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The question: Who is Anthony Bolton? is to the investment industry what the question: Who was Rodrigo Borgia is to the Catholic faithful. For those who are unfamiliar with Borgia, who later became Pope Alexander VI, let’s say that he was to the Vatican what Bolton is to Investment Management. Okay, comparing Bolton to one of the most controversial figures that ever ruled the Vatican might be a little dramatic… or maybe even extreme. But like Borgia, Anthony Bolton sure knows where to find hugely profitable opportunities throughout the land.

And this alone could be why so many view Anthony Bolton as something of an Investment Management god. Having managed one of the most successful mutual funds for nearly 30 years, Bolton was able to provide his investors with annualized returns of nearly 20%. The fund was the Special Situations Fund, which Bolton left conveniently in 2007, leaving behind a legacy that puts him in the realm of legends. True legends. The kind that all amateur investors tell their sons about at bed time, the kind of guy they want their daughter’s to marry.

That much is indisputable. Anthony Bolton is a legend. And for that reason alone, people everywhere in the world rejoiced when Fidelity Investments announced that Bolton would be getting back into the game of investment management, running money for Fidelity’s new China-related portfolio in 2010. It is expected that he will do so for two years and he has been hitting the streets with great news and promises of opportunity since late 2009.

But a god?

There is much to be said about Bolton’s timing, his legacy and his views about investment management.

For starters, Bolton bailed on the Special Situations Fund at the most opportune time. Had he stuck around for another year, would his performance have been so hot? There are certainly arguments that it would have continued to beat the market. But since Bolton left the fund, it has barely kept pace with the S&P 500, a far cry from the compounded 19.5% that Bolton gets to keep to his credit.

Additionally, Bolton is a self-confessed contrarian investor. This, after all, is what helped bring the Special Situations Fund to the saintly status it enjoyed for all that time. That is not to say that contrarian investing is out-of-favor today, but it certainly feels out of place when it comes to investing in China. We have all heard about the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) and it seems to me that taking on such a new fund for Fidelity is anti-contrarian. While China remains out-of-favor for many common investors, the expected growth in China is unquestionable. Could Bolton’s involvement be more about pumping up the fund than it is about smart investment management?

To Bolton’s credit, this man has been able to make investment management sexy again. He may not be a Rodgrio Borgia so much as, well, a James Bond. His performance speaks for itself. (And the successor fund manager Sanjeev Shah has clearly done a great job filling Bolton’s big shoes by taking wise positions in very out-of-favor UK Financial firms in 2008 to outperform the benchmark). But what should be somewhat concerning is Bolton’s message lately and the delivery.

Should investors rush into his new fund once it launches? That’s a good question, but one might want to be a little more cautious this time around. While Bolton has the investment management skill and history to back all of his talk, there are other China plays out there when it comes to your mutual funds investments.