Chairman's Message June 30, 2021 - Fidelity Investments

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Chairman's Message | June 30, 2021 Abigail P. Johnson Dear Shareholder: U.S. money markets produced a nearly breakeven result for the 12 months ending June 30, 2021, a period marked by very low market yields and a resolute U.S. Federal Reserve intent on maintaining easy access to capital during the COVID-19 pandemic via historically low policy interest rates. The period began as the broader market was recovering from mounting credit concern early in 2020 related to the economic effects of the pandemic. In response to liquidity issues in some short-term debt markets, the Federal Open Market Committee kept the fed funds rate at a range of 0.00% to 0.25% and continued to make additional liquidity available via its open-market operations. In addition, the U.S. Federal Reserve boosted its holdings of U.S. Treasuries and agency mortgage- backed securities and introduced several loan and credit facilities. Notably, at its September 2020 meeting, the Fed updated its inflation target. Rather than target 2% inflation, the long-held goal, the central bank said it would seek a rate of inflation that averages 2% over time, meaning that it might allow inflation to overshoot the 2% target without feeling the need to raise rates. Yields then rose modestly in October, ahead of the U.S. presidential election in November, and amid expectations for additional economic stimulus. Short-term bond yields trended lower from November through the end of January, then fell more dramatically in February amid signs of increased inflation. By March, inflation had arrived in earnest, driven by a combination of supply-side issues in many consumer markets and concerns over federal spending on pandemic relief efforts. Late in April, the U.S. government sold four-week bills with a yield of 0%, the first time it had auctioned securities with no yield since March 2020. Technical factors impacted short-term Treasuries, especially early in the quarter. The Treasury department began releasing funds into the economy that it had previously raised in the market. This increased liquidity in the system and put downward pressure on Treasury bill yields. The Fed ultimately responded by increasing the interest rates paid on banks' reserve balances in June to 0.15%, and the interest rate offered for overnight reverse repurchase agreements to 0.05%, up from 0.10% and 0.00%, respectively. In testimony before Congress in June, Fed Chair Jerome Powell acknowledged that re-opening segments of the economy are driving more inflation than expected, but said he expects this higher inflation to be transitory. Powell suggested it's too early to put a timeline on the tapering of pandemic-era stimulus, and the subsequent, worse-than-anticipated rise of the COVID-19 delta variant has since injected a degree of uncertainty into the state of the economic recovery. At Fidelity, we take a very conservative approach to managing our money market funds. All our money market funds have ample liquid assets, and their liquidity profiles are published on our websites. We will continue to manage all our money market funds as we always have – with the goal of providing safety and liquidity for shareholders' investments. For more information on current market developments, please visit us online. Sincerely, Abigail P. Johnson Chairman of the Board of Trustees Fidelity Fixed Income and Asset Allocation Funds Not FDIC Insured • May Lose Value • No Bank Guarantee Please see the next page for important information.

Transcript of Chairman's Message June 30, 2021 - Fidelity Investments

Page 1: Chairman's Message June 30, 2021 - Fidelity Investments

Chairman's Message | June 30, 2021

Abigail P. Johnson

Dear Shareholder:

U.S. money markets produced a nearly breakeven result for the 12 months ending June 30, 2021, a period marked by very low market yields and a resolute U.S. Federal Reserve intent on maintaining easy access to capital during the COVID-19 pandemic via historically low policy interest rates.

The period began as the broader market was recovering from mounting credit concern early in 2020related to the economic effects of the pandemic. In response to liquidity issues in some short-term debt markets, the Federal Open Market Committee kept the fed funds rate at a range of 0.00% to 0.25% and continued to make additional liquidity available via its open-market operations. In addition, the U.S. Federal Reserve boosted its holdings of U.S. Treasuries and agency mortgage-backed securities and introduced several loan and credit facilities.

Notably, at its September 2020 meeting, the Fed updated its inflation target. Rather than target 2% inflation, the long-held goal, the central bank said it would seek a rate of inflation that averages 2% over time, meaning that it might allow inflation to overshoot the 2% target without feeling the need to raise rates. Yields then rose modestly in October, ahead of the U.S. presidential election in November, and amid expectations for additional economic stimulus.

