The Massachusetts Pension Reserves Investment Management Board has decided to pull the plug on a $315 million allocation to Fidelity Investments, after learning that the manager of the fund was leaving. Reuters reports that the December decision, which was ratified Tuesday, was based solely on the fact that the manager of the Fidelity Growth & Income Fund, Steven Kaye, had gone on sabbatical and not based on the fund’s performance or the recent gift-giving investigation that has targeted Fidelity, among others firms. A Fido spokeswoman told Reuters that her firm had offered the pension plan other investment options, but it declined because they lacked a significant track record or amount of assets. Pension fund executive director Michael Travaglini suggested that the board may withdraw even more money this year from Fidelity when the plan implements its decision to cut its exposure to high-yield bonds from 9% to 5%.
