25% of the fund's total assets would be hedged with futures and options under normal conditions; (b) purchase futures contracts or write put options if, as a result, the fund's total obligations upon settlement or exercise of purchased futures contracts and written put options would exceed 25% of its total assets under normal conditions; or (c) purchase call options if, as a result, the current value of option premiums for call options purchased by the fund would exceed 5% of the fund's total assets. These limitations do not apply to options attached to or acquired or traded together with their underlying securities, and do not apply to structured notes.
The limitations on the fund's investments in futures contracts, options, and swaps, and the fund's policies regarding futures contracts, options, and swaps discussed elsewhere in this SAI may be changed as regulatory agencies permit.
The requirements for qualification as a regulated investment company may limit the extent to which a fund may enter into futures, options on futures, and forward contracts. See "Distributions and Taxes."
Futures Contracts. In purchasing a futures contract, the buyer agrees to purchase a specified underlying instrument at a specified future date. In selling a futures contract, the seller agrees to sell a specified underlying instrument at a specified date. The price at which the purchase and sale will take place is fixed when the buyer and seller enter into the contract. Some currently available futures contracts are based on specific securities, some are based on commodities or commodities indices (for funds that seek commodities exposure), and some are based on indices of securities prices (including foreign indices for funds that seek foreign exposure). Futures on indices and futures not calling for physical delivery of the underlying instrument will be settled through cash payments rather than through delivery of the underlying instrument. Futures can be held until their delivery dates, or can be closed before then if a liquid market is available.
The value of a futures contract tends to increase and decrease in tandem with the value of its underlying instrument. Therefore, purchasing futures contracts will tend to increase a fund's exposure to positive and negative price fluctuations in the underlying instrument, much as if it had purchased the underlying instrument directly. When a fund sells a futures contract, by contrast, the value of its futures position will tend to move in a direction contrary to the market. Selling futures contracts, therefore, will tend to offset both positive and negative market price changes, much as if the underlying instrument had been sold.
The purchaser or seller of a futures contract or an option for a futures contract is not required to deliver or pay for the underlying instrument or the final cash settlement price, as applicable, unless the contract is held until the delivery date. However, both the purchaser and seller are required to deposit "initial margin" with a futures broker, known as a futures commission merchant (FCM), when the contract is entered into. If the value of either party's position declines, that party will be required to make additional "variation margin" payments to settle the change in value on a daily basis. This process of "marking to market" will be reflected in the daily calculation of open positions computed in a fund's NAV. The party that has a gain is entitled to receive all or a portion of this amount. Initial and variation margin payments do not constitute purchasing securities on margin for purposes of a fund's investment limitations. In the event of the bankruptcy or insolvency of an FCM that holds margin on behalf of a fund, the fund may be entitled to return of margin owed to it only in proportion to the amount received by the FCM's other customers, potentially resulting in losses to the fund. A fund is required to segregate liquid assets equivalent to the fund's outstanding obligations under the contract in excess of the initial margin and variation margin, if any.
Although futures exchanges generally operate similarly in the United States and abroad, foreign futures exchanges may follow trading, settlement, and margin procedures that are different from those for U.S. exchanges. Futures contracts traded outside the United States may involve greater risk of loss than U.S.-traded contracts, including potentially greater risk of losses due to insolvency of a futures broker, exchange member, or other party that may owe initial or variation margin to a fund. Because initial and variation margin payments may be measured in foreign currency, a futures contract traded outside the United States may also involve the risk of foreign currency fluctuation.
There is no assurance a liquid market will exist for any particular futures contract at any particular time. Exchanges may establish daily price fluctuation limits for futures contracts, and may halt trading if a contract's price moves upward or downward more than the limit in a given day. On volatile trading days when the price fluctuation limit is reached or a trading halt is imposed, it may be impossible to enter into new positions or close out existing positions. If the market for a contract is not liquid because of price fluctuation limits or other market conditions, it could prevent prompt liquidation of unfavorable positions, and potentially could require a fund to continue to hold a position until delivery or expiration regardless of changes in its value. As a result, a fund's access to other assets held to cover its futures positions could also be impaired. These risks may be heightened for commodity futures contracts, which have historically been subject to greater price volatility than exists for instruments such as stocks and bonds.
Because there are a limited number of types of exchange-traded futures contracts, it is likely that the standardized contracts available will not match a fund's current or anticipated investments exactly. A fund may invest in futures contracts based on securities with different issuers, maturities, or other characteristics from the securities in which the fund typically invests, which involves a risk that the futures position will not track the performance of the fund's other investments.
Futures prices can also diverge from the prices of their underlying instruments, even if the underlying instruments match a fund's investments well. Futures prices are affected by such factors as current and anticipated short-term interest rates, changes in volatility of the underlying instrument, and the time remaining until expiration of the contract, which may not affect security prices the same way. Imperfect correlation may also result from differing levels of demand in the futures markets and the securities markets, from structural differences in how futures and securities are traded, or from imposition of daily price fluctuation limits or trading halts. A fund may purchase or sell futures contracts with a greater or lesser value than the securities it wishes to hedge or intends to purchase in order to attempt to compensate for differences in volatility between the contract and the securities, although this may not be successful in all cases. If price changes in a fund's futures positions are poorly correlated with its other investments, the positions may fail to produce anticipated gains or result in losses that are not offset by gains in other investments. In addition, the price of a commodity futures contract can reflect the storage costs associated with the purchase of the physical commodity.
Options. By purchasing a put option, the purchaser obtains the right (but not the obligation) to sell the option's underlying instrument at a fixed strike price. In return for this right, the purchaser pays the current market price for the option (known as the option premium). Options have various types of underlying instruments, including specific assets or securities, indices of securities or commodities prices, and futures contracts (including commodity futures contracts). The purchaser may terminate its position in a put option by allowing it to expire or by exercising the option. If the option is allowed to expire, the purchaser will lose the entire premium. If the option is exercised, the purchaser completes the sale of the underlying instrument at the strike price. A purchaser may also terminate a put option position by closing it out in the secondary market at its current price, if a liquid secondary market exists.
The buyer of a typical put option can expect to realize a gain if the underlying instrument's price falls substantially. However, if the underlying instrument's price does not fall enough to offset the cost of purchasing the option, a put buyer can expect to suffer a loss (limited to the amount of the premium, plus related transaction costs).
The features of call options are essentially the same as those of put options, except that the purchaser of a call option obtains the right to purchase, rather than sell, the underlying instrument at the option's strike price. A call buyer typically attempts to participate in potential price increases of the underlying instrument with risk limited to the cost of the option if the underlying instrument's price falls. At the same time, the buyer can expect to suffer a loss if the underlying instrument's price does not rise sufficiently to offset the cost of the option.
The writer of a put or call option takes the opposite side of the transaction from the option's purchaser. In return for receipt of the premium, the writer assumes the obligation to pay or receive the strike price for the option's underlying instrument if the other party to the option chooses to exercise it. The writer may seek to terminate a position in a put option before exercise by closing out the option in the secondary market at its current price. If the secondary market is not liquid for a put option, however, the writer must continue to be prepared to pay the strike price while the option is outstanding, regardless of price changes. When writing an option on a futures contract, a fund will be required to make margin payments to an FCM as described above for futures contracts.
If the underlying instrument's price rises, a put writer would generally expect to profit, although its gain would be limited to the amount of the premium it received. If the underlying instrument's price remains the same over time, it is likely that the writer will also profit, because it should be able to close out the option at a lower price. If the underlying instrument's price falls, the put writer would expect to suffer a loss. This loss should be less than the loss from purchasing the underlying instrument directly, however, because the premium received for writing the option should mitigate the effects of the decline.
Writing a call option obligates the writer to sell or deliver the option's underlying instrument or make a net cash settlement payment, as applicable, in return for the strike price, upon exercise of the option. The characteristics of writing call options are similar to those of writing put options, except that writing calls generally is a profitable strategy if prices remain the same or fall. Through receipt of the option premium, a call writer mitigates the effects of a price increase. At the same time, because a call writer must be prepared to deliver the underlying instrument or make a net cash settlement payment, as applicable, in return for the strike price, even if its current value is greater, a call writer gives up some ability to participate in security price increases.
There is no assurance a liquid market will exist for any particular options contract at any particular time. Options may have relatively low trading volume and liquidity if their strike prices are not close to the underlying instrument's current price. In addition, exchanges may establish daily price fluctuation limits for options contracts, and may halt trading if a contract's price moves upward or downward more than the limit in a given day. On volatile trading days when the price fluctuation limit is reached or a trading halt is imposed, it may be impossible to enter into new positions or close out existing positions. If the market for a contract is not liquid because of price fluctuation limits or otherwise, it could prevent prompt liquidation of unfavorable positions, and potentially could require a fund to continue to hold a position until delivery or expiration regardless of changes in its value. As a result, a fund's access to other assets held to cover its options positions could also be impaired.
Unlike exchange-traded options, which are standardized with respect to the underlying instrument, expiration date, contract size, and strike price, the terms of OTC options (options not traded on exchanges) generally are established through negotiation with the other party to the option contract. While this type of arrangement allows the purchaser or writer greater flexibility to tailor an option to its needs, OTC options generally are less liquid and involve greater credit risk than exchange-traded options, which are backed by the clearing organization of the exchanges where they are traded.
Combined positions involve purchasing and writing options in combination with each other, or in combination with futures or forward contracts, to adjust the risk and return characteristics of the overall position. For example, purchasing a put option and writing a call option on the same underlying instrument would construct a combined position whose risk and return characteristics are similar to selling a futures contract. Another possible combined position would involve writing a call option at one strike price and buying a call option at a lower price, to reduce the risk of the written call option in the event of a substantial price increase. Because combined options positions involve multiple trades, they result in higher transaction costs and may be more difficult to open and close out.
A fund may also buy and sell options on swaps. Options on interest rate swaps are known as swaptions. An option on a swap gives a party the right to enter into a new swap agreement or to extend, shorten, cancel or modify an existing swap contract at a specific date in the future in exchange for a premium.
Because there are a limited number of types of exchange-traded options contracts, it is likely that the standardized contracts available will not match a fund's current or anticipated investments exactly. A fund may invest in options contracts based on securities with different issuers, maturities, or other characteristics from the securities in which the fund typically invests, which involves a risk that the options position will not track the performance of the fund's other investments.
Options prices can also diverge from the prices of their underlying instruments, even if the underlying instruments match a fund's investments well. Options prices are affected by such factors as current and anticipated short-term interest rates, changes in volatility of the underlying instrument, and the time remaining until expiration of the contract, which may not affect security prices the same way. Imperfect correlation may also result from differing levels of demand in the options and futures markets and the securities markets, from structural differences in how options and futures and securities are traded, or from imposition of daily price fluctuation limits or trading halts. A fund may purchase or sell options contracts with a greater or lesser value than the securities it wishes to hedge or intends to purchase in order to attempt to compensate for differences in volatility between the contract and the securities, although this may not be successful in all cases. If price changes in a fund's options positions are poorly correlated with its other investments, the positions may fail to produce anticipated gains or result in losses that are not offset by gains in other investments.
Swap Agreements. Swaps are individually negotiated and structured to include exposure to a variety of different types of investments or market factors. Swap agreements are two party contracts entered into primarily by institutional investors. Swap agreements can vary in term like other fixed-income investments. Most swap agreements are traded over-the-counter. In a standard "swap" transaction, two parties agree to exchange the returns (or differentials in rates of return) earned or realized on particular predetermined investments or instruments (such as securities, commodities, or indices). The gross returns to be exchanged or swapped between the parties are calculated with respect to a notional amount, which is the predetermined dollar principal of the trade representing the hypothetical underlying quantity upon which payment obligations are computed.
Swap agreements can take many different forms and are known by a variety of names. Depending on how they are used, swap agreements may increase or decrease the overall volatility of a fund's investments and its share price and, if applicable, its yield. Swap agreements are subject to liquidity risk, meaning that a fund may be unable to sell a swap contract to a third party at a favorable price.
A total return swap is a contract whereby one party agrees to make a series of payments to another party based on the change in the market value of the assets underlying such contract (which can include a security, commodity, index or baskets thereof) during the specified period. In exchange, the other party to the contract agrees to make a series of payments calculated by reference to an interest rate and/or some other agreed-upon amount (including the change in market value of other underlying assets). A fund may use total return swaps to gain exposure to an asset without owning it or taking physical custody of it. For example, a fund investing in total return commodity swaps will receive the price appreciation of a commodity, commodity index or portion thereof in exchange for payment of an agreed-upon fee.
In a credit default swap, the credit default protection buyer makes periodic payments, known as premiums, to the credit default protection seller. In return the credit default protection seller will make a payment to the credit default protection buyer upon the occurrence of a specified credit event. A credit default swap can refer to a single issuer or asset, a basket of issuers or assets or index of assets, each known as the reference entity or underlying asset. A fund may act as either the buyer or the seller of a credit default swap. A fund may buy or sell credit default protection on a basket of issuers or assets, even if a number of the underlying assets referenced in the basket are lower-quality debt securities. In an unhedged credit default swap, a fund buys credit default protection on a single issuer or asset, a basket of issuers or assets or index of assets without owning the underlying asset or debt issued by the reference entity. Credit default swaps involve greater and different risks than investing directly in the referenced asset, because, in addition to market risk, credit default swaps include liquidity, counterparty and operational risk.
Credit default swaps allow a fund to acquire or reduce credit exposure to a particular issuer, asset or basket of assets. If a swap agreement calls for payments by a fund, the fund must be prepared to make such payments when due. If a fund is the credit default protection seller, the fund will experience a loss if a credit event occurs and the credit of the reference entity or underlying asset has deteriorated. If a fund is the credit default protection buyer, the fund will be required to pay premiums to the credit default protection seller.
If the creditworthiness of a fund's swap counterparty declines, the risk that the counterparty may not perform could increase, potentially resulting in a loss to the fund. To limit the counterparty risk involved in swap agreements, a Fidelity fund will enter into swap agreements only with counterparties that meet certain standards of creditworthiness.
Swap agreements generally are entered into by "eligible participants" and in compliance with certain other criteria necessary to render them excluded from regulation under the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and, therefore not subject to regulation as futures or commodity option transactions under the CEA.
Illiquid Securities cannot be sold or disposed of in the ordinary course of business at approximately the prices at which they are valued. Difficulty in selling securities may result in a loss or may be costly to a fund.
Under the supervision of the Board of Trustees, a Fidelity fund's adviser determines the liquidity of the fund's investments and, through reports from the fund's adviser, the Board monitors investments in illiquid securities.
Various factors may be considered in determining the liquidity of a fund's investments, including (1) the frequency and volume of trades and quotations, (2) the number of dealers and prospective purchasers in the marketplace, (3) dealer undertakings to make a market, and (4) the nature of the security and the market in which it trades (including any demand, put or tender features, the mechanics and other requirements for transfer, any letters of credit or other credit enhancement features, any ratings, the number of holders, the method of soliciting offers, the time required to dispose of the security, and the ability to assign or offset the rights and obligations of the security).
Indexed Securities are instruments whose prices are indexed to the prices of other securities, securities indices, or other financial indicators. Indexed securities typically, but not always, are debt securities or deposits whose values at maturity or coupon rates are determined by reference to a specific instrument, statistic, or measure.
Indexed securities also include commercial paper, certificates of deposit, and other fixed-income securities whose values at maturity or coupon interest rates are determined by reference to the returns of particular stock indices. Indexed securities can be affected by stock prices as well as changes in interest rates and the creditworthiness of their issuers and may not track the indexes as accurately as direct investments in the indexes.
Mortgage-indexed securities, for example, could be structured to replicate the performance of mortgage securities and the characteristics of direct ownership.
Currency-indexed securities typically are short-term to intermediate-term debt securities whose maturity values or interest rates are determined by reference to the values of one or more specified foreign currencies, and may offer higher yields than U.S. dollar-denominated securities. Currency-indexed securities may be positively or negatively indexed; that is, their maturity value may increase when the specified currency value increases, resulting in a security that performs similarly to a foreign-denominated instrument, or their maturity value may decline when foreign currencies increase, resulting in a security whose price characteristics are similar to a put on the underlying currency. Currency-indexed securities may also have prices that depend on the values of a number of different foreign currencies relative to each other.
The performance of indexed securities depends to a great extent on the performance of the instrument or measure to which they are indexed, and may also be influenced by interest rate changes in the United States and abroad. Indexed securities may be more volatile than the underlying instruments or measures. Indexed securities are also subject to the credit risks associated with the issuer of the security, and their values may decline substantially if the issuer's creditworthiness deteriorates. Recent issuers of indexed securities have included banks, corporations, and certain U.S. Government agencies.
Interfund Borrowing and Lending Program. Pursuant to an exemptive order issued by the SEC, a Fidelity fund may lend money to, and borrow money from, other funds advised by FMR or its affiliates. A Fidelity fund will borrow through the program only when the costs are equal to or lower than the costs of bank loans. A Fidelity fund will lend through the program only when the returns are higher than those available from an investment in repurchase agreements. Interfund loans and borrowings normally extend overnight, but can have a maximum duration of seven days. Loans may be called on one day's notice. A Fidelity fund may have to borrow from a bank at a higher interest rate if an interfund loan is called or not renewed. Any delay in repayment to a lending fund could result in a lost investment opportunity or additional borrowing costs.
