Semper Fidelity

Jack Bowers pulled a dusty Apple Macintosh Plus computer from a storage closet and plunked it on his desk.

He beamed at the high-tech relic as he recalled how it allowed him two decades ago at the dawn of the desktop publishing revolution to launch a business on a shoestring.

The little investment newsletter he started all those years ago is now regarded as a leading voice on all things Fidelity -- as in Boston-based Fidelity Investments, the nation's largest mutual fund family with $1.3 trillion in assets. That accounts for about 10 percent of all the money managed by domestic funds.

From a small office in a Rocklin business park, Bowers sends buy and sell signals to a loyal following of subscribers. Upon his recommendation, they will shift literally millions of dollars in and out of Fidelity funds.

His influence comes from years of cultivating a loyal following through his model portfolios, which combined have generated a 12.6 percent gain over the newsletter's lifetime.

The return beats the 11.7 percent performance of the Dow Jones/Wilshire 5000 index, according to the Hulbert Financial Digest, which tracks investment newsletters.

Over the past 15 years, Hulbert ranks the Fidelity Monitor as 15th out of 59 newsletters for overall performance. When adjusted for risk, Fidelity Monitor ranks 13th for the same period. Over 20 years, it is fourth out of 37 newsletters.

"I have grown the business pretty much on good results," said Bowers, a self-described Wall Street outsider.

Early on, Fidelity Monitor's results caught the attention of rival newsletter editor Ken Weber. He recruited Bowers 15 years ago to form a partnership in a fledgling money management firm -- Weber Asset Management -- investing primarily in Fidelity funds.

"I realized there was someone else that was basically the best in the country," said company President Ken Weber. "His training as an electrical engineer taught him to model for the best outcome."

Fidelity spokeswoman Anne Crowley said Fidelity Monitor and other specialty newsletters have a unique role as investment commentators, customers and investors. She declined to discuss Bowers or his publication.

"It's certainly flattering that they've chosen to invest in Fidelity," Crowley said. At the same time, "many of them say some things we don't agree with."

Since rolling out his inaugural edition in November 1986, Bowers has dispensed monthly investment advice, insights into Fidelity funds and their managers, and views about the financial markets and economy to thousands of subscribers worldwide.

"His newsletter seems to hit it on the head. He's very conservative, and he doesn't like to be in speculative things. I've doubled my money in a lot of things," said Los Angeles resident Dorothy Geller, 78, who subscribes to seven other investment newsletters.

Ron Johnson of Placerville agreed and gave Bowers high marks for answering e-mails promptly. Over the years, he has canceled subscriptions to other newsletters while sticking with Fidelity Monitor.

"He's not a market timer. He's more into making good decisions. I was able to build my portfolio nicely with his advice," Johnson said.

These days, Bowers counts on longtime subscribers such as Geller and Johnson to keep his newsletter in the black, a challenging task in an industry hit hard by the dot.com bust, the bear market of the early 2000s and the information explosion wrought by the Internet.

"Total number of subscribers in the newsletter world have gone down. The peak was in the late '90s," Hulbert said. "It's a rags-to-riches and riches-to-rags kind of story."

Fidelity Monitor has survived despite a slide in subscriptions -- to about 6,250 today from a peak of 18,250 in 1996. The cost today is $139 a year, up from $96. Subscribers can still get that original price, though, if they take a five-year subscription.

"The guys who started before the Web have staying power," Bowers said. "Anybody that didn't start a newsletter before 1994 pretty much should kiss off the proposition."

About the writer:

• The Bee's Gilbert Chan can be reached at (916) 321-1045 or gchan@sacbee.com.