Johnson Makes Rare Speech as Fidelity Deals With Harassment

Fidelity Investments’ Abigail Johnson took center stage on Oct. 24 and counseled money managers gathering in Washington about charting their future in the digital world.

But the chief executive, a featured speaker at one of the industry’s biggest conferences, is also struggling with a stubborn legacy of the past: the treatment of women in the world of finance.

Abigail Johnson

Photographer: Daniel Barry/Bloomberg

Over the last two months, Fidelity, one of the largest investment companies, has dismissed two portfolio managers--one over allegations of inappropriate sexual comments and another over claims of sexually harassing a female junior employee.

In the speech, Johnson said she wants ...