Investment-Grade Debt Securities. Investment-grade debt securities include all types of debt instruments that are of medium and high-quality. Investment-grade debt securities include repurchase agreements collateralized by U.S. Government securities as well as repurchase agreements collateralized by equity securities, non-investment-grade debt, and all other instruments in which a fund can perfect a security interest, provided the repurchase agreement counterparty has an investment-grade rating. Some investment-grade debt securities may possess speculative characteristics and may be more sensitive to economic changes and to changes in the financial conditions of issuers. An investment-grade rating means the security or issuer is rated investment-grade by a credit rating agency registered as a nationally recognized statistical rating organization (NRSRO) with the SEC (for example, Moody's Investors Service, Inc.), or is unrated but considered to be of equivalent quality by a fund's adviser. For purposes of determining the maximum maturity of an investment-grade debt security, an adviser may take into account normal settlement periods.
Investments by Funds of Funds or Other Large Shareholders. Certain funds and accounts that are managed by FMR or its affiliates (including funds of funds) invest in other funds and may at times have substantial investments in one or more other funds.
A fund may experience large redemptions or investments due to transactions in fund shares by funds of funds, other large shareholders, or similarly managed accounts. While it is impossible to predict the overall effect of these transactions over time, there could be an adverse impact on a fund's performance. In the event of such redemptions or investments, a fund could be required to sell securities or to invest cash at a time when it may not otherwise desire to do so. Such transactions may increase a fund's brokerage and/or other transaction costs. In addition, when funds of funds or other investors own a substantial portion of a fund's shares, a large redemption by a fund of funds could cause actual expenses to increase, or could result in the fund's current expenses being allocated over a smaller asset base, leading to an increase in the fund's expense ratio. Redemptions of fund shares could also accelerate the realization of taxable capital gains in the fund if sales of securities result in capital gains. The impact of these transactions is likely to be greater when a fund of funds or other significant investor purchases, redeems, or owns a substantial portion of the fund's shares.
When possible, Fidelity will consider how to minimize these potential adverse effects, and may take such actions as it deems appropriate to address potential adverse effects, including redemption of shares in-kind rather than in cash or carrying out the transactions over a period of time, although there can be no assurance that such actions will be successful.
Loans and Other Direct Debt Instruments. Direct debt instruments are interests in amounts owed by a corporate, governmental, or other borrower to lenders or lending syndicates (loans and loan participations), to suppliers of goods or services (trade claims or other receivables), or to other parties. Direct debt instruments involve a risk of loss in case of default or insolvency of the borrower and may offer less legal protection to the purchaser in the event of fraud or misrepresentation, or there may be a requirement that a fund supply additional cash to a borrower on demand.
Purchasers of loans and other forms of direct indebtedness depend primarily upon the creditworthiness of the borrower for payment of interest and repayment of principal. If scheduled interest or principal payments are not made, the value of the instrument may be adversely affected. Loans that are fully secured provide more protections than an unsecured loan in the event of failure to make scheduled interest or principal payments. However, there is no assurance that the liquidation of collateral from a secured loan would satisfy the borrower's obligation, or that the collateral could be liquidated. Indebtedness of borrowers whose creditworthiness is poor involves substantially greater risks and may be highly speculative. Borrowers that are in bankruptcy or restructuring may never pay off their indebtedness, or may pay only a small fraction of the amount owed. Direct indebtedness of developing countries also involves a risk that the governmental entities responsible for the repayment of the debt may be unable, or unwilling, to pay interest and repay principal when due.
Investments in loans through direct assignment of a financial institution's interests with respect to a loan may involve additional risks. For example, if a loan is foreclosed, the purchaser could become part owner of any collateral, and would bear the costs and liabilities associated with owning and disposing of the collateral. In addition, it is conceivable that under emerging legal theories of lender liability, a purchaser could be held liable as a co-lender. Direct debt instruments may also involve a risk of insolvency of the lending bank or other intermediary.
A loan is often administered by a bank or other financial institution that acts as agent for all holders. The agent administers the terms of the loan, as specified in the loan agreement. Unless, under the terms of the loan or other indebtedness, the purchaser has direct recourse against the borrower, the purchaser may have to rely on the agent to apply appropriate credit remedies against a borrower. If assets held by the agent for the benefit of a purchaser were determined to be subject to the claims of the agent's general creditors, the purchaser might incur certain costs and delays in realizing payment on the loan or loan participation and could suffer a loss of principal or interest.
Direct indebtedness may include letters of credit, revolving credit facilities, or other standby financing commitments that obligate purchasers to make additional cash payments on demand. These commitments may have the effect of requiring a purchaser to increase its investment in a borrower at a time when it would not otherwise have done so, even if the borrower's condition makes it unlikely that the amount will ever be repaid.
For a Fidelity fund that limits the amount of total assets that it will invest in any one issuer or in issuers within the same industry, the fund generally will treat the borrower as the "issuer" of indebtedness held by the fund. In the case of loan participations where a bank or other lending institution serves as financial intermediary between a fund and the borrower, if the participation does not shift to the fund the direct debtor-creditor relationship with the borrower, SEC interpretations require a fund, in appropriate circumstances, to treat both the lending bank or other lending institution and the borrower as "issuers" for these purposes. Treating a financial intermediary as an issuer of indebtedness may restrict a fund's ability to invest in indebtedness related to a single financial intermediary, or a group of intermediaries engaged in the same industry, even if the underlying borrowers represent many different companies and industries.
Lower-Quality Debt Securities. Lower-quality debt securities include all types of debt instruments that have poor protection with respect to the payment of interest and repayment of principal, or may be in default. These securities are often considered to be speculative and involve greater risk of loss or price changes due to changes in the issuer's capacity to pay. The market prices of lower-quality debt securities may fluctuate more than those of higher-quality debt securities and may decline significantly in periods of general economic difficulty, which may follow periods of rising interest rates.
The market for lower-quality debt securities may be thinner and less active than that for higher-quality debt securities, which can adversely affect the prices at which the former are sold. Adverse publicity and changing investor perceptions may affect the liquidity of lower-quality debt securities and the ability of outside pricing services to value lower-quality debt securities.
Because the risk of default is higher for lower-quality debt securities, research and credit analysis are an especially important part of managing securities of this type. Such analysis may focus on relative values based on factors such as interest or dividend coverage, asset coverage, earnings prospects, and the experience and managerial strength of the issuer, in an attempt to identify those issuers of high-yielding securities whose financial condition is adequate to meet future obligations, has improved, or is expected to improve in the future.
A fund may choose, at its expense or in conjunction with others, to pursue litigation or otherwise to exercise its rights as a security holder to seek to protect the interests of security holders if it determines this to be in the best interest of the fund's shareholders.
Mortgage Securities are issued by government and non-government entities such as banks, mortgage lenders, or other institutions. A mortgage security is an obligation of the issuer backed by a mortgage or pool of mortgages or a direct interest in an underlying pool of mortgages. Some mortgage securities, such as collateralized mortgage obligations (or "CMOs"), make payments of both principal and interest at a range of specified intervals; others make semiannual interest payments at a predetermined rate and repay principal at maturity (like a typical bond). Mortgage securities are based on different types of mortgages, including those on commercial real estate or residential properties. Stripped mortgage securities are created when the interest and principal components of a mortgage security are separated and sold as individual securities. In the case of a stripped mortgage security, the holder of the "principal-only" security (PO) receives the principal payments made by the underlying mortgage, while the holder of the "interest-only" security (IO) receives interest payments from the same underlying mortgage.
Fannie Maes and Freddie Macs are pass-through securities issued by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, respectively. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which guarantee payment of interest and repayment of principal on Fannie Maes and Freddie Macs, respectively, are federally chartered corporations supervised by the U.S. Government that act as governmental instrumentalities under authority granted by Congress. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are authorized to borrow from the U.S. Treasury to meet their obligations. Fannie Maes and Freddie Macs are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government.
The value of mortgage securities may change due to shifts in the market's perception of issuers and changes in interest rates. In addition, regulatory or tax changes may adversely affect the mortgage securities market as a whole. Non-government mortgage securities may offer higher yields than those issued by government entities, but also may be subject to greater price changes than government issues. Mortgage securities are subject to prepayment risk, which is the risk that early principal payments made on the underlying mortgages, usually in response to a reduction in interest rates, will result in the return of principal to the investor, causing it to be invested subsequently at a lower current interest rate. Alternatively, in a rising interest rate environment, mortgage security values may be adversely affected when prepayments on underlying mortgages do not occur as anticipated, resulting in the extension of the security's effective maturity and the related increase in interest rate sensitivity of a longer-term instrument. The prices of stripped mortgage securities tend to be more volatile in response to changes in interest rates than those of non-stripped mortgage securities.
A fund may seek to earn additional income by using a trading strategy (commonly known as "mortgage dollar rolls" or "reverse mortgage dollar rolls") that involves selling (or buying) mortgage securities, realizing a gain or loss, and simultaneously agreeing to purchase (or sell) mortgage securities on a later date at a set price. During the period between the sale and repurchase in a mortgage dollar roll transaction, a fund will not be entitled to receive interest and principal payments on the securities sold but will invest the proceeds of the sale in other securities that are permissible investments for the fund. During the period between the purchase and subsequent sale in a reverse mortgage dollar roll transaction, a fund is entitled to interest and principal payments on the securities purchased. Losses may arise due to changes in the value of the securities or if the counterparty does not perform under the terms of the agreement. If the counterparty files for bankruptcy or becomes insolvent, a fund's right to repurchase or sell securities may be limited. This trading strategy may increase interest rate exposure and result in an increased portfolio turnover rate which increases costs and may increase taxable gains.
Preferred Stock represents an equity or ownership interest in an issuer that pays dividends at a specified rate and that has precedence over common stock in the payment of dividends. In the event an issuer is liquidated or declares bankruptcy, the claims of owners of bonds take precedence over the claims of those who own preferred and common stock.
Real Estate Investment Trusts. Equity real estate investment trusts own real estate properties, while mortgage real estate investment trusts make construction, development, and long-term mortgage loans. Their value may be affected by changes in the value of the underlying property of the trusts, the creditworthiness of the issuer, property taxes, interest rates, and tax and regulatory requirements, such as those relating to the environment. Both types of trusts are dependent upon management skill, are not diversified, and are subject to heavy cash flow dependency, defaults by borrowers, self-liquidation, and the possibility of failing to qualify for tax-free status of income under the Internal Revenue Code and failing to maintain exemption from the 1940 Act.
Repurchase Agreements involve an agreement to purchase a security and to sell that security back to the original seller at an agreed-upon price. The resale price reflects the purchase price plus an agreed-upon incremental amount which is unrelated to the coupon rate or maturity of the purchased security. As protection against the risk that the original seller will not fulfill its obligation, the securities are held in a separate account at a bank, marked-to-market daily, and maintained at a value at least equal to the sale price plus the accrued incremental amount. The value of the security purchased may be more or less than the price at which the counterparty has agreed to purchase the security. In addition, delays or losses could result if the other party to the agreement defaults or becomes insolvent. A Fidelity fund may engage in repurchase agreement transactions with parties whose creditworthiness has been reviewed and found satisfactory by the fund's adviser.
Restricted Securities are subject to legal restrictions on their sale. Difficulty in selling securities may result in a loss or be costly to a fund. Restricted securities generally can be sold in privately negotiated transactions, pursuant to an exemption from registration under the Securities Act of 1933 (1933 Act), or in a registered public offering. Where registration is required, the holder of a registered security may be obligated to pay all or part of the registration expense and a considerable period may elapse between the time it decides to seek registration and the time it may be permitted to sell a security under an effective registration statement. If, during such a period, adverse market conditions were to develop, the holder might obtain a less favorable price than prevailed when it decided to seek registration of the security.
Reverse Repurchase Agreements. In a reverse repurchase agreement, a fund sells a security to another party, such as a bank or broker-dealer, in return for cash and agrees to repurchase that security at an agreed-upon price and time. A Fidelity fund may enter into reverse repurchase agreements with parties whose creditworthiness has been reviewed and found satisfactory by the fund's adviser. Such transactions may increase fluctuations in the market value of a fund's assets and, if applicable, a fund's yield, and may be viewed as a form of leverage.
Securities Lending. A Fidelity fund may lend securities to parties such as broker-dealers or other institutions, including an affiliate.
Securities lending allows a fund to retain ownership of the securities loaned and, at the same time, earn additional income. The borrower provides the fund with collateral in an amount at least equal to the value of the securities loaned. The fund seeks to maintain the ability to obtain the right to vote or consent on proxy proposals involving material events affecting securities loaned. If the borrower defaults on its obligation to return the securities loaned because of insolvency or other reasons, a fund could experience delays and costs in recovering the securities loaned or in gaining access to the collateral. These delays and costs could be greater for foreign securities. If a fund is not able to recover the securities loaned, the fund may sell the collateral and purchase a replacement investment in the market. The value of the collateral could decrease below the value of the replacement investment by the time the replacement investment is purchased. For a Fidelity fund, loans will be made only to parties deemed by the fund's adviser to be in good standing and when, in the adviser's judgment, the income earned would justify the risks.
Cash received as collateral through loan transactions may be invested in other eligible securities, including shares of a money market fund. Investing this cash subjects that investment, as well as the securities loaned, to market appreciation or depreciation.
Securities of Other Investment Companies, including shares of closed-end investment companies, unit investment trusts, and open-end investment companies, represent interests in professionally managed portfolios that may invest in any type of instrument. Investing in other investment companies involves substantially the same risks as investing directly in the underlying instruments, but may involve additional expenses at the investment company-level, such as portfolio management fees and operating expenses. Certain types of investment companies, such as closed-end investment companies, issue a fixed number of shares that trade on a stock exchange or over-the-counter at a premium or a discount to their NAV. Others are continuously offered at NAV, but may also be traded in the secondary market.
The extent to which a fund can invest in securities of other investment companies may be limited by federal securities laws.
Short Sales. Stocks underlying a fund's convertible security holdings can be sold short. For example, if a fund's adviser anticipates a decline in the price of the stock underlying a convertible security held by the fund, it may sell the stock short. If the stock price subsequently declines, the proceeds of the short sale could be expected to offset all or a portion of the effect of the stock's decline on the value of the convertible security. Fidelity funds that employ this strategy generally intend to hedge no more than 15% of total assets with short sales on equity securities underlying convertible security holdings under normal circumstances.
A fund will be required to set aside securities equivalent in kind and amount to those sold short (or securities convertible or exchangeable into such securities) and will be required to hold them aside while the short sale is outstanding. A fund will incur transaction costs, including interest expenses, in connection with opening, maintaining, and closing short sales.
Structured Securities (also called "structured notes") are derivative debt securities, the interest rate on or principal of which is determined by an unrelated indicator. The value of the interest rate on and/or the principal of structured securities is determined by reference to changes in the value of a reference instrument (e.g., a security or other financial instrument, asset, currency, interest rate, commodity, or index) or the relative change in two or more reference instruments. A structured security may be positively, negatively, or both positively and negatively indexed; that is, its value or interest rate may increase or decrease if the value of the reference instrument increases. Similarly, its value or interest rate may increase or decrease if the value of the reference instrument decreases. Further, the change in the principal amount payable with respect to, or the interest rate of, a structured security may be calculated as a multiple of the percentage change (positive or negative) in the value of the underlying reference instrument(s); therefore, the value of such structured security may be very volatile. Structured securities may entail a greater degree of market risk than other types of debt securities because the investor bears the risk of the reference instrument. Structured securities may also be more volatile, less liquid, and more difficult to accurately price than less complex securities or more traditional debt securities. In addition, because structured securities generally are traded over-the-counter, structured securities are subject to the creditworthiness of the counterparty of the structured security, and their values may decline substantially if the counterparty's creditworthiness deteriorates.
Temporary Defensive Policies.
Fidelity Series Real Estate Income Fund reserves the right to invest without limitation in preferred stocks and investment-grade debt instruments for temporary, defensive purposes.
Transfer Agent Bank Accounts. Proceeds from shareholder purchases of a Fidelity fund may pass through a series of demand deposit bank accounts before being held at the fund's custodian. Redemption proceeds may pass from the custodian to the shareholder through a similar series of bank accounts.
If a bank account is registered to the transfer agent or an affiliate, who acts as an agent for the fund when opening, closing, and conducting business in the bank account, the transfer agent or an affiliate may invest overnight balances in the account in repurchase agreements. Any balances that are not invested in repurchase agreements remain in the bank account overnight. Any risks associated with such an account are investment risks of the fund. The fund faces the risk of loss of these balances if the bank becomes insolvent.
Variable and Floating Rate Securities provide for periodic adjustments in the interest rate paid on the security. Variable rate securities provide for a specified periodic adjustment in the interest rate, while floating rate securities have interest rates that change whenever there is a change in a designated benchmark rate or the issuer's credit quality, sometimes subject to a cap or floor on such rate. Some variable or floating rate securities are structured with put features that permit holders to demand payment of the unpaid principal balance plus accrued interest from the issuers or certain financial intermediaries. For purposes of determining the maximum maturity of a variable or floating rate security, a fund's adviser may take into account normal settlement periods.
Warrants. Warrants are instruments which entitle the holder to buy an equity security at a specific price for a specific period of time. Changes in the value of a warrant do not necessarily correspond to changes in the value of its underlying security. The price of a warrant may be more volatile than the price of its underlying security, and a warrant may offer greater potential for capital appreciation as well as capital loss.
Warrants do not entitle a holder to dividends or voting rights with respect to the underlying security and do not represent any rights in the assets of the issuing company. A warrant ceases to have value if it is not exercised prior to its expiration date. These factors can make warrants more speculative than other types of investments.
