Fidelity International High Dividend ETF
Fidelity International Value Factor ETF
Fidelity Targeted Emerging Markets Factor ETF
Fidelity Targeted International Factor ETF
Each year, the Board of Trustees, including the Independent Trustees (together, the Board), votes on the renewal of the management contract with Fidelity Management & Research Company LLC (FMR) and the sub-advisory agreement (Sub-Advisory Agreement) for each fund with Geode Capital Management, LLC (Geode) (together, the Advisory Contracts). FMR and Geode are referred to herein as the Investment Advisers. The Board, assisted by the advice of fund counsel and Independent Trustees’ counsel, requests and considers a broad range of information relevant to the renewal of the Advisory Contracts throughout the year.
Approval of Amended and Restated Advisory Contracts. At its November 2019 meeting, the Board unanimously determined to approve an amended and restated management contract and sub-advisory agreements (Amended and Restated Contracts) for a stub period of January 1, 2020 through January 31, 2020 in connection with a consolidation of certain of Fidelity’s advisory businesses. The Board considered that, on or about January 1, 2020, FMR Co., Inc. (FMRC) expected to merge with and into FMR and, after the merger, FMR expected to redomicile as a Delaware limited liability company. The Board noted that the Amended and Restated Contracts will reflect the replacement of FMRC with FMR and will take effect upon the completion of the merger. The Board noted that references to FMR in the Amended and Restated Contracts would be updated to reflect FMR’s new form of organization and domicile. The Board also noted Fidelity’s assurance that neither the planned consolidation nor the Amended and Restated Contracts will change the investment processes, the level or nature of services provided, the resources and personnel allocated, trading and compliance operations, or any fees paid by the fund.
The Board meets regularly and, at each of its meetings, covers an extensive agenda of topics and materials and considers factors that are relevant to its annual consideration of the renewal of each fund’s Advisory Contracts, including the services and support provided to each fund and its shareholders. The Board has established various standing committees (Committees), each composed of and chaired by Independent Trustees with varying backgrounds, to which the Board has assigned specific subject matter responsibilities in order to enhance effective decision-making by the Board. The Board, acting directly and through its Committees, requests and receives information concerning the annual consideration of the renewal of each fund’s Advisory Contracts. The Board also meets as needed to review matters specifically related to the Board’s annual consideration of the renewal of the Advisory Contracts. Members of the Board may also meet with trustees of other Fidelity funds through joint ad hoc committees to discuss certain matters relevant to all of the Fidelity funds.
At its January 2020 meeting, the Board unanimously determined to renew each fund’s Advisory Contracts. In reaching its determination, the Board considered all factors it believed relevant, including (i) the nature, extent, and quality of the services provided to each fund and its shareholders (including the investment performance of each fund); (ii) the competitiveness of each fund’s management fee and total expense ratio relative to peer funds; (iii) the total costs of the services provided by and the profits realized by Fidelity and Geode from their respective relationships with each fund; and (iv) the extent to which, if any, economies of scale exist and are realized as each fund grows, and whether any economies of scale are appropriately shared with fund shareholders.
In considering whether to renew the Advisory Contracts for each fund, the Board reached a determination, with the assistance of fund counsel and Independent Trustees’ counsel and through the exercise of its business judgment, that the renewal of the Advisory Contracts was in the best interests of each fund and its shareholders and that the compensation payable under the Advisory Contracts was fair and reasonable. The Board’s decision to renew the Advisory Contracts was not based on any single factor, but rather was based on a comprehensive consideration of all the information provided to the Board at its meetings throughout the year. The Board, in reaching its determination to renew the Advisory Contracts, was aware that shareholders of each fund have a broad range of investment choices available to them, including a wide choice among funds offered by Fidelity’s competitors, and that each fund’s shareholders, who have the opportunity to review and weigh the disclosure provided by the fund in its prospectus and other public disclosures, have chosen to invest in that fund, which is part of the Fidelity family of funds.
Nature, Extent, and Quality of Services Provided. The Board considered staffing as it relates to the funds, including the backgrounds of investment personnel of Fidelity and Geode, and also considered the funds’ investment objectives, strategies, and related investment philosophies. The Independent Trustees also had discussions with senior management of Fidelity’s investment operations and investment groups and with representatives of Geode. The Board considered the structure of the investment personnel compensation programs and whether the structures provide appropriate incentives to act in the best interests of each fund. Additionally, the Board considered the portfolio managers’ investments, if any, in the funds that they manage.
The Trustees also discussed with representatives of Fidelity, at meetings throughout the year, Fidelity’s role in, among other things, overseeing compliance with federal securities laws and other applicable requirements by Geode with respect to the funds and monitoring and overseeing the performance and investment capabilities of Geode. The Trustees considered that the Board had received from Fidelity periodic reports about its oversight and due diligence processes, as well as periodic reports regarding the performance of Geode.