Fidelity Hires Hedge Fund Pro

Fidelity Management & Research Co. (FMR Co.), the investment management division of Fidelity Investments, hired Brian Conroy as SVP and head of global equity trading. Conroy will be responsible for setting the strategic direction of domestic and international trading and will serve as the point person for both desks. He will have five direct reports, who, in turn, will manage FMR Co.'s trading force, says a Fidelity spokesman, who declines to reveal the number of Fidelity equity traders.

Conroy joins FMR Co. from New York-based Sigma Capital Management, where he served as COO. Prior to assuming the COO role, Conroy was a head trader with the $6.5 billion Stamford, Conn.-based hedge fund, SAC Capital Management - a Sigma affiliate. He also held positions at JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs and ABN AMRO.

Conroy is expected to assume his new post in mid-October and could not be reached for comment. He replaces Scott DeSano, who has moved into a new strategic business development group, according to the company spokesman.

Fidelity is being investigated by the SEC for violations of ethics in its trading department, according to published reports. DeSano reportedly is among the traders involved. The Fidelity spokesman declines to comment on the investigation.

FMR Co. acts as the investment adviser to Fidelity's family of mutual funds and has three fund divisions: Equity (Boston), High-Income (Boston) and Fixed-Income (Merrimack, N.H.). As of June 30, 2005, mutual fund assets totaled $941 billion in 316 funds.