When-Issued and Forward Purchase or Sale Transactions involve a commitment to purchase or sell specific securities at a predetermined price or yield in which payment and delivery take place after the customary settlement period for that type of security. Typically, no interest accrues to the purchaser until the security is delivered.
When purchasing securities pursuant to one of these transactions, the purchaser assumes the rights and risks of ownership, including the risks of price and yield fluctuations and the risk that the security will not be issued as anticipated. Because payment for the securities is not required until the delivery date, these risks are in addition to the risks associated with a fund's investments. If a fund remains substantially fully invested at a time when a purchase is outstanding, the purchases may result in a form of leverage. When a fund has sold a security pursuant to one of these transactions, the fund does not participate in further gains or losses with respect to the security. If the other party to a delayed-delivery transaction fails to deliver or pay for the securities, a fund could miss a favorable price or yield opportunity or suffer a loss.
A fund may renegotiate a when-issued or forward transaction and may sell the underlying securities before delivery, which may result in capital gains or losses for the fund.
Zero Coupon Bonds do not make interest payments; instead, they are sold at a discount from their face value and are redeemed at face value when they mature. Because zero coupon bonds do not pay current income, their prices can be more volatile than other types of fixed-income securities when interest rates change. In calculating a fund's dividend, a portion of the difference between a zero coupon bond's purchase price and its face value is considered income.
Orders for the purchase or sale of portfolio securities are placed on behalf of the fund by FMR pursuant to authority contained in the management contract. To the extent that FMR grants investment management authority to a sub-adviser (see the section entitled "Management Contracts"), that sub-adviser is authorized to provide the services described in the respective sub-advisory agreement, and in accordance with the policies described in this section.
FMR or a sub-adviser may be responsible for the placement of portfolio securities transactions for other investment companies and investment accounts for which it has or its affiliates have investment discretion.
The fund will not incur any commissions or sales charges when it invests in shares of open-end investment companies (including any underlying central funds), but it may incur such costs when it invests directly in other types of securities.
Purchases and sales of equity securities on a securities exchange or OTC are effected through brokers who receive compensation for their services. Generally, compensation relating to securities traded on foreign exchanges will be higher than compensation relating to securities traded on U.S. exchanges and may not be subject to negotiation. Compensation may also be paid in connection with principal transactions (in both OTC securities and securities listed on an exchange) and agency OTC transactions executed with an electronic communications network (ECN) or an alternative trading system. Equity securities may be purchased from underwriters at prices that include underwriting fees.
Purchases and sales of fixed-income securities are generally made with an issuer or a primary market-maker acting as principal. Although there is no stated brokerage commission paid by the fund for any fixed-income security, the price paid by the fund to an underwriter includes the disclosed underwriting fee and prices in secondary trades usually include an undisclosed dealer commission or markup reflecting the spread between the bid and ask prices of the fixed-income security. New issues of equity and fixed-income securities may also be purchased in underwritten fixed price offerings.
The Trustees of the fund periodically review FMR's performance of its responsibilities in connection with the placement of portfolio securities transactions on behalf of the fund. The Trustees also review the compensation paid by the fund over representative periods of time to determine if it was reasonable in relation to the benefits to the fund.
The Selection of Securities Brokers and Dealers
FMR or its affiliates generally have authority to select securities brokers (whether acting as a broker or a dealer) with which to place the fund's portfolio securities transactions. In selecting securities brokers, including affiliates of FMR, to execute the fund's portfolio securities transactions, FMR or its affiliates consider the factors they deem relevant in the context of a particular trade and in regard to FMR's or its affiliates' overall responsibilities with respect to the fund and other investment accounts, including any instructions from the fund's portfolio manager, which may emphasize, for example, speed of execution over other factors. Based on the factors considered, FMR or its affiliates may choose to execute an order using ECNs, including algorithmic trading, crossing networks, direct market access and program trading, or by actively working an order. Other possibly relevant factors may include, but are not limited to, the following: price; the size and type of the securities transaction; the reasonableness of compensation to be paid, including spreads and commission rates; the speed and certainty of trade executions, including broker willingness to commit capital; the nature and characteristics of the markets for the security to be purchased or sold, including the degree of specialization of the broker in such markets or securities; the availability of liquidity in the security, including the liquidity and depth afforded by a market center or market-maker; the reliability of a market center or broker; the broker's overall trading relationship with FMR or its affiliates; the trader's assessment of whether and how closely the broker likely will follow the trader's instructions to the broker; the degree of anonymity that a particular broker or market can provide; the potential for avoiding or lessening market impact; the execution services rendered on a continuing basis; the execution efficiency, settlement capability, and financial condition of the firm; arrangements for payment of fund expenses, if applicable; and the provision of additional brokerage and research products and services, if applicable.
The trading desks through which FMR or its affiliates may execute trades are instructed to execute portfolio transactions on behalf of the fund based on the quality of execution without any consideration of brokerage and research products and services the broker or dealer may provide. The administration of brokerage and research products and services is managed separately from the trading desks, which means that traders have no responsibility for administering soft dollar activities.
In seeking best qualitative execution for portfolio securities transactions, FMR or its affiliates may select a broker that uses a trading method, including algorithmic trading, for which the broker may charge a higher commission than its lowest available commission rate. FMR or its affiliates also may select a broker that charges more than the lowest available commission rate available from another broker. FMR or its affiliates may execute an entire securities transaction with a broker and allocate all or a portion of the transaction and/or related commissions to a second broker where a client does not permit trading with an affiliate of FMR or in other limited situations. In those situations, the commission rate paid to the second broker may be higher than the commission rate paid to the executing broker. For futures transactions, the selection of an FCM is generally based on the overall quality of execution and other services provided by the FCM. FMR or its affiliates may choose to execute futures transactions electronically.
FMR may enter into trading services agreements with its affiliates to facilitate transactions in non-United States markets. Therefore, transactions in overseas markets may be executed by FMR's affiliates.
The Acquisition of Brokerage and Research Products and Services
Brokers (who are not affiliates of FMR) that execute transactions for the fund may receive higher compensation from the fund than other brokers might have charged the fund, in recognition of the value of the brokerage or research products and services they provide to FMR or its affiliates.
Research Products and Services. These products and services may include: economic, industry, company, municipal, sovereign (U.S. and non-U.S.), legal, or political research reports; market color; company meeting facilitation; compilation of securities prices, earnings, dividends and similar data; quotation services, data, information and other services; analytical computer software and services; and investment recommendations. In addition to receiving brokerage and research products and services via written reports and computer-delivered services, such reports may also be provided by telephone and in-person meetings with securities analysts, corporate and industry spokespersons, economists, academicians and government representatives and others with relevant professional expertise. FMR or its affiliates may request that a broker provide a specific proprietary or third-party product or service. Some of these brokerage and research products and services supplement FMR's or its affiliates' own research activities in providing investment advice to the fund.
Execution Services. In addition, brokerage and research products and services may include those that assist in the execution, clearing, and settlement of securities transactions, as well as other incidental functions (including, but not limited to, communication services related to trade execution, order routing and algorithmic trading, post-trade matching, exchange of messages among brokers or dealers, custodians and institutions, and the use of electronic confirmation and affirmation of institutional trades).
Mixed-Use Products and Services. Although FMR or its affiliates do not use fund commissions to pay for products or services that do not qualify as brokerage and research products and services, they may use commission dollars to obtain certain products or services that are not used exclusively in FMR's or its affiliates' investment decision-making process (mixed-use products or services). In those circumstances, FMR or its affiliates will make a good faith judgment to evaluate the various benefits and uses to which they intend to put the mixed-use product or service, and will pay for that portion of the mixed-use product or service that does not qualify as brokerage and research products and services with their own resources (referred to as "hard dollars").
Benefit to FMR. FMR's or its affiliates' expenses likely would be increased if they attempted to generate these additional brokerage and research products and services through their own efforts, or if they paid for these brokerage and research products or services with their own resources. To minimize the potential for conflicts of interest, the trading desks through which FMR or its affiliates may execute trades are instructed to execute portfolio transactions on behalf of the fund based on the quality of execution without any consideration of brokerage and research products and services the broker or dealer may provide. The administration of brokerage and research products and services is managed separately from the trading desks, which means that traders have no responsibility for administering soft dollar activities. Furthermore, certain of the brokerage and research products and services that FMR or its affiliates receive are furnished by brokers on their own initiative, either in connection with a particular transaction or as part of their overall services. Some of these brokerage and research products or services may be provided at no additional cost to FMR or its affiliates or have no explicit cost associated with them. In addition, FMR or its affiliates may request that a broker provide a specific proprietary or third-party product or service, certain of which third-party products or services may be provided by a broker that is not a party to a particular transaction and is not connected with the transacting broker's overall services.
FMR's Decision-Making Process. In connection with the allocation of fund brokerage, FMR or its affiliates make a good faith determination that the compensation paid to brokers and dealers is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and/or research products and services provided to FMR or its affiliates, viewed in terms of the particular transaction for the fund or FMR's or its affiliates' overall responsibilities to the fund or other investment companies and investment accounts for which FMR or its affiliates have investment discretion; however, each brokerage and research product or service received in connection with the fund's brokerage may not benefit the fund. While FMR or its affiliates may take into account the brokerage and/or research products and services provided by a broker or dealer in determining whether compensation paid is reasonable, neither FMR, its affiliates, nor the fund incur an obligation to any broker, dealer, or third party to pay for any brokerage and research product or service (or portion thereof) by generating a specific amount of compensation or otherwise. Typically, these brokerage and research products and services assist FMR or its affiliates in terms of their overall investment responsibilities to the fund or any other investment companies and investment accounts for which FMR or its affiliates have investment discretion. Certain funds or investment accounts may use brokerage commissions to acquire brokerage and research products and services that may also benefit other funds or accounts managed by FMR or its affiliates.
Research Contracts. FMR or its affiliates have arrangements with certain third-party research providers and brokers through whom FMR or its affiliates effect fund trades, whereby FMR or its affiliates may pay with fund commissions or hard dollars for all or a portion of the cost of research products and services purchased from such research providers or brokers. If hard dollar payments are used, FMR or its affiliates may still cause the fund to pay more for execution than the lowest commission rate available from the broker providing research products and services to FMR or its affiliates, or that may be available from another broker. FMR or its affiliates view hard dollar payments for research products and services as likely to reduce the fund's total commission costs even though it is expected that in such hard dollar arrangements the commissions available for recapture and used to pay fund expenses, as described below, will decrease. FMR's or its affiliates' determination to pay for research products and services separately, rather than bundled with fund commissions, is wholly voluntary on FMR's or its affiliates' part and may be extended to additional brokers or discontinued with any broker participating in this arrangement.
Commission Recapture
FMR or its affiliates may allocate brokerage transactions to brokers (who are not affiliates of FMR) who have entered into arrangements with FMR or its affiliates under which the broker, using a predetermined methodology, rebates a portion of the compensation paid by a fund to offset that fund's expenses. Not all brokers with whom the fund trades have been asked to participate in brokerage commission recapture.
Affiliated Transactions
FMR or its affiliates may place trades with certain brokers, including National Financial Services LLC (NFS), with whom they are under common control, provided FMR or its affiliates determine that these affiliates' trade execution abilities and costs are comparable to those of non-affiliated, qualified brokerage firms. In addition, FMR or its affiliates may place trades with brokers that use NFS as a clearing agent.
The Trustees of the fund have approved procedures whereby the fund may purchase securities that are offered in underwritings in which an affiliate of FMR or certain other affiliates participate. In addition, for underwritings where such an affiliate participates as a principal underwriter, certain restrictions may apply that could, among other things, limit the amount of securities that the fund could purchase in the underwritings.
Non-U.S. Securities Transactions
To facilitate trade settlement and related activities in non-United States securities transactions, FMR or its affiliates may effect spot foreign currency transactions with foreign currency dealers.
Trade Allocation
Although the Trustees and officers of the fund are substantially the same as those of other funds managed by FMR or its affiliates, investment decisions for the fund are made independently from those of other funds or investment accounts (including proprietary accounts) managed by FMR or its affiliates. The same security is often held in the portfolio of more than one of these funds or investment accounts. Simultaneous transactions are inevitable when several funds and investment accounts are managed by the same investment adviser, or an affiliate thereof, particularly when the same security is suitable for the investment objective of more than one fund or investment account.
When two or more funds or investment accounts are simultaneously engaged in the purchase or sale of the same security, including a futures contract, the prices and amounts are allocated in accordance with procedures believed by FMR to be appropriate and equitable to each fund or investment account. In some cases this could have a detrimental effect on the price or value of the security as far as the fund is concerned. In other cases, however, the ability of the fund to participate in volume transactions will produce better executions and prices for the fund.
Commissions Paid
A fund may pay compensation including both commissions and spreads in connection with the placement of portfolio transactions. The amount of brokerage commissions paid by a fund may change from year to year because of, among other things, changing asset levels, shareholder activity, and/or portfolio turnover.
The class's NAV is the value of a single share. The NAV of the class is computed by adding the class's pro rata share of the value of the fund's investments, cash, and other assets, subtracting the class's pro rata share of the fund's liabilities, subtracting the liabilities allocated to the class, and dividing the result by the number of shares of that class that are outstanding.
The Board of Trustees has ultimate responsibility for pricing, but has delegated day-to-day valuation oversight responsibilities to FMR. FMR has established the FMR Fair Value Committee (FMR Committee) to fulfill these oversight responsibilities.
Shares of open-end investment companies (including any underlying central funds) held by the fund are valued at their respective NAVs.
Portfolio securities and assets held by an underlying money market central fund are valued on the basis of amortized cost. Generally, other portfolio securities and assets held by the fund, as well as portfolio securities and assets held by an underlying non-money market central fund, are valued as follows:
Most equity securities are valued at the official closing price or the last reported sale price or, if no sale has occurred, at the last quoted bid price on the primary market or exchange on which they are traded.
Debt securities and other assets for which market quotations are readily available may be valued at market values in the principal market in which they normally are traded, as furnished by recognized dealers in such securities or assets. Or, debt securities and convertible securities may be valued on the basis of information furnished by a pricing service that uses a valuation matrix which incorporates both dealer-supplied valuations and electronic data processing techniques. Use of pricing services has been approved by the Board of Trustees. A number of pricing services are available, and the fund may use various pricing services or discontinue the use of any pricing service.
Short-term securities with remaining maturities of sixty days or less for which market quotations and information furnished by a pricing service are not readily available are valued at amortized cost, which approximates current value.
Futures contracts are valued at the settlement or closing price. Options are valued at their market quotations, if available. Swaps are valued daily using quotations received from independent pricing services or recognized dealers.
Independent brokers or quotation services provide prices of foreign securities in their local currency. Fidelity Service Company, Inc. (FSC) gathers all exchange rates daily at the close of the NYSE using the last quoted bid price on the local currency and then translates the value of foreign securities from their local currencies into U.S. dollars. Any changes in the value of forward contracts due to exchange rate fluctuations and days to maturity are included in the calculation of NAV.
Other portfolio securities and assets for which market quotations, official closing prices, or information furnished by a pricing service are not readily available or, in the opinion of the FMR Committee, are deemed unreliable will be fair valued in good faith by the FMR Committee in accordance with applicable fair value pricing policies. For example, if, in the opinion of the FMR Committee, a security's value has been materially affected by events occurring before a fund's pricing time but after the close of the exchange or market on which the security is principally traded, that security will be fair valued in good faith by the FMR Committee in accordance with applicable fair value pricing policies. In fair valuing a security, the FMR Committee may consider factors including price movements in futures contracts and ADRs, market and trading trends, the bid/ask quotes of brokers, and off-exchange institutional trading.
BUYING AND SELLING INFORMATION
The fund may make redemption payments in whole or in part in readily marketable securities or other property pursuant to procedures approved by the Trustees if FMR determines it is in the best interests of the fund. Such securities or other property will be valued for this purpose as they are valued in computing the class's NAV. Shareholders that receive securities or other property will realize, upon receipt, a gain or loss for tax purposes, and will incur additional costs and be exposed to market risk prior to and upon the sale of such securities or other property.
The fund, in its discretion, may determine to issue its shares in kind in exchange for securities held by the purchaser having a value, determined in accordance with the fund's policies for valuation of portfolio securities, equal to the purchase price of the fund shares issued. The fund will accept for in-kind purchases only securities or other instruments that are appropriate under its investment objective and policies. In addition, the fund generally will not accept securities of any issuer unless they are liquid, have a readily ascertainable market value, and are not subject to restrictions on resale. All dividends, distributions, and subscription or other rights associated with the securities become the property of the fund, along with the securities. Shares purchased in exchange for securities in kind generally cannot be redeemed for fifteen days following the exchange to allow time for the transfer to settle.
DISTRIBUTIONS AND TAXES
Dividends. A portion of the fund's income may qualify for the dividends-received deduction available to corporate shareholders, but it is unlikely that all of the fund's income will qualify for the deduction. A portion of the fund's dividends, when distributed to individual shareholders, may qualify for taxation at long-term capital gains rates (provided certain holding period requirements are met).
Capital Gain Distributions. The fund's long-term capital gain distributions are federally taxable to shareholders generally as capital gains.
Returns of Capital. If the fund's distributions exceed its taxable income and capital gains realized during a taxable year, all or a portion of the distributions made in the same taxable year may be recharacterized as a return of capital to shareholders. A return of capital distribution will generally not be taxable, but will reduce each shareholder's cost basis in the fund and result in a higher reported capital gain or lower reported capital loss when those shares on which the distribution was received are sold.
