Fidelity launches two new funds: 1. fidelity funds - global focus fund and 2. fidelity funds ll - euro corporate bond f

FIDELITY LAUNCHES TWO NEW FUNDS: 1. FIDELITY FUNDS - GLOBAL FOCUS FUND and 2. FIDELITY FUNDS ll - EURO CORPORATE BOND FUND Stockholm, January 17 2003: Fidelity Investments launches two new funds Fidelity Funds - Global Focus Fund and Fidelity Funds ll - Euro Corporate Bond Fund. 1. Fidelity Funds - Global Focus Fund is a specialist global equity fund, designed to appeal to experienced investors who want concentrated exposure to global investment stockpicking opportunities and who have a stronger appetite for risk. The fund will differ from Fidelity's existing global funds, as its portfolio construction will not be bound by traditional geographic and regional constraints. Instead it will have a "go-anywhere" investment approach and will look at a combination of global sector and stock specific factors and seek to take advantage of the impact these factors have on stockmarket returns. The fund manager, Brenda Reed, will have the freedom to select the best investment ideas from each global sector as identified by Fidelity's award-winning team of investment analysts. The fund will have a concentrated portfolio of approximately 100 to 150 stocks, with sector exposure (but not geographic exposure) similar to its benchmark, the MSCI World Index. Brenda Reed, previously Fidelity's Director of UK and European research, will be supported by Fidelity's international research network made up of closer to 450 investment professionals located throughout the world's major financial centres. Each analyst is dedicated to a specific sector in the market, which ensures they fully understand the dynamics of their industry, the issues affecting it, and the companies that are best positioned to succeed. Brenda Reed, commenting on the funds investment approach, says: "My sector based approach to global equity fund management is a result of specific trends that we can observe today. Globalisation among companies, industries and people is already a reality and this fund will be structured to take advantage of this." Mike Nikou, Business Director, Nordic Region, concludes: "We strongly believe that good companies remain good companies, who have the ability to deliver strong returns, regardless of the broader market conditions. This new fund is ideal for risk aware, experienced investors who believe now might be the right time to increase their exposure to global equities". Key Features: · The fund manager is pursuing absolute returns by taking full advantage of Fidelity's global research efforts. · Risk control will focus primarily on business level risk and will be regulated through strong fundamental analysis and sufficient holdings diversification. Sector and geographic exposure will be broadly diversified, but could vary significantly from the benchmark's exposure. · The portfolio is biased towards mid-cap and large cap stocks. The fund will employ a style neutral approach and may hold a combination of value and growth stocks. · The fund benchmark is MSCI World Index. · The fund is a sub-funds of Fidelity's Funds (SICAV) range, domicile Luxembourg. · Fund charges -1.5% annual management charge and initial charge of 5.25%. 2. Fidelity Funds II - Euro Corporate Bond Fund, added to Fidelity's Luxembourg based Fidelity Funds II SICAV range, is designed to appeal to investors who are seeking higher returns than government bonds without the risk associated with equities. The new fund will invest primarily in Euro denominated corporate bonds and will have an estimated yield to maturity of approximately 5%*. It will help European investors achieve higher levels of diversification through greater exposure to corporate fixed income securities. The fund offers more capital security than a pure high yield bond fund where default rates can be much higher. * The yield to maturity is estimated only and cannot be guaranteed. It has been based on the underlying securities of the index as at 31/10/02. The value of investments and the yield from them can go down as well as up and an investor may not get back the amount invested. With the Fidelity Funds II - Euro Corporate Bond Fund, investors are given the opportunity to capitalise not just on the growing Euro corporate bond market, but also on Fidelity's proven expertise and pedigree as a fixed income manager. Fidelity boasts one of the largest and most sophisticated fixed income research and management teams in the world, consisting of over 80 dedicated fixed income professionals. The Fidelity philosophy of managing bond funds is built on delivering significant risk-adjusted returns through active investment management, which aims to beat the benchmark. The introduction of the single European currency has eliminated the benefits of the traditional top- down approach followed by many fixed-income managers. The fund manager, Paul Lavelle, will be looking for what he believes are the most attractive corporate fixed income securities, primarily denominated in Euros. Consisting of approximately 80 to 100 securities, Lavelle's management of the fund will be consistent with Fidelity's active bond picking approach ensuring that the quality of the issuer, and their ability to provide long term rewards for the investor are a priority. Paul takes an active approach to selecting fixed income securities and prefers to add value through credit analysis and quantitative analysis. Paul, based in the UK, will be supported by Fidelity's UK based fixed income research team of 23 professionals, including 5 portfolio managers together with 5 dedicated credit analysts and 5 dedicated quantitative analysts. The UK team works closely with its fixed income counterparts in the US. This is an important link as an increasing number of US companies issue bonds denominated in Euro. All Fidelity's credit analysts coordinate their activities and views with Fidelity's 227 equity analysts, of which 60 are dedicated to covering the UK and Europe. The equity resource can prove highly beneficial to the credit analyst when making decisions regarding the business plans of corporate bond issuers. Mike Nikou, Business Director, Nordic Region, concludes: "We strongly believe that with over $ 400 billion globally in fixed income assets under management, one of the largest fixed income teams in the world and an attractive record of performance, Fidelity is quite possibly the best kept secret in when it comes to managing bond portfolios. This combined with the opportunities the Euro corporate bond market presents, and the new Fidelity Funds II - Euro Corporate Bond Fund may prove to be just the formula our clients have been searching for." Key Features: · The fund manager adopts Fidelity's bond-picking approach, providing active management which seeks to minimize risk while producing returns above the fund's benchmark. · Managed around the Merrill Lynch EMU Corporate Bond Index. Established in 1995, this index consists of over 1200 bonds from over 500 issuers. · Highly experienced fund manager backed by one of the world's largest fixed income research networks. · Only invests in securities with a minimum BBB-rating (Standard and Poors) or Baa3 (Moodys). · Primarily investing in Euro denominated corporate securities. · Approximately 80 - 100 securities. · Fund charges -0.75% annual management charge and initial charge of 5.25%. · Duration managed around the benchmark. · Sub-fund of the Fidelity Funds II SICAV range, woth domicile Luxembourg. For further information, please contact: Mike Nikou Petter Edwinson Business Director, Nordic Region Sr Marketing Manager, Nordic Region Fidelity Investments International Fidelity Investments International Tel: +46 8 463 11 63 Tel: + 46 8 463 10 79 E-mail: mike nikou@fid-intl.com E-mail: petter.edwinson@fid-intl.com Fidelity International Limited, which trades under the name Fidelity Investments, serves the major markets of the world by providing investment products and services to individuals and institutional investors outside the US. Together with Fidelity Management and Research Co of Boston, USA, Fidelity is the largest independent fund management organisation in the world, with US$827.1 billion of assets under management.* *Assets as at 30/9/2002 include those of FMR Corp, a US company and affiliate and its subsidiaries. ------------------------------------------------------------ This information was brought to you by Waymaker http://www.waymaker.net The following files are available for download: http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2003/01/17/20030117BIT00500/wkr0001.doc http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2003/01/17/20030117BIT00500/wkr0002.pdf