Quote of the Day by Abigail Johnson: “When everyone is running the machine, and it's all working, there's a tendency to look at the short term ………”

Today’s quote of the day is by famous American billionaire businesswoman Abigail Johnson. She is the Chair and CEO of Fidelity Investments and the granddaughter of the company’s founder. This quote of the day will inspire you and give you a new perspective. Abigail Johnson’s quote of the day encourages people to look beyond daily success and focus on big future opportunities.

Quote of the day

“When everyone is running the machine, and it's all working, there's a tendency to look at the short term and focus on incremental opportunities and not look ahead to the really big opportunities.” — Abigail Johnson, via Brainy Quote.

Explanation of the quote

The quote talks about how success can make people comfortable and stop them from thinking big. When things are going well, people focus on small improvements instead of future-changing ideas. The quote reminds students and professionals to think long-term, not just about quick wins.

Who is Abigail Johnson

Abigail Johnson is a famous American billionaire businesswoman and banker. She is the Chair and CEO of Fidelity Investments. She is the granddaughter of Fidelity’s founder, Edward C. Johnson II. Abigail Johnson became CEO of Fidelity in 2014 after succeeding her father, Ned Johnson. She was named Chair of Fidelity in 2016. Abigail Johnson is 63 years old and has decades of experience in finance.

Fidelity is a privately owned company. The Johnson family owns 49% of Fidelity, while the rest is owned by employees. Abigail Johnson owns about 28% of Fidelity. Her net worth is estimated at around $35 billion.

Fidelity manages about $16.4 trillion in assets under administration. Fidelity earned $32.7 billion in revenue in 2024. Johnson pushed Fidelity toward alternative investments early on. Fidelity started focusing on digital assets in 2018, as cited in the report by American Banker. Fidelity Digital Assets operates as an independent subsidiary. It offers custody and trading services for crypto investors. Its clients include institutions and high-net-worth individuals.

Fidelity Bitcoin ETF and Crypto growth

Fidelity launched a spot Bitcoin ETF after SEC approval in January last year. The ETF is called the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC). FBTC is the second-largest spot Bitcoin ETF. The fund holds $21.7 billion in assets. “Fidelity's spot bitcoin ETF…has emerged as an extremely successful #2,” said Aniket Ulla of CFRA, as stated by American Banker. Fidelity hired tens of thousands of employees in the last five years.

Most new hires work in technology and customer service. Fidelity allows crypto investment options in some 401(k) plans. Fidelity launched a Crypto for IRAs product. Fidelity introduced a tokenized treasury investment for institutions. Fidelity confirmed it is testing a stablecoin offering. Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies linked to the U.S. dollar.

Johnson’s teams planned for “frictionless” markets over a decade ago. “Maybe we were onto something,” Johnson said about early crypto planning, sais at an interview with Bloomberg. Fidelity continues to grow its brokerage and advisory businesses. Fidelity oversees $34 billion in health savings accounts. Fidelity launched new ETFs, including municipal bond ETFs. Fidelity’s ETF assets reached $125.9 billion by Q2 2025.

Another quotes by Abigail Johnson

• “Your results are very quantifiable. And nobody can take those results away from you.” — Abigail Johnson.
• “Don’t assume that the answers are out there in the form of somebody else already doing something.” — Abigail Johnson.
• “At the end of the day, you know yourself best.” — Abigail Johnson.
• “When computer systems cause errors, you can end up with the dreaded NIGO.” — Abigail Johnson.