Fidelity National Financial Inc
FNF
Financials
2
exclusion reasons
1 theme
This page is part of our public exclusion list — a transparency tool that shows which companies we screen out and why. It is not investment advice, and it is not an accusation. But it is subject to change as our understanding of the facts evolves.
Fidelity National Financial has a documented history of corruption and bribery violations in its core title insurance operations. In 2011, the company paid $4.5 million to settle federal charges that its subsidiaries, Fidelity National Title Insurance Co. and Chicago Title Insurance Co., participated in a nationwide kickback scheme. The violations, documented in ViolationTracker, involved illegal payments and rebates designed to steer real estate transactions.
Separately, the company has faced legal action alleging violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) in its business dealings in China. A breach of contract claim filed by a former executive also alleged the company violated anti-bribery laws in its interactions with a bank customer there. While Fidelity National Financial refutes claims of disclosure law violations, it continues to face numerous lawsuits related to a mortgage fraud scheme in San Diego, indicating ongoing legal risk from its business conduct.
Fidelity National Financial has employed corporate restructuring techniques that function to isolate and shed liabilities. The company’s acquisition of LandAmerica Financial Group’s two principal title insurance underwriters was executed through a Chapter 11 bankruptcy process, a structure that facilitated the transfer of assets while potentially leaving legacy liabilities behind. Furthermore, the company has pursued significant spin-offs, such as the separation of its Worldpay payment processing business, which reconfigures its corporate form. While such maneuvers can be presented as unlocking shareholder value, their repeated use in conjunction with liability-sensitive acquisitions aligns with a pattern of engineering corporate structures to manage legal and financial exposure. The available evidence does not specify a definitive “Texas two-step” or a purely tax-driven inversion, but the company’s strategic use of bankruptcy and spin-offs places it under this conduct-based scrutiny.
Research Sources
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Companies appear on our exclusion list based on our investment judgment — not because they've done anything illegal. This is a difference of values and opinion, not an accusation of wrongdoing. Exclusion does not constitute a recommendation against investing in any company, and absence from the list does not constitute a recommendation to invest.
This information is provided for educational and transparency purposes only and should not be relied upon as investment advice. Data is drawn from independent watchdogs, NGOs, government registries, and Ethical Capital's ongoing research — see Research Sources for the full list.
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