Foreign Tax Credit or Deduction. Foreign governments may impose withholding taxes on dividends and interest earned by the fund with respect to foreign securities held directly by the fund. Foreign governments may also impose taxes on other payments or gains with respect to foreign securities held directly by the fund. Because the fund does not currently anticipate that securities of foreign issuers or underlying regulated investment companies will constitute more than 50% of its total assets at the end of its fiscal year, or fiscal quarter, respectively, shareholders should not expect to be eligible to claim a foreign tax credit or deduction on their federal income tax returns with respect to foreign taxes withheld.
Tax Status of the Fund. The fund intends to qualify each year as a "regulated investment company" under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code so that it will not be liable for federal tax on income and capital gains distributed to shareholders. In order to qualify as a regulated investment company, and avoid being subject to federal income or excise taxes at the fund level, the fund intends to distribute substantially all of its net investment income and net realized capital gains within each calendar year as well as on a fiscal year basis (if the fiscal year is other than the calendar year), and intends to comply with other tax rules applicable to regulated investment companies.
Other Tax Information. The information above is only a summary of some of the tax consequences generally affecting the fund and its shareholders, and no attempt has been made to discuss individual tax consequences. It is up to you or your tax preparer to determine whether the sale of shares of the fund resulted in a capital gain or loss or other tax consequence to you. In addition to federal income taxes, shareholders may be subject to state and local taxes on fund distributions, and shares may be subject to state and local personal property taxes. Investors should consult their tax advisers to determine whether the fund is suitable to their particular tax situation.
The Trustees, Members of the Advisory Board, and executive officers of the trust and fund, as applicable, are listed below. The Board of Trustees governs the fund and is responsible for protecting the interests of shareholders. The Trustees are experienced executives who meet periodically throughout the year to oversee the fund's activities, review contractual arrangements with companies that provide services to the fund, oversee management of the risks associated with such activities and contractual arrangements, and review the fund's performance. Except for James C. Curvey, each of the Trustees oversees 221 funds advised by FMR or an affiliate. Mr. Curvey oversees 424 funds advised by FMR or an affiliate.
The Trustees hold office without limit in time except that (a) any Trustee may resign; (b) any Trustee may be removed by written instrument, signed by at least two-thirds of the number of Trustees prior to such removal; (c) any Trustee who requests to be retired or who has become incapacitated by illness or injury may be retired by written instrument signed by a majority of the other Trustees; and (d) any Trustee may be removed at any special meeting of shareholders by a two-thirds vote of the outstanding voting securities of the trust. Each Trustee who is not an interested person (as defined in the 1940 Act) (Independent Trustee), shall retire not later than the last day of the calendar year in which his or her 75th birthday occurs. The Independent Trustees may waive this mandatory retirement age policy with respect to individual Trustees. The executive officers and Advisory Board Members hold office without limit in time, except that any officer and Advisory Board Member may resign or may be removed by a vote of a majority of the Trustees at any regular meeting or any special meeting of the Trustees. Except as indicated, each individual has held the office shown or other offices in the same company for the past five years.
Experience, Skills, Attributes, and Qualifications of the Fund's Trustees. The Governance and Nominating Committee has adopted a statement of policy that describes the experience, qualifications, attributes, and skills that are necessary and desirable for potential Independent Trustee candidates (Statement of Policy). The Board believes that each Trustee satisfied at the time he or she was initially elected or appointed a Trustee, and continues to satisfy, the standards contemplated by the Statement of Policy. The Governance and Nominating Committee also engages professional search firms to help identify potential Independent Trustee candidates who have the experience, qualifications, attributes, and skills consistent with the Statement of Policy. From time to time, additional criteria based on the composition and skills of the current Independent Trustees, as well as experience or skills that may be appropriate in light of future changes to board composition, business conditions, and regulatory or other developments, have also been considered by the professional search firms and the Governance and Nominating Committee. In addition, the Board takes into account the Trustees' commitment and participation in Board and committee meetings, as well as their leadership of standing and ad hoc committees throughout their tenure.
In determining that a particular Trustee was and continues to be qualified to serve as a Trustee, the Board has considered a variety of criteria, none of which, in isolation, was controlling. The Board believes that, collectively, the Trustees have balanced and diverse experience, qualifications, attributes, and skills, which allow the Board to operate effectively in governing the fund and protecting the interests of shareholders. Information about the specific experience, skills, attributes, and qualifications of each Trustee, which in each case led to the Board's conclusion that the Trustee should serve (or continue to serve) as a trustee of the fund, is provided below.
Board Structure and Oversight Function. James C. Curvey is an interested person (as defined in the 1940 Act) and currently serves as Acting Chairman. The Trustees have determined that an interested Chairman is appropriate and benefits shareholders because an interested Chairman has a personal and professional stake in the quality and continuity of services provided to the fund. Independent Trustees exercise their informed business judgment to appoint an individual of their choosing to serve as Chairman, regardless of whether the Trustee happens to be independent or a member of management. The Independent Trustees have determined that they can act independently and effectively without having an Independent Trustee serve as Chairman and that a key structural component for assuring that they are in a position to do so is for the Independent Trustees to constitute a substantial majority for the Board. The Independent Trustees also regularly meet in executive session. Ned C. Lautenbach serves as Chairman of the Independent Trustees and as such (i) acts as a liaison between the Independent Trustees and management with respect to matters important to the Independent Trustees and (ii) with management prepares agendas for Board meetings.
Fidelity funds are overseen by different Boards of Trustees. The fund's Board oversees Fidelity's equity and high income funds and another Board oversees Fidelity's investment-grade bond, money market, and asset allocation funds. The asset allocation funds may invest in Fidelity funds overseen by the fund's Board. The use of separate Boards, each with its own committee structure, allows the Trustees of each group of Fidelity funds to focus on the unique issues of the funds they oversee, including common research, investment, and operational issues. On occasion, the separate Boards establish joint committees to address issues of overlapping consequences for the Fidelity funds overseen by each Board.
The Trustees operate using a system of committees to facilitate the timely and efficient consideration of all matters of importance to the Trustees, the fund, and fund shareholders and to facilitate compliance with legal and regulatory requirements and oversight of the fund's activities and associated risks. The Board, acting through its committees, has charged FMR and its affiliates with (i) identifying events or circumstances the occurrence of which could have demonstrably adverse effects on the fund's business and/or reputation; (ii) implementing processes and controls to lessen the possibility that such events or circumstances occur or to mitigate the effects of such events or circumstances if they do occur; and (iii) creating and maintaining a system designed to evaluate continuously business and market conditions in order to facilitate the identification and implementation processes described in (i) and (ii) above. Because the day-to-day operations and activities of the fund are carried out by or through FMR, its affiliates and other service providers, the fund's exposure to risks is mitigated but not eliminated by the processes overseen by the Trustees. While each of the Board's committees has responsibility for overseeing different aspects of the fund's activities, oversight is exercised primarily through the Operations, Audit, and Compliance Committees. Appropriate personnel, including but not limited to the fund's Chief Compliance Officer (CCO), FMR's internal auditor, the independent accountants, the fund's Treasurer and portfolio management personnel, make periodic reports to the Board's committees, as appropriate. The responsibilities of each committee, including their oversight responsibilities, are described further under "Standing Committees of the Fund's Trustees."
Interested Trustees*:
Correspondence intended for each Trustee who is an interested person may be sent to Fidelity Investments, 82 Devonshire Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02109.
Name, Age; Principal Occupations and Other Relevant Experience+ |
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James C. Curvey (76) |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2007 Mr. Curvey is Trustee and Acting Chairman of the Board of Trustees of certain Trusts. Mr. Curvey also serves as Trustee (2007-present) of other investment companies advised by FMR. Mr. Curvey is a Director of Fidelity Investments Money Management, Inc. (2009-present), Director of Fidelity Research & Analysis Co. (2009-present) and Director of FMR and FMR Co., Inc. (2007-present). Mr. Curvey is also Vice Chairman (2007-present) and Director of FMR LLC. In addition, Mr. Curvey serves as an Overseer for the Boston Symphony Orchestra and a member of the Trustees of Villanova University. Previously, Mr. Curvey was the Vice Chairman (2006-2007) and Director (2000-2007) of FMR Corp. |
Ronald P. O'Hanley (54) |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2011 Mr. O'Hanley is Director of FMR Co., Inc. (2010-present), Director of Fidelity Investments Money Management, Inc. (2010-present), Director of Fidelity Research & Analysis Company (2010-present), President of Fidelity Asset Management and Corporate Services and a member of Fidelity's Executive Committee (2010-present). Previously, Mr. O'Hanley served as President and Chief Executive Officer of BNY Mellon Asset Management (2007-2010). Mr. O'Hanley also served as Vice Chairman of Bank New York Mellon Corp. and a member of that firm's Executive Committee. Prior to the 2007 merger of The Bank of New York and Mellon Financial Corporation, he was Vice Chairman of Mellon Financial Corporation and President and Chief Executive Officer of Mellon Asset Management. He joined Mellon in February 1997. Mr. O'Hanley currently serves as Chairman of the Boston Public Library Foundation Board of Directors and sits on the Board of Directors of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, the Board of Trustees of the Marine Biological Laboratory and the Advisory Board of the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Administration at Syracuse University. Mr. O'Hanley also chairs the Council on Asset Management for the Financial Services Roundtable and is a member of the Board of Directors of Institutional Investor's U.S. Institute. |
* Trustees have been determined to be "Interested Trustees" by virtue of, among other things, their affiliation with the trust or various entities under common control with FMR.
+ The information above includes each Trustee's principal occupation during the last five years and other information relating to the experience, attributes, and skills relevant to each Trustee's qualifications to serve as a Trustee, which led to the conclusion that each Trustee should serve as a Trustee for the fund.
Independent Trustees:
Correspondence intended for each Independent Trustee (that is, the Trustees other than the Interested Trustees) may be sent to Fidelity Investments, P.O. Box 55235, Boston, Massachusetts 02205-5235.
Name, Age; Principal Occupations and Other Relevant Experience+ |
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Dennis J. Dirks (63) |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2005 Prior to his retirement in May 2003, Mr. Dirks was Chief Operating Officer and a member of the Board of The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC). He also served as President, Chief Operating Officer, and Board member of The Depository Trust Company (DTC) and President and Board member of the National Securities Clearing Corporation (NSCC). In addition, Mr. Dirks served as Chief Executive Officer and Board member of the Government Securities Clearing Corporation, Chief Executive Officer and Board member of the Mortgage-Backed Securities Clearing Corporation, as a Trustee and a member of the Finance Committee of Manhattan College (2005-2008), and as a Trustee and a member of the Finance Committee of AHRC of Nassau County (2006-2008). Mr. Dirks is a member of the Independent Directors Council (IDC) Governing Council (2010-Present) and Board of Directors for The Brookville Center for Children's Services, Inc. (2009-present). |
Alan J. Lacy (57) |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2008 Mr. Lacy serves as Senior Adviser (2007-present) of Oak Hill Capital Partners, L.P. (private equity). Mr. Lacy also served as Chief Executive Officer (2000-2005) and Vice Chairman (2005-2006) of Sears Holdings Corporation and Sears, Roebuck and Co. (retail). In addition, Mr. Lacy serves as a member of the Board of Directors of Dave & Buster's, Inc. (restaurant and entertainment complexes, 2010-present), The Hillman Companies, Inc. (hardware wholesalers, 2010-present), and Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (global pharmaceuticals, 2007-present). Mr. Lacy is a member of the Board of Trustees of The National Parks Conservation Association (2006-Present). Previously, Mr. Lacy served as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the National Parks Conservation Association (2008-2011) and as a member of the Board of Directors for the Western Union Company (global money transfer, 2006-2011). |
Ned C. Lautenbach (67) |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2000 Mr. Lautenbach is Chairman of the Independent Trustees of the Equity and High Income Funds (2006-present). Mr. Lautenbach currently serves as the Lead Director of the Eaton Corporation Board of Directors (diversified industrial, 1997-present). Mr. Lautenbach is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Philharmonic Center for the Arts in Naples, Florida (1999-present); a member of the Board of Trustees of Fairfield University (2005-present); and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations (1994-present). Previously, Mr. Lautenbach was a Partner/Advisory Partner at Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, LLC (private equity investment, 1998-2010), as well as a Director of Sony Corporation (2006-2007). |
Joseph Mauriello (67) |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2008 Prior to his retirement in January 2006, Mr. Mauriello served in numerous senior management positions including Deputy Chairman and Chief Operating Officer (2004-2005), and Vice Chairman of Financial Services (2002-2004) of KPMG LLP US (professional services, 1965-2005). Mr. Mauriello currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors of XL Group plc. (global insurance and re-insurance, 2006-present) and of Arcadia Resources Inc. (health care services and products, 2007-present). Previously, Mr. Mauriello served as a Director of the Hamilton Funds of the Bank of New York (2006-2007). |
Robert W. Selander (61) |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2011 Previously, Mr. Selander served as a Member of the Advisory Board of Fidelity's Equity and High Income Funds (2011), Executive Vice Chairman (2010), Chief Executive Officer (2009-2010), and President and Chief Executive Officer (1997-2009) of Mastercard, Inc. |
Cornelia M. Small (67) |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2005 Ms. Small is a member of the Board of Directors of the Teagle Foundation (2009-present). Ms. Small is also a member of the Investment Committee, and Chair (2008-present) and a member of the Board of Trustees of Smith College. In addition, Ms. Small serves on the Investment Committee of the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation (2008-present). Previously, Ms. Small served as Chairperson of the Investment Committee (2002-2008) of Smith College. In addition, Ms. Small served as Chief Investment Officer, Director of Global Equity Investments, and a member of the Board of Directors of Scudder, Stevens & Clark and Scudder Kemper Investments. |
William S. Stavropoulos (72) |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2001 Mr. Stavropoulos is Vice Chairman of the Independent Trustees of the Equity and High Income Funds (2006-present). Mr. Stavropoulos serves as President and Founder of the Michigan Baseball Foundation, the Great Lakes Loons (2007-present). Mr. Stavropoulos is Chairman Emeritus of the Board of Directors of The Dow Chemical Company, where he previously served in numerous senior management positions, including President, CEO (1995-2000; 2002-2004), Chairman of the Executive Committee (2000-2006), and as a member of the Board of Directors (1990-2006). Currently, Mr. Stavropoulos is Chairman of Univar (global distributor of commodity and specialty chemicals, 2010-present), a Director of Teradata Corporation (data warehousing and technology solutions, 2008-present), Chemical Financial Corporation, Maersk Inc. (industrial conglomerate), Tyco International, Inc. (multinational manufacturing and services, 2007-present), and a member of the Advisory Board for Metalmark Capital (private equity investment, 2005-present). Mr. Stavropoulos is a special advisor to Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, LLC (private equity investment). In addition, Mr. Stavropoulos is a member of the University of Notre Dame Advisory Council for the College of Science. |
David M. Thomas (62) |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2008 Previously, Mr. Thomas served as Executive Chairman (2005-2006) and Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (2000-2005) of IMS Health, Inc. (pharmaceutical and healthcare information solutions). In addition, Mr. Thomas serves as a member of the Board of Directors of Fortune Brands, Inc. (consumer products), and Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (marketing communication, 2004-present). |
Michael E. Wiley (61) |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2008 Mr. Wiley also serves as a Director of Asia Pacific Exploration Consolidated (international oil and gas exploration and production, 2008-present). Mr. Wiley serves as a Director of Tesoro Corporation (independent oil refiner and marketer, 2005-present), and a Director of Bill Barrett Corporation (exploration and production, 2005-present). In addition, Mr. Wiley also serves as a Director of Post Oak Bank (privately-held bank, 2004-present). Previously, Mr. Wiley served as a member of the Board of Trustees of the University of Tulsa (2000-2006; 2007-2010), as a Senior Energy Advisor of Katzenbach Partners, LLC (consulting, 2006-2007), as an Advisory Director of Riverstone Holdings (private investment), Chairman, President, and CEO of Baker Hughes, Inc. (oilfield services, 2000-2004), and as Director of Spinnaker Exploration Company (exploration and production, 2001-2005). |
+ The information above includes each Trustee's principal occupation during the last five years and other information relating to the experience, attributes, and skills relevant to each Trustee's qualifications to serve as a Trustee, which led to the conclusion that each Trustee should serve as a Trustee for the fund.
Advisory Board Members and Executive Officers:
Correspondence intended for each executive officer, Edward C. Johnson 3d, and Peter S. Lynch may be sent to Fidelity Investments, 82 Devonshire Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02109.
