Fidelity Magellan Fund manager Robert E. Stansky is stepping down from his post, capping a two-decade stint with Fidelity Investments and almost one decade of helming Magellan. The Boston Behemoth has selected veteran equity manager Harry W. Lange to lead the fund.

“Bob Stansky has done an excellent job for Fidelity for over 22 years now, including managing Magellan for nearly a decade,” said Stephen P. Jonas, executive director of Fidelity Management & Research Company.

Stansky said he wants to begin a fresh chapter in his life next year.

“For as long as I have been managing Fidelity Magellan Fund, I have worked very hard to give its shareholders the best possible return,” Stansky said. “I battled market headwinds in recent years as small-cap stocks significantly outperformed large cap stocks, which were my focus in the fund. These cycles are not new. Now, after twenty years of managing funds at Fidelity, I have decided it is time to take on new challenges in life.”

Under Stansky's watch, Magellan's performance was lackluster. But the manager denied that he was pushed out, according to Reuters.

"If I were going to be forced out, I would assume it would've been a while ago," Stansky said on a conference call, according to Reuters. "My numbers are better now than they were a couple of years ago."

Prior to his appointment, Lange was overseeing Fidelity Capital Appreciation Fund and Fidelity Advisor Small Cap Fund. During his watch on Fidelity Capital Appreciation --from May 1996 to September 2005-- the fund had an average annual total return of 9.73 percent, as against an average annual total return of 8.43 percent for the S&P 500 during the nine year period.

Lange joined Fidelity in 1987 as a research analyst covering the photography, office products and machinery industries. He managed several Select portfolios and lead research for Fidelity Investments Far East, in Tokyo, before he was tasked with overseeing Fidelity Capital Appreciation Fund in March 1996. He started managing Fidelity Advisor Small Cap Fund in September 1998.

Meanwhile, Fidelity also announced the appointment of Timothy Cohen as manager of Fidelity Growth & Income Portfolio, taking over from Steven Kaye, who is said to be exploring a number of options within the company.

Cohen, who joined as an equity analyst in 1996, has been managing Fidelity Export and Multinational Fund, Fidelity Destiny I and Fidelity Advisor Large Cap Fund. 

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