Fidelity CIO Richards to leave group

Fidelity International CIO Nicky Richards is to depart the group at the end of this month.

Richards, who joined Fidelity in 2006 after 16 years at Schroders, is planning to take time away from the industry. Robert Higginbotham, Fidelity's president and CEO for Europe, will take over Richards' responsibilities while the group searches for a replacement. Fidelity says the robust investment processes put in place by Richards will allow the day to day running of client portfolios to be unaffected. Richards joined Fidelity in 2006 as CIO for European Equities before taking on the broader role of group CIO in 2007.