Short-term bond yields trended lower from November through the end of January, then fell more dramatically in February amid signs of increased inflation. By March, inflation had arrived in earnest,driven by a combination of supply-side issues in many consumer markets and concerns over federalspending on pandemic relief efforts. Late in April, the U.S. government sold four-week bills with a yield of 0%, the first time it had auctioned securities with no yield since March 2020. Technical factors impacted short-term Treasuries, especially early in the quarter. The Treasury department began releasing funds into the economy that it had previously raised in the market. This increased liquidity in the system and put downward pressure on Treasury bill yields. The Fed ultimately responded by increasing the interest rates paid on banks' reserve balances in June to 0.15%, and the interest rate offered for overnight reverse repurchase agreements to 0.05%, up from 0.10% and 0.00%, respectively.

In testimony before Congress in June, Fed Chair Jerome Powell acknowledged that re-opening segments of the economy are driving more inflation than expected, but said he expects this higher inflation to be transitory. Powell suggested it's too early to put a timeline on the tapering of pandemic-era stimulus, and the subsequent, worse-than-anticipated rise of the COVID-19 delta variant has since injected a degree of uncertainty into the state of the economic recovery.

At Fidelity, we take a very conservative approach to managing our money market funds. All our money market funds have ample liquid assets, and their liquidity profiles are published on our websites. We will continue to manage all our money market funds as we always have – with the goalof providing safety and liquidity for shareholders' investments.

For more information on current market developments, please visit us online.

Sincerely,

Abigail P. JohnsonChairman of the Board of TrusteesFidelity Fixed Income and Asset Allocation Funds

Not FDIC Insured • May Lose Value • No Bank Guarantee

Please see the next page for important information.

Page 2: Chairman's Message June 30, 2021 - Fidelity Investments

Before investing, consider the funds' investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. Contact your investment professional or visit fidelity.com or advisor.fidelity.com for a prospectus or, if available, a summary prospectus containing this information. Read it carefully.

Views expressed are through the end of the period stated and do not necessarily represent the views of Fidelity. Views are subject to change at any time based upon market or other conditions and Fidelity disclaims any responsibility to update such views. These views may not be relied on as investment advice and, because investment decisions for a Fidelity fund are based on numerous factors, may not be relied on as an indication of trading intent on behalf of any Fidelity fund.

Risks: Stock markets, especially foreign markets, are volatile and can decline significantly in response to adverse issuer, political, regulatory, market or economic developments. The securities of smaller, less well-known companies can be more volatile than those of larger companies. In general, the bond market is volatile, and fixed-income securities carry interest rate risk. As interest rates rise, bond prices usually fall, and vice versa. This effect is usually more pronounced for longer-term securities. Fixed-income securities also carry inflation, credit and default risks for both issuers and counterparties. Lower-quality bonds can be more volatile and have greater risk of default than higher-quality bonds. The municipal market is volatileand can be significantly affected by adverse tax, legislative or political changes and the financial condition of the issuers of municipal securities. Income exempt from federal income tax may be subject to state or local tax. Leverage can increase market exposure and magnify investment risk. Foreign securities are subject to interest rate, currency exchange rate, economic and political risks, all of which are magnified in emerging markets. The investment risk of target date funds changesover time as their asset allocation changes. These risks are subject to the asset allocation decisions of the Investment Adviser. Pursuant to the Adviser's ability to use an active asset allocation strategy, investors may be subject to a different risk profile compared to the target date funds' neutral asset allocation strategy shown in their glide path. Target date funds are subject to the volatility of the financial markets, including that of equity and fixed-income investments in the U.S. and abroad, and may be subject to risks associated with investing in high-yield, small-cap, commodity-linked and foreign securities. No target date fund is considered a complete retirement program and there is no guarantee any single fund will provide sufficient retirement income at or through retirement. Principal invested is not guaranteed at any time, including at or after the funds' target dates.

Past performance does not guarantee future results.

Diversification does not ensure a profit or guarantee against a loss.

If receiving this piece through your relationship with Fidelity InstitutionalSM (FI), this publication may be provided by Fidelity Distributors Company LLC or Fidelity Brokerage Services LLC, Member NYSE, SIPC.

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