Name, Age; Principal Occupation |
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Edward C. Johnson 3d (81) |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2011 Member of the Advisory Board of Fidelity's Equity and High Income Funds. Mr. Johnson serves as Chief Executive Officer, Chairman, and a Director of FMR LLC, and also serves as Chairman and Director of FIL Limited. Previously, Mr. Johnson served as a Trustee and Chairman of the Board of certain Fidelity Trusts, Chairman and a Director of FMR, Chairman and a Director of FMR Co., Inc., and President of FMR LLC (2006-2007). |
Peter S. Lynch (67) |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2003 Member of the Advisory Board of Fidelity's Equity and High Income Funds. Mr. Lynch is Vice Chairman and a Director of FMR and FMR Co., Inc. In addition, Mr. Lynch serves as a Trustee of Boston College and as the Chairman of the Inner-City Scholarship Fund. Previously, Mr. Lynch served on the Special Olympics International Board of Directors (1997-2006). |
Kenneth B. Robins (42) |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2008 President and Treasurer of Fidelity's Equity and High Income Funds. Mr. Robins also serves as President and Treasurer (2010-present) and Assistant Treasurer (2009-present) of other Fidelity funds and is an employee of Fidelity Investments (2004-present). Previously, Mr. Robins served as Deputy Treasurer of the Fidelity funds (2005-2008) and Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer of The North Carolina Capital Management Trust: Cash and Term Portfolios (2006-2008). |
Bruce T. Herring (46) |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2006 Vice President of certain Equity Funds. Mr. Herring also serves as Chief Investment Officer and Director of Fidelity Management & Research (U.K.) Inc. (2010-present) and Group Chief Investments Officer of FMR. Previously, Mr. Herring served as Vice President (2005-2006) and Senior Vice President (2006-2007) of Fidelity Management & Research Company, Vice President of FMR Co., Inc. (2001-2007) and as a portfolio manager for Fidelity U.S. Equity Funds. |
Brian B. Hogan (47) |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2009 Vice President of Equity and High Income Funds. Mr. Hogan also serves as President of FMR's Equity Division (2009-present). Previously, Mr. Hogan served as Senior Vice President, Equity Research of FMR (2006-2009) and as a portfolio manager. |
Scott C. Goebel (43) |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2008 Secretary and Chief Legal Officer (CLO) of the Fidelity funds. Mr. Goebel also serves as Secretary of Fidelity Investments Money Management, Inc. (FIMM) (2010-present) and Fidelity Research and Analysis Company (FRAC) (2010-present); Secretary and CLO of The North Carolina Capital Management Trust: Cash and Term Portfolios (2008-present); General Counsel, Secretary, and Senior Vice President of FMR (2008-present) and FMR Co., Inc. (2008-present); employed by FMR LLC or an affiliate (2001-present); Chief Legal Officer of Fidelity Management & Research (Hong Kong) Limited (2008-present) and Assistant Secretary of Fidelity Management & Research (Japan) Inc. (2008-present), and Fidelity Management & Research (U.K.) Inc. (2008-present). Previously, Mr. Goebel served as Assistant Secretary of FIMM (2008-2010), FRAC (2008-2010), and the Funds (2007-2008) and as Vice President and Secretary of Fidelity Distributors Corporation (FDC) (2005-2007). |
William C. Coffey (42) |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2009 Assistant Secretary of Fidelity's Equity and High Income Funds. Mr. Coffey also serves as Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel of FMR LLC (2010-present), and is an employee of Fidelity Investments. Previously, Mr. Coffey served as Vice President and Associate General Counsel of FMR LLC (2005-2009). |
Holly C. Laurent (57) |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2008 Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Officer of the Fidelity funds. Ms. Laurent also serves as AML Officer of The North Carolina Capital Management Trust: Cash and Term Portfolios (2008-present) and is an employee of Fidelity Investments. Previously, Ms. Laurent was Senior Vice President and Head of Legal for Fidelity Business Services India Pvt. Ltd. (2006-2008), and Senior Vice President, Deputy General Counsel and Group Head for FMR LLC (2005-2006). |
Christine Reynolds (53) |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2008 Chief Financial Officer of the Fidelity funds. Ms. Reynolds became President of Fidelity Pricing and Cash Management Services (FPCMS) in August 2008. Ms. Reynolds served as Chief Operating Officer of FPCMS (2007-2008). Previously, Ms. Reynolds served as President, Treasurer, and Anti-Money Laundering officer of the Fidelity funds (2004-2007). |
Kenneth A. Rathgeber (64) |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2004 Chief Compliance Officer of Fidelity's Equity and High Income Funds. Mr. Rathgeber is Chief Compliance Officer of Fidelity Management & Research (Hong Kong) Limited (2008-present), Fidelity Management & Research (Japan) Inc. (2008-present), FMR (2005-present), FMR Co., Inc. (2005-present), Fidelity Management & Research (U.K.) Inc. (2005-present), Fidelity Research & Analysis Company (2005-present), Fidelity Investments Money Management, Inc. (2005-present), Pyramis Global Advisors, LLC (2005-present), and Strategic Advisers, Inc. (2005-present). |
Jeffrey S. Christian (49) |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2009 Deputy Treasurer of the Fidelity funds. Mr. Christian is an employee of Fidelity Investments. Previously, Mr. Christian served as Chief Financial Officer (2008-2009) of certain Fidelity funds and Senior Vice President of Fidelity Pricing and Cash Management Services (FPCMS) (2004-2009). |
Bryan A. Mehrmann (50) |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2005 Deputy Treasurer of the Fidelity funds. Mr. Mehrmann is an employee of Fidelity Investments. |
Adrien E. Deberghes (44) |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2008 Deputy Treasurer of Fidelity's Equity and High Income Funds. Mr. Deberghes also serves as Vice President and Assistant Treasurer of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II and Fidelity Commonwealth Trust II (2011-present), Assistant Treasurer of other Fidelity funds (2010-present), and is an employee of Fidelity Investments (2008-present). Previously, Mr. Deberghes served as Senior Vice President of Mutual Fund Administration at State Street Corporation (2007-2008), Senior Director of Mutual Fund Administration at Investors Bank & Trust (2005-2007), and Director of Finance for Dunkin' Brands (2000-2005). |
Stephanie J. Dorsey (42) |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2010 Assistant Treasurer of Fidelity's Equity and High Income Funds. Ms. Dorsey also serves as Deputy Treasurer of other Fidelity funds (2008-present) and is an employee of Fidelity Investments (2008-present). Previously, Ms. Dorsey served as Treasurer (2004-2008) of the JPMorgan Mutual Funds and Vice President (2004-2008) of JPMorgan Chase Bank. |
John R. Hebble (53) |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2009 Assistant Treasurer of Fidelity's Equity and High Income Funds. Mr. Hebble also serves as President (2011-present), Treasurer, and Chief Financial Officer of The North Carolina Capital Management Trust: Cash and Term Portfolios (2008-present), President and Treasurer of other Fidelity funds (2008-present) and is an employee of Fidelity Investments. |
Gary W. Ryan (53) |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2005 Assistant Treasurer of the Fidelity funds. Mr. Ryan is an employee of Fidelity Investments. Previously, Mr. Ryan served as Vice President of Fund Reporting in Fidelity Pricing and Cash Management Services (FPCMS) (1999-2005). |
Jonathan Davis (43) |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2010 Assistant Treasurer of the Fidelity funds. Mr. Davis is also Assistant Treasurer of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II and Fidelity Commonwealth Trust II. Mr. Davis is an employee of Fidelity Investments. Previously, Mr. Davis served as Vice President and Associate General Counsel of FMR LLC (2003-2010). |
Standing Committees of the Fund's Trustees. The Board of Trustees has established various committees to support the Independent Trustees in acting independently in pursuing the best interests of the funds and their shareholders. Currently, the Board of Trustees has 10 standing committees. The members of each committee are Independent Trustees.
The Operations Committee is composed of all of the Independent Trustees, with Mr. Lautenbach currently serving as Chair and Mr. Stavropoulos serving as Vice Chair. The committee normally meets eight times a year, or more frequently as called by the Chair, and serves as a forum for consideration of issues of importance to, or calling for particular determinations by, the Independent Trustees. The committee also considers matters involving potential conflicts of interest between the funds and FMR and its affiliates and reviews proposed contracts and the proposed continuation of contracts between the funds and FMR and its affiliates, and annually reviews and makes recommendations regarding contracts with third parties unaffiliated with FMR, including insurance coverage and custody agreements. The committee also monitors additional issues including the nature, levels and quality of services provided to shareholders and significant litigation. The committee also has oversight of compliance issues not specifically within the scope of any other committee. The committee is also responsible for definitive action on all compliance matters involving the potential for significant reimbursement by FMR. During the 12-month period ended August 31, 2011, the committee held 15 meetings.
The Fair Value Oversight Committee is composed of all of the Independent Trustees, with Mr. Lautenbach currently serving as Chair. The committee normally meets quarterly, or more frequently as called by the Chair. The Fair Value Oversight Committee monitors and establishes policies concerning procedures and controls regarding the valuation of fund investments and monitors matters of disclosure to the extent required to fulfill its statutory responsibilities. The committee also reviews actions taken by FMR's Fair Value Committee. During the 12-month period ended August 31, 2011, the committee held three meetings.
The Board of Trustees has established two Fund Oversight Committees: the Equity I Committee (composed of Ms. Small (Chair), and Messrs. Dirks, Lacy, and Wiley) and the Equity II Committee (composed of Messrs. Stavropoulos (Chair), Lautenbach, Mauriello, and Thomas). Each committee normally meets in conjunction with in-person meetings of the Board of Trustees, or more frequently as called by the Chair of the respective committee. Each committee develops an understanding of and reviews the investment objectives, policies, and practices of each fund under its oversight. Each committee also monitors investment performance, compliance by each relevant fund with its investment policies and restrictions and reviews appropriate benchmarks, competitive universes, unusual or exceptional investment matters, the personnel and other resources devoted to the management of each fund and all other matters bearing on each fund's investment results. Each committee will review and recommend any required action to the Board in respect of specific funds, including new funds, changes in fundamental and non-fundamental investment policies and restrictions, partial or full closing to new investors, fund mergers, fund name changes, and liquidations of funds. The members of each committee may organize working groups to make recommendations concerning issues related to funds that are within the scope of the committee's review. These working groups report to the committee or to the Independent Trustees, or both, as appropriate. Each working group may request from FMR such information from FMR as may be appropriate to the working group's deliberations. During the 12-month period ended August 31, 2011, each Fund Oversight Committee held 15 meetings.
The Shareholder, Distribution and Brokerage Committee is composed of Messrs. Dirks (Chair), Stavropoulos, and Thomas, and Ms. Small. Mr. Lautenbach alternates his attendance of committee meetings with his attendance of Audit Committee meetings. The committee normally meets eight times a year, or more frequently as called by the Chair. Regarding shareholder services, the committee considers the structure and amount of the funds' transfer agency fees and fees, including direct fees to investors (other than sales loads), such as bookkeeping and custodial fees, and the nature and quality of services rendered by FMR and its affiliates or third parties (such as custodians) in consideration of these fees. The committee also considers other non-investment management services rendered to the funds by FMR and its affiliates, including pricing and bookkeeping services. The committee monitors and recommends policies concerning the securities transactions of the funds, including brokerage. The committee periodically reviews the policies and practices with respect to efforts to achieve best execution, commissions paid to firms supplying research and brokerage services or paying fund expenses, and policies and procedures designed to assure that any allocation of portfolio transactions is not influenced by the sale of fund shares. The committee also monitors brokerage and other similar relationships between the funds and firms affiliated with FMR that participate in the execution of securities transactions. Regarding the distribution of fund shares, the committee considers issues bearing on the various distribution channels employed by the funds, including issues regarding Rule 18f-3 plans and related consideration of classes of shares, sales load structures (including breakpoints), load waivers, selling concessions and service charges paid to intermediaries, Rule 12b-1 plans, contingent deferred sales charges, and finder's fees, and other means by which intermediaries are compensated for selling fund shares or providing shareholder servicing, including revenue sharing. The committee also considers issues bearing on the preparation and use of advertisements and sales literature for the funds, policies and procedures regarding frequent purchase of fund shares, and selective disclosure of portfolio holdings. During the 12-month period ended August 31, 2011, the Shareholder, Distribution and Brokerage Committee held seven meetings.
The Audit Committee is composed of Messrs. Mauriello (Chair), Lacy, and Wiley. Mr. Lautenbach alternates his attendance of committee meetings with his attendance of Shareholder, Distribution, and Brokerage Committee meetings. All committee members must be able to read and understand fundamental financial statements, including a company's balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow statement. At least one committee member will be an "audit committee financial expert" as defined by the SEC. The committee will have at least one committee member in common with the Compliance Committee. The committee normally meets four times a year, or more frequently as called by the Chair. The committee meets separately at least annually with the funds' Treasurer, with the funds' Chief Financial Officer (CFO), with personnel responsible for the internal audit function of FMR LLC, and with the funds' outside auditors. The committee has direct responsibility for the appointment, compensation, and oversight of the work of the outside auditors employed by the funds. The committee assists the Trustees in overseeing and monitoring: (i) the systems of internal accounting and financial controls of the funds and the funds' service providers, (to the extent such controls impact the funds' financial statements); (ii) the funds' auditors and the annual audits of the funds' financial statements; (iii) the financial reporting processes of the funds; (iv) whistleblower reports; and (v) the accounting policies and disclosures of the funds. The committee considers and acts upon (i) the provision by any outside auditor of any non-audit services for any fund, and (ii) the provision by any outside auditor of certain non-audit services to fund service providers and their affiliates to the extent that such approval (in the case of this clause (ii)) is required under applicable regulations of the SEC. In furtherance of the foregoing, the committee has adopted (and may from time to time amend or supplement) and provides oversight of policies and procedures for non-audit engagements by outside auditors of the funds. It is responsible for approving all audit engagement fees and terms for the funds and for resolving disagreements between a fund and any outside auditor regarding any fund's financial reporting. Auditors of the funds report directly to the committee. The committee will obtain assurance of independence and objectivity from the outside auditors, including a formal written statement delineating all relationships between the auditor and the funds and any service providers consistent with the rules of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board. The committee will receive reports of compliance with provisions of the Auditor Independence Regulations relating to the hiring of employees or former employees of the outside auditors. It oversees and receives reports on the funds' service providers' internal controls and reviews the adequacy and effectiveness of the service providers' accounting and financial controls, including: (i) any significant deficiencies or material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal controls over financial reporting that are reasonably likely to adversely affect the funds' ability to record, process, summarize, and report financial data; (ii) any change in the fund's internal control over financial reporting that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the fund's internal control over financial reporting; and (iii) any fraud, whether material or not, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the funds' or service providers internal controls over financial reporting. The committee will also review any correspondence with regulators or governmental agencies or published reports that raise material issues regarding the funds' financial statements or accounting policies. These matters may also be reviewed by the Compliance Committee or the Operations Committee. The Chair of the Audit Committee will coordinate with the Chair of the Compliance Committee, as appropriate. The committee reviews at least annually a report from each outside auditor describing any material issues raised by the most recent internal quality control, peer review, or Public Company Accounting Oversight Board examination of the auditing firm and any material issues raised by any inquiry or investigation by governmental or professional authorities of the auditing firm and in each case any steps taken to deal with such issues. The committee will oversee and receive reports on the funds' financial reporting process, will discuss with FMR, the funds' Treasurer, outside auditors and, if appropriate, internal audit personnel of FMR LLC, their qualitative judgments about the appropriateness and acceptability of accounting principles and financial disclosure practices used or proposed for adoption by the funds. The committee will review with FMR, the funds' Treasurer, outside auditor, and internal audit personnel of FMR LLC and, as appropriate, legal counsel the results of audits of the funds' financial statements. The committee will review periodically the funds' major internal controls exposures and the steps that have been taken to monitor and control such exposures. During the 12-month period ended August 31, 2011, the committee held six meetings.
The Governance and Nominating Committee is composed of Messrs. Lautenbach (Chair) and Stavropoulos. The committee meets as called by the Chair. With respect to fund governance and board administration matters, the committee periodically reviews procedures of the Board of Trustees and its committees (including committee charters) and periodically reviews compensation of Independent Trustees. The committee monitors corporate governance matters and makes recommendations to the Board of Trustees on the frequency and structure of the Board of Trustee meetings and on any other aspect of Board procedures. It acts as the administrative committee under the retirement plan for Independent Trustees who retired prior to December 30, 1996 and under the fee deferral plan for Independent Trustees. It reviews the performance of legal counsel employed by the funds and the Independent Trustees. On behalf of the Independent Trustees, the committee will make such findings and determinations as to the independence of counsel for the Independent Trustees as may be necessary or appropriate under applicable regulations or otherwise. The committee is also responsible for Board administrative matters applicable to Independent Trustees, such as expense reimbursement policies and compensation for attendance at meetings, conferences and other events. The committee monitors compliance with, acts as the administrator of, and makes determinations in respect of, the provisions of the code of ethics and any supplemental policies regarding personal securities transactions applicable to the Independent Trustees. The committee monitors the functioning of each Board committee and makes recommendations for any changes, including the creation or elimination of standing or ad hoc Board committees. The committee monitors regulatory and other developments to determine whether to recommend modifications to the committee's responsibilities or other Trustee policies and procedures in light of rule changes, reports concerning "best practices" in corporate governance and other developments in mutual fund governance. The committee meets with Independent Trustees at least once a year to discuss matters relating to fund governance. The committee recommends that the Board establish such special or ad hoc Board committees as may be desirable or necessary from time to time in order to address ethical, legal, or other matters that may arise. The committee also oversees the annual self-evaluation of the Board of Trustees and establishes procedures to allow it to exercise this oversight function. In conducting this oversight, the committee shall address all matters that it considers relevant to the performance of the Board of Trustees and shall report the results of its evaluation to the Board of Trustees, including any recommended amendments to the principles of governance, and any recommended changes to the funds' or the Board of Trustees' policies, procedures, and structures. The committee reviews periodically the size and composition of the Board of Trustees as a whole and recommends, if necessary, measures to be taken so that the Board of Trustees reflects the appropriate balance of knowledge, experience, skills, expertise, and diversity required for the Board as a whole and contains at least the minimum number of Independent Trustees required by law. The committee makes nominations for the election or appointment of Independent Trustees and non-management Members of any Advisory Board, and for membership on committees. The committee shall have authority to retain and terminate any third-party advisers, including authority to approve fees and other retention terms. Such advisers may include search firms to identify Independent Trustee candidates and board compensation consultants. The committee may conduct or authorize investigations into or studies of matters within the committee's scope of responsibilities, and may retain, at the funds' expense, such independent counsel or other advisers as it deems necessary. The committee will consider nominees to the Board of Trustees recommended by shareholders based upon the criteria applied to candidates presented to the committee by a search firm or other source. Recommendations, along with appropriate background material concerning the candidate that demonstrates his or her ability to serve as an Independent Trustee of the funds, should be submitted to the Chair of the committee at the address maintained for communications with Independent Trustees. If the committee retains a search firm, the Chair will generally forward all such submissions to the search firm for evaluation. With respect to the criteria for selecting Independent Trustees, it is expected that all candidates will possess the following minimum qualifications: (i) unquestioned personal integrity; (ii) not an interested person of FMR or its affiliates within the meaning of the 1940 Act; (iii) does not have a material relationship (e.g., commercial, banking, consulting, legal, or accounting) that could create an appearance of lack of independence in respect of FMR and its affiliates; (iv) has the disposition to act independently in respect of FMR and its affiliates and others in order to protect the interests of the funds and all shareholders; (v) ability to attend regularly scheduled meetings during the year; (vi) demonstrates sound business judgment gained through broad experience in significant positions where the candidate has dealt with management, technical, financial, or regulatory issues; (vii) sufficient financial or accounting knowledge to add value in the complex financial environment of the funds; (viii) experience on corporate or other institutional oversight bodies having similar responsibilities, but which board memberships or other relationships could not result in business or regulatory conflicts with the funds; and (ix) capacity for the hard work and attention to detail that is required to be an effective Independent Trustee in light of the funds' complex regulatory, operational, and marketing setting. The Governance and Nominating Committee may determine that a candidate who does not have the type of previous experience or knowledge referred to above should nevertheless be considered as a nominee if the Governance and Nominating Committee finds that the candidate has additional qualifications such that his or her qualifications, taken as a whole, demonstrate the same level of fitness to serve as an Independent Trustee. During the 12-month period ended August 31, 2011, the committee held nine meetings.
