Fidelity Emerging Mkt Dbt A-Acc-EUR |



by Arvind Subramanian

Fidelity has announced that Philip Fielding will become the lead manager of the Fidelity Emerging Market Debt strategy starting July 1, 2025. Fielding, who is set to join Fidelity in April 2025, previously served as co-head and portfolio manager for MacKay Shields' emerging-markets debt team. This leadership change follows a challenging year for the strategy. In August 2024, the previous lead manager Paul Greer died. In response, Steve Ellis, Fidelity's global CIO for fixed income, was temporarily appointed as a comanager, and Eric Wong, the strategy's comanager, stepped in as lead manager. However, in November 2024, Fidelity announced that Ellis would be departing the firm at the end of March 2025. Since Ellis' role was always intended to be temporary while the firm worked to establish a long-term leadership solution, his departure is not expected to have a significant impact on the strategy. Meanwhile, Wong's continued presence provides reassurance during this transition. With over two decades of investment experience, Wong has played a key role in the fund's day-to-day management, having served as both comanager and lead manager at various times since 2012. Once Fielding takes charge, Wong will return to a comanager role here. As such, the strategy's current People and Process ratings of Average remain unchanged. |
Elevated turnover within the analyst team, particularly among sovereign specialists, has left the strategy thinly resourced in country-level research, warranting a downgrade of its People Pillar rating to Below Average from Average. Morningstar has enhanced the way we assess alpha opportunity for funds, which is a key component in our Morningstar Medalist Rating calculation. More of this strategy's Medalist Ratings than usual may therefore change with this update, even in the absence of changes to pillar ratings or fund costs. Philip Fielding, who joined Fidelity in April 2025, will assume leadership of this strategy starting July 1, 2025. Fielding brings nearly two decades of experience in emerging-markets debt, with a particular focus on sovereign hard-currency strategies. His appointment follows a turbulent period for the strategy’s leadership. Paul Greer, the previous lead manager, passed away in August 2024. Eric Wong, who was comanager at the time, stepped in as the lead manager, supported by Steve Ellis, Fidelity’s global chief investment officer for fixed income, who was temporarily appointed as a comanager. Ellis subsequently left the firm in March 2025. Meanwhile, turnover within the analyst team is a growing concern. Two of the three sovereign research analysts, Jan Berthold and Sophia Zhang, departed within a short span between 2024 and 2025. Their roles have yet to be backfilled, leaving the team stretched on country-level research—a critical component in a strategy that relies heavily on bottom-up country and security selection. The strategy’s long-term track record has been dented by periods of significant drawdowns due to former lead manager Wong’s high-conviction and often-contrarian investing style. This was especially evident in 2022, when outsized bets in Belarus, Ukraine, and the Chinese property sector weighed heavily on performance. Although the team has since reduced the portfolio’s riskiest exposures and plans to enforce stricter risk controls, recent investment personnel turnover leaves us cautious on the strategy’s overall merits. |
Morningstar Pillars | |
People | Below Average |
Parent | Above Average |
Process | Average |
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