Not only are they a great way for you to gain practical experience in a specific business area, we also see them as an effective means of finding high-quality candidates for positions after graduation. During 1999, we had six people on board, four of whom were subsequently offered positions upon graduation. We have grown from just over 1,000 employees at the end of 1994 to more than 2,500 employees at the end of 2000. We have positions throughout the year across all of the business units. Fidelity is a performance-based organisation and that philosophy is an integral part of our compensation programme.
All positions have a performance-based bonus plan in addition to the base compensation.
Accordingly, we expect our employees to take the greater share of responsibility for determining their own career direction and become actively engaged in the process of driving their own learning and development. There is no typical career path. A career here depends very much on people s own strengths, ambitions and performance. However, for graduates, a good starting point is the customer service area, with exposure to the core of our business. Assets and resources as at 31.3.01 include those of FMR Corp., a US company and affiliate, and its subsidiaries.