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To: Voltaire who wrote (16739)	5/12/1999 8:15:00 AM
From: Glenn D. Rudolph	Respond to of 41369

Fidelity backs away from Internet fund idea BOSTON, May 11 (Reuters) - Fidelity Investments, the nation's largest mutual fund company, considered launching a new Internet mutual fund but the "speculative fever" has prevented such an offering so far, Bob Pozen, president of Fidelity Management and Research Co. said on Tuesday. "We've struggled with the question on whether to have a select Internet fund," said Pozen. "We're very reluctant to do that because we think we would be contributing to what may be viewed as the speculative fever in those types of stocks." Pozen was responding to an investor's question during a 10-city satellite broadcast of a portfolio manager's forum to about 4,800 Fidelity clients. He said he was confident that if Fidelity had such a fund, it could raise $2 billion to $3 billion in just two or three weeks. Fidelity will continue to capitalize on the Internet through existing funds with significant online holdings such as the $5 billion Aggressive Growth fund, Pozen said. Online services provider America Online Inc. <AOL.N> is listed by Fidelity as one of Aggressive Growth's top 10 holdings as of March 31. But Jim Lowell, editor of the Fidelity Investor newsletter, noted that some large Fidelity funds have pared their holdings of Internet stocks following the run-ups last year. "The resistance to (start an Internet fund) reflects Fidelity's generally bearish take on the group," Lowell said. "If they thought otherwise they would have launched a select fund months ago. Pozen also said Fidelity had no plans to start a "Magellan II" fund in the wake of Magellan's strong performance last year. Magellan, the biggest mutual fund with more than $93 billion in assets, was closed to most new investors in 1997. REUTERS Rtr 23:06 05-11-99