The Compliance Committee is composed of Messrs. Wiley (Chair), Lautenbach, and Mauriello. The committee normally meets quarterly, or more frequently as called by the Chair. The committee oversees the administration and operation of the compliance policies and procedures of the funds and their service providers as required by Rule 38a-1 of the 1940 Act. The committee is responsible for the review and approval of policies and procedures relating to (i) provisions of the Code of Ethics, (ii) anti-money laundering requirements, (iii) compliance with investment restrictions and limitations, (iv) privacy, (v) recordkeeping, and (vi) other compliance policies and procedures which are not otherwise delegated to another committee. The committee has responsibility for recommending to the Board the designation of a CCO of the funds. The committee serves as the primary point of contact between the CCO and the Board, it oversees the annual performance review and compensation of the CCO, and if required, makes recommendations to the Board with respect to the removal of the appointed CCO. The committee receives reports of significant correspondence with regulators or governmental agencies, employee complaints or published reports which raise concerns regarding compliance matters, and copies of significant non-routine correspondence with the SEC. The committee receives reports from the CCO including the annual report concerning the funds' compliance policies as required by Rule 38a-1, quarterly reports in respect of any breaches of fiduciary duty or violations of federal securities laws, and reports on any other compliance or related matters that would otherwise be subject to periodic reporting or that may have a significant impact on the funds. The committee will recommend to the Board, what actions, if any, should be taken with respect to such reports. During the 12-month period ended August 31, 2011, the committee held seven meetings.
The Proxy Voting Committee is composed of Messrs. Thomas (Chair), Dirks, and Wiley. The committee will meet as needed to review the fund's proxy voting policies, consider changes to the policies, and review the manner in which the policies have been applied. The committee will receive reports on the manner in which proxy votes have been cast under the proxy voting policies and reports on consultations between the fund's investment advisers and portfolio companies concerning matters presented to shareholders for approval. The committee will address issues relating to the fund's annual voting report filed with the SEC. The committee will receive reports concerning the implementation of procedures and controls designed to ensure that the proxy voting policies are implemented in accordance with their terms. The committee will consider FMR's recommendations concerning certain non-routine proposals not covered by the proxy voting policies. The committee will receive reports with respect to steps taken by FMR to assure that proxy voting has been done without regard to any other FMR relationships, business or otherwise, with that portfolio company. The committee will make recommendations to the Board concerning the casting of proxy votes in circumstances where FMR has determined that, because of a conflict of interest, the proposal to be voted on should be reviewed by the Board. During the 12-month period ended August 31, 2011, the committee held three meetings.
The Research Committee is composed of Messrs. Lacy (Chair) and Thomas, and Ms. Small. The Committee will meet as needed. The Committee's purpose is to assess the quality of the investment research available to FMR's investment professionals. As such, the Committee reviews information pertaining to the sources of such research, the categories of research, the manner in which the funds bear the cost of research, and FMR's internal research capabilities, including performance metrics, interactions between FMR portfolio managers and research analysts, and the professional quality of analysts in research careers. Where necessary, the Committee recommends actions with respect to various reports providing information on FMR's research function. During the 12-month period ended August 31, 2011, the committee held five meetings.
The following table sets forth information describing the dollar range of equity securities beneficially owned by each Trustee in the fund and in all funds in the aggregate within the same fund family overseen by the Trustee for the calendar year ended December 31, 2010 (or as of February 28, 2011, for Mr. O'Hanley, Trustee as of January 1, 2011, and as of August 31, 2011, for Mr. Selander, Trustee as of September 1, 2011).
Interested Trustees |
||
DOLLAR RANGE OF |
James C. Curvey |
Ronald P. O'Hanley |
Fidelity Series Real Estate Income Fund |
none |
none |
AGGREGATE DOLLAR RANGE OF |
over $100,000 |
over $100,000 |
Independent Trustees |
|||||
DOLLAR RANGE OF |
Dennis J. Dirks |
Alan J. Lacy |
Ned C. Lautenbach |
Joseph Mauriello |
Robert W. Selander |
Fidelity Series Real Estate Income Fund |
none |
none |
none |
none |
none |
AGGREGATE DOLLAR RANGE OF |
over $100,000 |
over $100,000 |
over $100,000 |
over $100,000 |
over $100,000 |
DOLLAR RANGE OF |
Cornelia M. Small |
William S. Stavropoulos |
David M. Thomas |
Michael E. Wiley |
Fidelity Series Real Estate Income Fund |
none |
none |
none |
none |
AGGREGATE DOLLAR RANGE OF |
over $100,000 |
over $100,000 |
over $100,000 |
over $100,000 |
The following table sets forth information describing the compensation of each Trustee and Member of the Advisory Board for his or her services for the fiscal year ending July 31, 2011, or calendar year ended December 31, 2010, as applicable.
Compensation Table1 |
||||||
AGGREGATE |
Dennis J. |
Alan J. |
Ned C. |
Joseph |
Robert W. |
|
Fidelity Series Real Estate Income Fund+ |
$ 299 |
$ 277 |
$ 349 |
$ 299 |
$ 277 |
|
TOTAL COMPENSATION |
$ 436,500 |
$ 396,000 |
$ 496,000 |
$ 427,500 |
$ 0 |
|
AGGREGATE |
Cornelia M. |
William S. |
David M. |
Michael E. |
|
Fidelity Series Real Estate Income Fund+ |
$ 277 |
$ 313 |
$ 277 |
$ 277 |
|
TOTAL COMPENSATION |
$ 396,000 |
$ 444,500 |
$ 392,500 |
$ 399,000 |
|
1 Edward C. Johnson 3d, James C. Curvey, Ronald P. O'Hanley, and Peter S. Lynch are interested persons and are compensated by FMR.
2 For the period May 1, 2011 through August 31, 2011, Mr. Selander served as a Member of the Advisory Board. Effective September 1, 2011, Mr. Selander serves as a Member of the Board of Trustees.
+ Estimated for the fund's first full year.
A Reflects compensation received for the calendar year ended December 31, 2010 for 219 funds of 29 trusts (including Fidelity Central Investment Portfolios LLC). Compensation figures include cash and may include amounts deferred at the election of Trustees. Certain of the Independent Trustees elected voluntarily to defer a portion of their compensation as follows: Ned C. Lautenbach, $283,922; Cornelia M. Small, $175,000; William S. Stavropoulos, $200,000; and Michael E. Wiley, $180,000.
As of the initial offering of shares of the fund, 100% of the fund's total outstanding shares was held by FMR, an FMR affiliate, and/or mutual funds managed by FMR or an FMR affiliate.
CONTROL OF INVESTMENT ADVISERS
FMR LLC, as successor by merger to FMR Corp., is the ultimate parent company of FMR, Fidelity Management & Research (U.K.) Inc. (FMR U.K.), Fidelity Management & Research (Hong Kong) Limited (FMR H.K.), Fidelity Management & Research (Japan) Inc. (FMR Japan), and FMR Co., Inc. (FMRC). The voting common shares of FMR LLC are divided into two series. Series B is held predominantly by members of the Edward C. Johnson 3d and Abigail P. Johnson family, directly or through trust and limited liability companies, and is entitled to 49% of the vote on any matter acted upon by the voting common shares. Series A is held predominantly by non-Johnson family member employees of FMR LLC and its affiliates and is entitled to 51% of the vote on any such matter. The Johnson family group and all other Series B shareholders have entered into a shareholders' voting agreement under which all Series B shares will be voted in accordance with the majority vote of Series B shares. Under the 1940 Act, control of a company is presumed where one individual or group of individuals owns more than 25% of the voting securities of that company. Therefore, through their ownership of voting common shares and the execution of the shareholders' voting agreement, members of the Johnson family may be deemed, under the 1940 Act, to form a controlling group with respect to FMR LLC.
At present, the primary business activities of FMR LLC and its subsidiaries are: (i) the provision of investment advisory, management, shareholder, investment information and assistance and certain fiduciary services for individual and institutional investors; (ii) the provision of securities brokerage services; (iii) the management and development of real estate; and (iv) the investment in and operation of a number of emerging businesses.
FMR, FMRC, FMR U.K., FMR H.K., FMR Japan (the Investment Advisers), FDC, and the fund have adopted a code of ethics under Rule 17j-1 of the 1940 Act that sets forth employees' fiduciary responsibilities regarding the fund, establishes procedures for personal investing, and restricts certain transactions. Employees subject to the code of ethics, including Fidelity investment personnel, may invest in securities for their own investment accounts, including securities that may be purchased or held by the fund.
The fund has entered into a management contract with FMR, pursuant to which FMR furnishes investment advisory and other services.
Management Services. Under the terms of its management contract with the fund, FMR acts as investment adviser and, subject to the supervision of the Board of Trustees, has overall responsibility for directing the investments of the fund in accordance with its investment objective, policies and limitations. FMR also provides the fund with all necessary office facilities and personnel for servicing the fund's investments, compensates all officers of the fund and all Trustees who are interested persons of the trust or of FMR, and all personnel of the fund or FMR performing services relating to research, statistical and investment activities.
In addition, FMR or its affiliates, subject to the supervision of the Board of Trustees, provide the management and administrative services necessary for the operation of the fund. These services include providing facilities for maintaining the fund's organization; supervising relations with custodians, transfer and pricing agents, accountants, underwriters and other persons dealing with the fund; preparing all general shareholder communications and conducting shareholder relations; maintaining the fund's records and the registration of the fund's shares under federal securities laws and making necessary filings under state securities laws; developing management and shareholder services for the fund; and furnishing reports, evaluations and analyses on a variety of subjects to the Trustees.
Management-Related Expenses. In addition to the management fee payable to FMR and the fees payable to the transfer agent and pricing and bookkeeping agent, and the costs associated with securities lending, the fund or each class thereof, as applicable, pays all of its expenses that are not assumed by those parties. The fund pays for the typesetting, printing, and mailing of its proxy materials to shareholders, legal expenses, and the fees of the custodian, auditor, and Independent Trustees. The fund's management contract further provides that the fund will pay for typesetting, printing, and mailing prospectuses, statements of additional information, notices, and reports to shareholders; however, under the terms of the fund's transfer agent agreement, the transfer agent bears these costs. Other expenses paid by the fund include interest, taxes, brokerage commissions, the fund's proportionate share of insurance premiums and Investment Company Institute dues, and the costs of registering shares under federal securities laws and making necessary filings under state securities laws. The fund is also liable for such non-recurring expenses as may arise, including costs of any litigation to which the fund may be a party, and any obligation it may have to indemnify its officers and Trustees with respect to litigation.
Management Fee. For the services of FMR under the management contract, the fund pays FMR a monthly management fee which has two components: a group fee rate and an individual fund fee rate.
The group fee rate is based on the monthly average net assets of all of the registered investment companies with which FMR has management contracts.
GROUP FEE RATE SCHEDULE |
EFFECTIVE ANNUAL FEE RATES |
||||
Average Group |
Annualized |
Group Net |
Effective Annual Fee |
||
0 |
- |
$3 billion |
.5200% |
$ 1 billion |
.5200% |
3 |
- |
6 |
.4900 |
50 |
.3823 |
6 |
- |
9 |
.4600 |
100 |
.3512 |
9 |
- |
12 |
.4300 |
150 |
.3371 |
12 |
- |
15 |
.4000 |
200 |
.3284 |
15 |
- |
18 |
.3850 |
250 |
.3219 |
18 |
- |
21 |
.3700 |
300 |
.3163 |
21 |
- |
24 |
.3600 |
350 |
.3113 |
24 |
- |
30 |
.3500 |
400 |
.3067 |
30 |
- |
36 |
.3450 |
450 |
.3024 |
36 |
- |
42 |
.3400 |
500 |
.2982 |
42 |
- |
48 |
.3350 |
550 |
.2942 |
48 |
- |
66 |
.3250 |
600 |
.2904 |
66 |
- |
84 |
.3200 |
650 |
.2870 |
84 |
- |
102 |
.3150 |
700 |
.2838 |
102 |
- |
138 |
.3100 |
750 |
.2809 |
138 |
- |
174 |
.3050 |
800 |
.2782 |
174 |
- |
210 |
.3000 |
850 |
.2756 |
210 |
- |
246 |
.2950 |
900 |
.2732 |
246 |
- |
282 |
.2900 |
950 |
.2710 |
282 |
- |
318 |
.2850 |
1,000 |
.2689 |
318 |
- |
354 |
.2800 |
1,050 |
.2669 |
354 |
- |
390 |
.2750 |
1,100 |
.2649 |
390 |
- |
426 |
.2700 |
1,150 |
.2631 |
426 |
- |
462 |
.2650 |
1,200 |
.2614 |
462 |
- |
498 |
.2600 |
1,250 |
.2597 |
498 |
- |
534 |
.2550 |
1,300 |
.2581 |
534 |
- |
587 |
.2500 |
1,350 |
.2566 |
587 |
- |
646 |
.2463 |
1,400 |
.2551 |
646 |
- |
711 |
.2426 |
1,450 |
.2536 |
711 |
- |
782 |
.2389 |
1,500 |
.2523 |
782 |
- |
860 |
.2352 |
1,550 |
.2510 |
860 |
- |
946 |
.2315 |
1,600 |
.2497 |
946 |
- |
1,041 |
.2278 |
1,650 |
.2484 |
1,041 |
- |
1,145 |
.2241 |
1,700 |
.2472 |
1,145 |
- |
1,260 |
.2204 |
1,750 |
.2460 |
1,260 |
- |
1,386 |
.2167 |
1,800 |
.2449 |
1,386 |
- |
1,525 |
.2130 |
1,850 |
.2438 |
1,525 |
- |
1,677 |
.2093 |
1,900 |
.2427 |
1,677 |
- |
1,845 |
.2056 |
1,950 |
.2417 |
Over |
|
1,845 |
.2019 |
2,000 |
.2407 |
The group fee rate is calculated on a cumulative basis pursuant to the graduated fee rate schedule shown above on the left. The schedule above on the right shows the effective annual group fee rate at various asset levels, which is the result of cumulatively applying the annualized rates on the left. For example, the effective annual fee rate at $1,341 billion of group net assets - the approximate level for January 2011 - was 0.2568%, which is the weighted average of the respective fee rates for each level of group net assets up to $1,341 billion.
The fund's individual fund fee rate is 0.30%. Based on the average group net assets of the funds advised by FMR for January 2011, the fund's annual management fee rate would be calculated as follows:
Fund |
Group Fee Rate |
|
Individual Fund Fee Rate |
|
Management Fee Rate |
Fidelity Series Real Estate Income Fund |
0.2568% |
+ |
0.3000% |
= |
0.5568% |
One-twelfth of the management fee rate is applied to the fund's average net assets for the month, giving a dollar amount which is the fee for that month.
FMR may, from time to time, voluntarily reimburse all or a portion of a class's operating expenses. FMR retains the ability to be repaid for these expense reimbursements in the amount that expenses fall below the limit prior to the end of the fiscal year.
Expense reimbursements by FMR will increase a class's returns and yield, and repayment of the reimbursement by a class will decrease its returns and yield.
Sub-Adviser - FMRC. On behalf of the fund, FMR has entered into a sub-advisory agreement with FMRC pursuant to which FMRC has day-to-day responsibility for choosing investments for the fund. Under the terms of the sub-advisory agreement for the fund, FMR, and not the fund, pays FMRC's fees.
