Fidelity Investments is a diversified financial services firm that makes financial expertise broadly accessible to people investing their life savings, businesses managing their employee benefits and advisors investing their clients’ money.

The company was founded in 1946 by Edward C. Johnson 2d, Ned Johnson’s father, to serve as investment advisor to the $3 million Fidelity Fund. Ned Johnson served as chief executive officer of Fidelity from 1977 to 2014.

Mr. Johnson joined the firm as a research analyst in 1957. He managed Fidelity Trend Fund from 1958 to 1967 and was Fidelity Magellan Fund’s first portfolio manager, running the fund from 1963 to 1971. Mr. Johnson assumed executive control of the company in 1972 — when assets under management were $3.9 billion — and quickly established a reputation as an innovator within the financial services industry. He pioneered the direct marketing of mutual funds in the 1970s, and made Fidelity the first company to offer check-writing on money market funds. He also broke new ground in developing technology-based customer services such as 24-hour service with an in-house representative.

Born in 1930, Mr. Johnson received a bachelor of arts degree from Harvard College in 1954 and has honorary degrees from Bentley College, Boston University, Hobart and William Smith Colleges and Northeastern University. He is actively involved with a large number of organizations in the Boston area, including the Foundation for Neurologic Diseases, Beth Israel Hospital, the Boston Society of Security Analysts, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Massachusetts General Hospital and Children’s Hospital. He also pursues philanthropic activities as chairman of the Fidelity Foundation and the Edward C. Johnson Fund.