Sub-Advisers - FMR U.K., FMR H.K., and FMR Japan. On behalf of the fund, FMR has entered into sub-advisory agreements with FMR U.K., FMR H.K., and FMR Japan. Pursuant to the sub-advisory agreements, FMR may receive from the sub-advisers investment research and advice on issuers outside the United States (non-discretionary services) and FMR may grant the sub-advisers investment management authority and the authority to buy and sell securities if FMR believes it would be beneficial to the fund (discretionary services). FMR, and not the fund, pays the sub-advisers.
Mark Snyderman is the portfolio manager of the fund and receives compensation for his services. As of January 31, 2011, portfolio manager compensation generally consists of a fixed base salary determined periodically (typically annually), a bonus, in certain cases, participation in several types of equity-based compensation plans, and, if applicable, relocation plan benefits. A portion of the portfolio manager's compensation may be deferred based on criteria established by FMR or at the election of the portfolio manager.
The portfolio manager's base salary is determined by level of responsibility and tenure at FMR or its affiliates. The portfolio manager's bonus is based on several components. The primary components of the portfolio manager's bonus are based on (i) the pre-tax investment performance of the portfolio manager's fund(s) and account(s) measured against a benchmark index and within a defined peer group assigned to each fund or account, and (ii) the investment performance of other FMR real estate funds and accounts. The pre-tax investment performance of the portfolio manager's fund(s) and account(s) is weighted according to his tenure on those fund(s) and account(s) and the average asset size of those fund(s) and account(s) over his tenure. Each component is calculated separately over the portfolio manager's tenure on those fund(s) and account(s) over a measurement period that initially is contemporaneous with his tenure, but that eventually encompasses rolling periods of up to five years for the comparison to a benchmark index and rolling periods of up to five years for the comparison to a peer group. A smaller, subjective component of the portfolio manager's bonus is based on the portfolio manager's overall contribution to management of FMR. The portion of the portfolio manager's bonus that is linked to the investment performance of the fund is based on the pre-tax investment performance of the fund measured against the Fidelity Series Real Estate Income Composite Index, the components of which are 50% The BofA Merrill LynchSM U.S. Real Estate Index, 40% MSCI® REIT Preferred Index and 10% FTSE® NAREIT® ALL REITs Index, and the pre-tax investment performance of the fund (based on the performance of the fund's retail class) within the LipperSM Real Estate Funds Average. The portfolio manager also is compensated under equity-based compensation plans linked to increases or decreases in the net asset value of the stock of FMR LLC, FMR's parent company. FMR LLC is a diverse financial services company engaged in various activities that include fund management, brokerage, retirement, and employer administrative services. If requested to relocate their primary residence, portfolio managers also may be eligible to receive benefits, such as home sale assistance and payment of certain moving expenses, under relocation plans for most full-time employees of FMR LLC and its affiliates.
The portfolio manager's compensation plan may give rise to potential conflicts of interest. The portfolio manager's compensation is linked to the pre-tax performance of the fund, rather than its after-tax performance. The portfolio manager's base pay tends to increase with additional and more complex responsibilities that include increased assets under management and a portion of the bonus relates to marketing efforts, which together indirectly link compensation to sales. When a portfolio manager takes over a fund or an account, the time period over which performance is measured may be adjusted to provide a transition period in which to assess the portfolio. The management of multiple funds and accounts (including proprietary accounts) may give rise to potential conflicts of interest if the funds and accounts have different objectives, benchmarks, time horizons, and fees as the portfolio manager must allocate his time and investment ideas across multiple funds and accounts. In addition, a fund's trade allocation policies and procedures may give rise to conflicts of interest if the fund's orders do not get fully executed due to being aggregated with those of other accounts managed by FMR or an affiliate. The portfolio manager may execute transactions for another fund or account that may adversely impact the value of securities held by a fund. Securities selected for other funds or accounts may outperform the securities selected for the fund. Portfolio managers may be permitted to invest in the funds they manage, even if a fund is closed to new investors. Trading in personal accounts, which may give rise to potential conflicts of interest, is restricted by a fund's Code of Ethics.
The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Snyderman as of January 31, 2011:
|
Registered |
Other Pooled |
Other |
Number of Accounts Managed |
2 |
none |
1 |
Number of Accounts Managed with Performance-Based Advisory Fees |
none |
none |
1 |
Assets Managed (in millions) |
$ 2,160 |
none |
$ 269 |
Assets Managed with Performance-Based Advisory Fees (in millions) |
none |
none |
$ 269 |
* Does not include the fund. The fund is expected to commence operations on October 20, 2011.
As of January 31, 2011, the dollar range of shares of the fund beneficially owned by Mr. Snyderman was none.
The following Proxy Voting Guidelines were established by the Board of Trustees of the Fidelity funds, after consultation with Fidelity. (The guidelines are reviewed periodically by Fidelity and by the Independent Trustees of the Fidelity funds, and, accordingly, are subject to change.)
I. General Principles
A. Voting of shares will be conducted in a manner consistent with the best interests of Fidelity Fund shareholders as follows: (i) securities of a portfolio company will generally be voted in a manner consistent with the Guidelines; and (ii) voting will be done without regard to any other Fidelity companies' relationship, business or otherwise, with that portfolio company.
B. FMR Investment Proxy Research votes proxies. In the event an Investment Proxy Research employee has a personal conflict with a portfolio company or an employee or director of a portfolio company, that employee will withdraw from making any proxy voting decisions with respect to that portfolio company. A conflict of interest arises when there are factors that may prompt one to question whether a Fidelity employee is acting solely in the best interests of Fidelity and its customers. Employees are expected to avoid situations that could present even the appearance of a conflict between their interests and the interests of Fidelity and its customers.
C. Except as set forth herein, FMR will generally vote in favor of routine management proposals.
D. Non-routine proposals will generally be voted in accordance with the Guidelines.
E. Non-routine proposals not covered by the Guidelines or involving other special circumstances will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis with input from the appropriate FMR analyst or portfolio manager, as applicable, subject to review by an attorney within FMR's General Counsel's office and a member of senior management within FMR Investment Proxy Research. A significant pattern of such proposals or other special circumstances will be referred to the appropriate Fidelity Fund Board Committee or its designee.
F. FMR will vote on shareholder proposals not specifically addressed by the Guidelines based on an evaluation of a proposal's likelihood to enhance the economic returns or profitability of the portfolio company or to maximize shareholder value. Where information is not readily available to analyze the economic impact of the proposal, FMR will generally abstain.
G. Many Fidelity Funds invest in voting securities issued by companies that are domiciled outside the United States and are not listed on a U.S. securities exchange. Corporate governance standards, legal or regulatory requirements and disclosure practices in foreign countries can differ from those in the United States. When voting proxies relating to non-U.S. securities, FMR will generally evaluate proposals in the context of the Guidelines and, where applicable and feasible, take into consideration differing laws, regulations and practices in the relevant foreign market in determining how to vote shares.
H. In certain non-U.S. jurisdictions, shareholders voting shares of a portfolio company may be restricted from trading the shares for a period of time around the shareholder meeting date. Because such trading restrictions can hinder portfolio management and could result in a loss of liquidity for a fund, FMR will generally not vote proxies in circumstances where such restrictions apply. In addition, certain non-U.S. jurisdictions require voting shareholders to disclose current share ownership on a fund-by-fund basis. When such disclosure requirements apply, FMR will generally not vote proxies in order to safeguard fund holdings information.
I. Where a management-sponsored proposal is inconsistent with the Guidelines, FMR may receive a company's commitment to modify the proposal or its practice to conform to the Guidelines, and FMR will generally support management based on this commitment. If a company subsequently does not abide by its commitment, FMR will generally withhold authority for the election of directors at the next election.
II. Definitions (as used in this document)
A. Anti-Takeover Provision - includes fair price amendments; classified boards; "blank check" preferred stock; Golden Parachutes; supermajority provisions; Poison Pills; restricting the right to call special meetings; and any other provision that eliminates or limits shareholder rights.
B. Golden Parachute - Employment contracts, agreements, or policies that include an excise tax gross-up provision; single trigger for cash incentives; or may result in a lump sum payment of cash and acceleration of equity that may total more than three times annual compensation (salary and bonus) in the event of a termination following a change in control.
C. Greenmail - payment of a premium to repurchase shares from a shareholder seeking to take over a company through a proxy contest or other means.
D. Sunset Provision - a condition in a charter or plan that specifies an expiration date.
E. Permitted Bid Feature - a provision suspending the application of a Poison Pill, by shareholder referendum, in the event a potential acquirer announces a bona fide offer for all outstanding shares.
F. Poison Pill - a strategy employed by a potential take-over/target company to make its stock less attractive to an acquirer. Poison Pills are generally designed to dilute the acquirer's ownership and value in the event of a take-over.
G. Large-Capitalization Company - a company included in the Russell 1000 stock index.
H. Small-Capitalization Company - a company not included in the Russell 1000 stock index that is not a Micro-Capitalization Company.
I. Micro-Capitalization Company - a company with a market capitalization under US $300 million.
J. Evergreen Provision - a feature which provides for an automatic increase in the shares available for grant under an equity award plan on a regular basis.
III. Directors
A. Incumbent Directors
FMR will generally vote in favor of incumbent and nominee directors except where one or more such directors clearly appear to have failed to exercise reasonable judgment. FMR will also generally withhold authority for the election of all directors or directors on responsible committees if:
1. An Anti-Takeover Provision was introduced, an Anti-Takeover Provision was extended, or a new Anti-Takeover Provision was adopted upon the expiration of an existing Anti-Takeover Provision, without shareholder approval except as set forth below.
With respect to Poison Pills, however, FMR will consider not withholding authority on the election of directors if all of the following conditions are met when a Poison Pill is introduced, extended, or adopted:
a. The Poison Pill includes a Sunset Provision of less than five years;
b. The Poison Pill includes a Permitted Bid Feature;
c. The Poison Pill is linked to a business strategy that will result in greater value for the shareholders; and
d. Shareholder approval is required to reinstate the Poison Pill upon expiration.
FMR will also consider not withholding authority on the election of directors when one or more of the conditions above are not met if a board is willing to strongly consider seeking shareholder ratification of, or adding above conditions noted a. and b. to an existing Poison Pill. In such a case, if the company does not take appropriate action prior to the next annual shareholder meeting, FMR will withhold authority on the election of directors.
2. The company refuses, upon request by FMR, to amend the Poison Pill to allow Fidelity to hold an aggregate position of up to 20% of a company's total voting securities and of any class of voting securities.
3. Within the last year and without shareholder approval, a company's board of directors or compensation committee has repriced outstanding options, exchanged outstanding options for equity, or tendered cash for outstanding options.
4. Executive compensation appears misaligned with shareholder interests or otherwise problematic, taking into account such factors as: (i) whether the company has an independent compensation committee; (ii) whether the compensation committee engaged independent compensation consultants; (iii) whether the company has admitted to or settled a regulatory proceeding relating to options backdating; (iv) whether the compensation committee has lapsed or waived equity vesting restrictions; and (v) whether the company has adopted or extended a Golden Parachute without shareholder approval.
5. To gain FMR's support on a proposal, the company made a commitment to modify a proposal or practice to conform to the Guidelines and the company has failed to act on that commitment.
6. The director attended fewer than 75% of the aggregate number of meetings of the board or its committees on which the director served during the company's prior fiscal year, absent extenuating circumstances.
7. The board is not composed of a majority of independent directors.
B. Indemnification
FMR will generally vote in favor of charter and by-law amendments expanding the indemnification of directors and/or limiting their liability for breaches of care unless FMR is otherwise dissatisfied with the performance of management or the proposal is accompanied by Anti-Takeover Provisions.
C. Independent Chairperson
FMR will generally vote against shareholder proposals calling for or recommending the appointment of a non-executive or independent chairperson. However, FMR will consider voting for such proposals in limited cases if, based upon particular facts and circumstances, appointment of a non-executive or independent chairperson appears likely to further the interests of shareholders and to promote effective oversight of management by the board of directors.
D. Majority Director Elections
FMR will generally vote in favor of proposals calling for directors to be elected by an affirmative majority of votes cast in a board election, provided that the proposal allows for plurality voting standard in the case of contested elections (i.e., where there are more nominees than board seats). FMR may consider voting against such shareholder proposals where a company's board has adopted an alternative measure, such as a director resignation policy, that provides a meaningful alternative to the majority voting standard and appropriately addresses situations where an incumbent director fails to receive the support of a majority of the votes cast in an uncontested election.
IV. Compensation
A. Executive Compensation
1. Advisory votes on executive compensation
a. FMR will generally vote for proposals to ratify executive compensation unless such compensation appears misaligned with shareholder interests or otherwise problematic, taking into account such factors as, among other things, (i) whether the company has an independent compensation committee; (ii) whether the compensation committee engaged independent compensation consultants; (iii) whether the compensation committee has lapsed or waived equity vesting restriction; and (iv) whether the company has adopted or extended a Golden Parachute without shareholder approval.
b. FMR will generally vote against proposals to ratify Golden Parachutes.
2. Frequency of advisory vote on executive compensation
FMR will generally support annual advisory votes on executive compensation.
B. Equity award plans (including stock options, restricted stock awards, and other stock awards).
FMR will generally vote against equity award plans or amendments to authorize additional shares under such plans if:
1. (a) The company's average three year burn rate is greater than 1.5% for a Large-Capitalization Company, 2.5% for a Small-Capitalization Company or 3.5% for a Micro-Capitalization Company; and (b) there were no circumstances specific to the company or the plans that lead FMR to conclude that the burn rate is acceptable.
2. In the case of stock option plans, (a) the offering price of options is less than 100% of fair market value on the date of grant, except that the offering price may be as low as 85% of fair market value if the discount is expressly granted in lieu of salary or cash bonus; (b) the plan's terms allow repricing of underwater options; or (c) the board/committee has repriced options outstanding under the plan in the past two years without shareholder approval.
3. In the case of stock awards, the restriction period is less than three years for non-performance-based awards, and less than one year for performance-based awards.
FMR will consider approving an equity award plan or an amendment to authorize additional shares under such plan if, without complying with Guideline 3 immediately above, the following two conditions are met:
a. The shares are granted by a compensation committee composed entirely of independent directors; and
b. The shares are limited to 5% (Large-Capitalization Company) and 10% (Small- or Micro-Capitalization Company) of the shares authorized for grant under the plan.
4. The plan includes an Evergreen Provision.
5. The plan provides for the acceleration of vesting of equity awards even though an actual change in control may not occur.
C. Equity Exchanges and Repricing
FMR will generally vote in favor of a management proposal to exchange, reprice or tender for cash, outstanding options if the proposed exchange, repricing, or tender offer is consistent with the interests of shareholders, taking into account such factors as:
1. Whether the proposal excludes senior management and directors;
2. Whether the exchange or repricing proposal is value neutral to shareholders based upon an acceptable pricing model;
3. The company's relative performance compared to other companies within the relevant industry or industries;
4. Economic and other conditions affecting the relevant industry or industries in which the company competes; and
5. Any other facts or circumstances relevant to determining whether an exchange or repricing proposal is consistent with the interests of shareholders.
D. Employee Stock Purchase Plans
FMR will generally vote in favor of employee stock purchase plans if the minimum stock purchase price is equal to or greater than 85% of the stock's fair market value and the plan constitutes a reasonable effort to encourage broad based participation in the company's equity. In the case of non-U.S. company stock purchase plans, FMR may permit a lower minimum stock purchase price equal to the prevailing "best practices" in the relevant non-U.S. market, provided that the minimum stock purchase price must be at least 75% of the stock's fair market value.
E. Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs)
FMR will generally vote in favor of non-leveraged ESOPs. For leveraged ESOPs, FMR may examine the company's state of incorporation, existence of supermajority vote rules in the charter, number of shares authorized for the ESOP, and number of shares held by insiders. FMR may also examine where the ESOP shares are purchased and the dilution effect of the purchase. FMR will generally vote against leveraged ESOPs if all outstanding loans are due immediately upon change in control.
F. Bonus Plans and Tax Deductibility Proposals
FMR will generally vote in favor of cash and stock incentive plans that are submitted for shareholder approval in order to qualify for favorable tax treatment under Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code, provided that the plan includes well defined and appropriate performance criteria, and with respect to any cash component, that the maximum award per participant is clearly stated and is not unreasonable or excessive.
V. Anti-Takeover Provisions
FMR will generally vote against a proposal to adopt or approve the adoption of an Anti-Takeover Provision unless:
A. The Poison Pill includes the following features:
1. A Sunset Provision of no greater than five years;
2. Linked to a business strategy that is expected to result in greater value for the shareholders;
3. Requires shareholder approval to be reinstated upon expiration or if amended;
4. Contains a Permitted Bid Feature; and
5. Allows the Fidelity Funds to hold an aggregate position of up to 20% of a company's total voting securities and of any class of voting securities.
B. An Anti-Greenmail proposal that does not include other Anti-Takeover Provisions; or
C. It is a fair price amendment that considers a two-year price history or less.
FMR will generally vote in favor of proposals to eliminate Anti-Takeover Provisions unless:
D. In the case of proposals to declassify a board of directors, FMR will generally vote against such a proposal if the issuer's Articles of Incorporation or applicable statutes include a provision whereby a majority of directors may be removed at any time, with or without cause, by written consent, or other reasonable procedures, by a majority of shareholders entitled to vote for the election of directors.
E. In the case of proposals regarding shareholders' rights to call special meetings, FMR generally will vote against each proposal if the threshold required to call a special meeting is less than 25% of the outstanding stock.
VI. Capital Structure/Incorporation
A. Increases in Common Stock
FMR will generally vote against a provision to increase a company's common stock if such increase will result in a total number of authorized shares greater than three times the current number of outstanding and scheduled to be issued shares, including stock options, except in the case of real estate investment trusts, where an increase that will result in a total number of authorized shares up to five times the current number of outstanding and scheduled to be issued shares is generally acceptable.
B. New Classes of Shares
FMR will generally vote against the introduction of new classes of stock with differential voting rights.
C. Cumulative Voting Rights
FMR will generally vote against the introduction and in favor of the elimination of cumulative voting rights.
D. Acquisition or Business Combination Statutes
FMR will generally vote in favor of proposed amendments to a company's certificate of incorporation or by-laws that enable the company to opt out of the control shares acquisition or business combination statutes.
E. Incorporation or Reincorporation in Another State or Country
FMR will generally vote against shareholder proposals calling for or recommending that a portfolio company reincorporate in the United States and vote in favor of management proposals to reincorporate in a jurisdiction outside the United States if (i) it is lawful under United States, state and other applicable law for the company to be incorporated under the laws of the relevant foreign jurisdiction and to conduct its business and (ii) reincorporating or maintaining a domicile in the United States would likely give rise to adverse tax or other economic consequences detrimental to the interests of the company and its shareholders. However, FMR will consider supporting such shareholder proposals and opposing such management proposals in limited cases if, based upon particular facts and circumstances, reincorporating in or maintaining a domicile in the relevant foreign jurisdiction gives rise to significant risks or other potential adverse consequences that appear reasonably likely to be detrimental to the interests of the company or its shareholders.
VII. Shares of Investment Companies
A. When a Fidelity Fund invests in an underlying Fidelity Fund with public shareholders, an exchange traded fund (ETF), or non-affiliated fund, FMR will vote in the same proportion as all other voting shareholders of such underlying fund or class ("echo voting"). FMR may choose not to vote if "echo voting" is not operationally feasible.
B. Certain Fidelity Funds may invest in shares of underlying Fidelity Funds which are held exclusively by Fidelity Funds or accounts managed by an FMR or an affiliate. FMR will generally vote in favor of proposals recommended by the underlying funds' Board of Trustees.
VIII. Other
A. Voting Process
FMR will generally vote in favor of proposals to adopt confidential voting and independent vote tabulation practices.
B. Regulated Industries
Voting of shares in securities of any regulated industry (e.g. U.S. banking) organization shall be conducted in a manner consistent with conditions that may be specified by the industry's regulator (e.g. the Federal Reserve Board) for a determination under applicable law (e.g. federal banking law) that no fund or group of funds has acquired control of such organization.
To view a fund's proxy voting record for the most recent 12-month period ended June 30, if applicable, visit www.fidelity.com/proxyvotingresults or visit the SEC's web site at www.sec.gov.
The fund has entered into a distribution agreement with FDC, an affiliate of FMR. The principal business address of FDC is 82 Devonshire Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02109. FDC is a broker-dealer registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. The distribution agreement calls for FDC to use all reasonable efforts, consistent with its other business, to secure purchasers for shares of the fund, which are continuously offered at NAV. Promotional and administrative expenses in connection with the offer and sale of shares are paid by FMR.
The Trustees have approved a Distribution and Service Plan on behalf of Class F of the fund (the Plan) pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act (the Rule). The Rule provides in substance that a mutual fund may not engage directly or indirectly in financing any activity that is primarily intended to result in the sale of shares of the fund except pursuant to a plan approved on behalf of the fund under the Rule. The Plan, as approved by the Trustees, allows Class F and FMR to incur certain expenses that might be considered to constitute indirect payment by the fund of distribution expenses.
Under the Class F Plan, if the payment of management fees by the fund to FMR is deemed to be indirect financing by the fund of the distribution of its shares, such payment is authorized by the Plan. The Class F Plan specifically recognizes that FMR may use its management fee revenue, as well as its past profits or its other resources, to pay FDC for expenses incurred in connection with providing services intended to result in the sale of Class F shares and/or shareholder support services. In addition, the Class F Plan provides that FMR, directly or through FDC, may pay significant amounts to intermediaries, including retirement plan sponsors, administrators, and service-providers (who may be affiliated with FMR or FDC), that provide those services. Currently, the Board of Trustees has authorized such payments for Class F shares of Fidelity Series Real Estate Income Fund.
Prior to approving the Plan, the Trustees carefully considered all pertinent factors relating to the implementation of the Plan, and determined that there is a reasonable likelihood that the Plan will benefit Class F of the fund and its shareholders. In particular, the Trustees noted that the Plan does not authorize payments by Class F of the fund other than those made to FMR under its management contract with the fund. To the extent that the Plan gives FMR and FDC greater flexibility in connection with the distribution of class shares, additional sales of class shares or stabilization of cash flows may result. Furthermore, certain shareholder support services may be provided more effectively under the Plan by local entities with whom shareholders have other relationships.
FDC or an affiliate may compensate, or upon direction make payments for certain retirement plan expenses to, intermediaries, including retirement plan sponsors, administrators, and service-providers (including affiliates of FDC). A number of factors are considered in determining whether to pay these additional amounts. Such factors may include, without limitation, the level or type of services provided by the intermediary, the level or expected level of assets or sales of shares, and other factors. In addition to such payments, FDC or an affiliate may offer other incentives such as sponsorship of educational or client seminars relating to current products and issues, payments or reimbursements for travel and related expenses associated with due diligence trips that an intermediary may undertake in order to explore possible business relationships with affiliates of FDC, and/or payments of costs and expenses associated with attendance at seminars, including travel, lodging, entertainment, and meals. Certain of the payments described above may be significant to an intermediary. As permitted by SEC and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority rules and other applicable laws and regulations, FDC or an affiliate may pay or allow other incentives or payments to intermediaries.
The fund's transfer agent or an affiliate may also make payments and reimbursements from its own resources to certain intermediaries (who may be affiliated with the transfer agent) for providing recordkeeping and administrative services to plan participants or for providing other services to retirement plans. Please see "Transfer and Service Agent Agreements" in this SAI for more information.
FDC or an affiliate may also make payments to banks, broker-dealers and other service-providers (who may be affiliated with FDC) for distribution-related activities and/or shareholder services. If you have purchased shares of the fund through an investment professional, please speak with your investment professional to learn more about any payments his or her firm may receive from FMR, FDC, and/or their affiliates, as well as fees and/or commissions the investment professional charges. You should also consult disclosures made by your investment professional at the time of purchase.
Any of the payments described in this section may represent a premium over payments made by other fund families. Investment professionals may have an added incentive to sell or recommend a fund or a share class over others offered by competing fund families, or retirement plan sponsors may take these payments into account when deciding whether to include a fund as a plan investment option.
TRANSFER AND SERVICE AGENT AGREEMENTS
The fund has entered into a transfer agent agreement with Fidelity Investments Institutional Operations Company, Inc. (FIIOC), an affiliate of FMR, which is located at 82 Devonshire Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02109. Under the terms of the agreement, FIIOC (or an agent, including an affiliate) performs transfer agency services for Class F shares.
FIIOC receives no fees for providing transfer agency services to Class F.
FIIOC also may collect fees charged in connection with providing certain types of services such as exchanges, closing out fund balances, maintaining fund positions with low balances, checkwriting, wire transactions, and providing historical account research.
FIIOC bears the expense of typesetting, printing, and mailing prospectuses, statements of additional information, and all other reports, notices, and statements to existing shareholders, with the exception of proxy statements.
The fund has also entered into a service agent agreement with FSC, an affiliate of FMR (or an agent, including an affiliate). The fund has also entered into a securities lending administration agreement with FSC. Under the terms of the agreements, FSC calculates the NAV and dividends for Class F of the fund, maintains the fund's portfolio and general accounting records, and administers the fund's securities lending program.
For providing pricing and bookkeeping services, FSC receives a monthly fee based on the fund's average daily net assets throughout the month.
The annual rates for pricing and bookkeeping services for the fund are 0.0389% of the first $500 million of average net assets, 0.0275% of average net assets between $500 million and $3.5 billion, 0.0041% of average net assets between $3.5 billion and $25 billion, and 0.0019% of average net assets in excess of $25 billion.
For administering the fund's securities lending program, FSC is paid based on the number and duration of individual securities loans.
DESCRIPTION OF THE TRUST
Trust Organization. Fidelity Series Real Estate Income Fund is a fund of Fidelity Securities Fund, an open-end management investment company created under an initial declaration of trust dated October 1, 1984. Currently, there are 14 funds offered in the trust: Fidelity Advisor Growth Strategies Fund, Fidelity Blue Chip Growth Fund, Fidelity Blue Chip Value Fund, Fidelity Dividend Growth Fund, Fidelity Growth & Income Portfolio, Fidelity International Real Estate Fund, Fidelity Leveraged Company Stock Fund, Fidelity OTC Portfolio, Fidelity Real Estate Income Fund, Fidelity Series Real Estate Equity Fund, Fidelity Series Real Estate Income Fund, Fidelity Series Small Cap Opportunities Fund, Fidelity Small Cap Growth Fund, and Fidelity Small Cap Value Fund. The Trustees are permitted to create additional funds in the trust and to create additional classes of the fund.
The assets of the trust received for the issue or sale of shares of each of its funds and all income, earnings, profits, and proceeds thereof, subject to the rights of creditors, are allocated to such fund, and constitute the underlying assets of such fund. The underlying assets of each fund in the trust shall be charged with the liabilities and expenses attributable to such fund, except that liabilities and expenses may be allocated to a particular class. Any general expenses of the trust shall be allocated between or among any one or more of the funds or classes.
Shareholder Liability. The trust is an entity commonly known as a "Massachusetts business trust." Under Massachusetts law, shareholders of such a trust may, under certain circumstances, be held personally liable for the obligations of the trust.
The Declaration of Trust contains an express disclaimer of shareholder liability for the debts, liabilities, obligations, and expenses of the trust or fund. The Declaration of Trust provides that the trust shall not have any claim against shareholders except for the payment of the purchase price of shares and requires that each agreement, obligation, or instrument entered into or executed by the trust or the Trustees relating to the trust or to a fund shall include a provision limiting the obligations created thereby to the trust or to one or more funds and its or their assets. The Declaration of Trust further provides that shareholders of a fund shall not have a claim on or right to any assets belonging to any other fund.
The Declaration of Trust provides for indemnification out of each fund's property of any shareholder or former shareholder held personally liable for the obligations of the fund solely by reason of his or her being or having been a shareholder and not because of his or her acts or omissions or for some other reason. The Declaration of Trust also provides that each fund shall, upon request, assume the defense of any claim made against any shareholder for any act or obligation of the fund and satisfy any judgment thereon. Thus, the risk of a shareholder incurring financial loss on account of shareholder liability is limited to circumstances in which a fund itself would be unable to meet its obligations. FMR believes that, in view of the above, the risk of personal liability to shareholders is remote. Claims asserted against one class of shares may subject holders of another class of shares to certain liabilities.
Voting Rights. Each fund's capital consists of shares of beneficial interest. As a shareholder, you are entitled to one vote for each dollar of net asset value you own. The voting rights of shareholders can be changed only by a shareholder vote. Shares may be voted in the aggregate, by fund, and by class.
The shares have no preemptive or conversion rights. Shares are fully paid and nonassessable, except as set forth under the heading "Shareholder Liability" above.
The trust or a fund or a class may be terminated upon the sale of its assets to, or merger with, another open-end management investment company, series, or class thereof, or upon liquidation and distribution of its assets. The Trustees may reorganize, terminate, merge, or sell all or a portion of the assets of the trust or a fund or a class without prior shareholder approval. In the event of the dissolution or liquidation of the trust, shareholders of each of its funds are entitled to receive the underlying assets of such fund available for distribution. In the event of the dissolution or liquidation of a fund or a class, shareholders of that fund or that class are entitled to receive the underlying assets of the fund or class available for distribution.
Custodians. The Northern Trust Company, 50 South LaSalle Street, Chicago, Illinois, is custodian of the assets of the fund. The custodian is responsible for the safekeeping of the fund's assets and the appointment of any subcustodian banks and clearing agencies. The Bank of New York Mellon and JPMorgan Chase Bank, each headquartered in New York, also may serve as special purpose custodians of certain assets in connection with repurchase agreement transactions. From time to time, subject to approval by a fund's Treasurer, the fund may enter into escrow arrangements with other banks if necessary to participate in certain investment offerings.
FMR, its officers and directors, its affiliated companies, Members of the Advisory Board, and Members of the Board of Trustees may, from time to time, conduct transactions with various banks, including banks serving as custodians for certain funds advised by FMR. Transactions that have occurred to date include mortgages and personal and general business loans. In the judgment of FMR, the terms and conditions of those transactions were not influenced by existing or potential custodial or other fund relationships.
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm. Deloitte & Touche LLP, 200 Berkeley Street, Boston, Massachusetts, independent registered public accounting firm, audits financial statements for the fund and provides other audit related services.
The fund views holdings information as sensitive and limits its dissemination. The Board authorized FMR to establish and administer guidelines for the dissemination of fund holdings information, which may be amended at any time without prior notice. FMR's Disclosure Policy Committee (comprising executive officers of FMR) evaluates disclosure policy with the goal of serving the fund's best interests by striking an appropriate balance between providing information about the fund's portfolio and protecting the fund from potentially harmful disclosure. The Board reviews the administration and modification of these guidelines and receives reports from the fund's chief compliance officer periodically.
The fund will provide a full list of holdings, including its top ten holdings, as of the end of the fund's fiscal quarter on www.fidelity.com 60 days after its fiscal quarter-end.
The fund will provide its top ten holdings (excluding cash and futures) as of the end of the calendar quarter on Fidelity's web site 15 or more days after the calendar quarter-end.
Unless otherwise indicated, this information will be available on the web site until updated for the next applicable period.
The fund may also from time to time provide or make available to the Board or third parties upon request specific fund level performance attribution information and statistics. Third parties may include fund shareholders or prospective fund shareholders, members of the press, consultants, and ratings and ranking organizations.
The Use of Holdings In Connection With Fund Operations. Material non-public holdings information may be provided as part of the investment activities of the fund to: entities which, by explicit agreement or by virtue of their respective duties to the fund, are required to maintain the confidentiality of the information disclosed; other parties if legally required; or persons FMR believes will not misuse the disclosed information. These entities, parties, and persons include: the fund's trustees; the fund's manager, its sub-advisers, if any, and their affiliates whose access persons are subject to a code of ethics; contractors who are subject to a confidentiality agreement; the fund's auditors; the fund's custodians; proxy voting service providers; financial printers; pricing service vendors; broker-dealers in connection with the purchase or sale of securities or requests for price quotations or bids on one or more securities; securities lending agents; counsel to the fund or its Independent Trustees; regulatory authorities; stock exchanges and other listing organizations; parties to litigation; third parties in connection with a bankruptcy proceeding relating to a fund holding; and third parties who have submitted a standing request to a money market fund for daily holdings information. Non-public holdings information may also be provided to an issuer regarding the number or percentage of its shares that are owned by the fund and in connection with redemptions in kind.
Other Uses Of Holdings Information. In addition, the fund may provide material non-public holdings information to (i) third parties that calculate information derived from holdings for use by FMR or its affiliates, (ii) third parties that supply their analyses of holdings (but not the holdings themselves) to their clients (including sponsors of retirement plans or their consultants), (iii) ratings and rankings organizations, and (iv) an investment adviser, trustee, or their agents to whom holdings are disclosed for due diligence purposes or in anticipation of a merger involving the fund. Each individual request is reviewed by the Disclosure Policy Committee which must find, in its sole discretion that, based on the specific facts and circumstances, the disclosure appears unlikely to be harmful to the fund. Entities receiving this information must have in place control mechanisms to reasonably ensure or otherwise agree that, (a) the holdings information will be kept confidential, (b) no employee shall use the information to effect trading or for their personal benefit, and (c) the nature and type of information that they, in turn, may disclose to third parties is limited. FMR relies primarily on the existence of non-disclosure agreements and/or control mechanisms when determining that disclosure is not likely to be harmful to the fund.
At this time, the entities receiving information described in the preceding paragraph are: Factset Research Systems Inc. (full or partial fund holdings daily, on the next business day); Thomson Vestek (full holdings, as of the end of the calendar quarter, 15 calendar days after the calendar quarter-end); Standard & Poor's Ratings Services (full holdings weekly (generally as of the previous Friday), generally 5 business days thereafter); Moody's Investors Service, Inc. (full holdings monthly, (generally as of the last Friday of each month), generally the first Friday of the following month); Anacomp Inc. (full or partial holdings daily, on the next business day); and MSCI Inc. and certain affiliates (full or partial fund holdings daily, on the next business day).
FMR, its affiliates, or the fund will not enter into any arrangements with third parties from which they derive consideration for the disclosure of material non-public holdings information. If, in the future, FMR desired to make such an arrangement, it would seek prior Board approval and any such arrangements would be disclosed in the fund's SAI.
There can be no assurance that the fund's policies and procedures with respect to disclosure of fund portfolio holdings will prevent the misuse of such information by individuals and firms that receive such information.
Fidelity and Fidelity Investments & Pyramid Design are registered service marks of FMR LLC.
The third party marks appearing above are the marks of their respective owners.