UPDATE 1-Fidelity to shut down small private equity unit

* Fidelity cites difficulty in accessing new capital

* Unit to be wound down by end of July

By Svea Herbst-Bayliss and Anupreeta Das

BOSTON/NEW YORK, June 19 (Reuters) - Fidelity Investments, the world's biggest mutual fund firm, said on Friday it will shut down its small private equity unit next month because the financial crisis has made it difficult to access new capital.

The two-year-old unit controlled about $500 million in assets, a fraction of the $1.25 trillion managed by its privately held, Boston-based parent.

Fidelity spokeswoman Anne Crowley said the decision to close the unit, Fidelity Equity Partners, was made because debt financing had become very difficult to obtain.

In the last two years the unit made acquisitions in four companies, and Fidelity plans to retain those ownership stakes.

The unit took stakes in imaging solutions company Picsolve International, financial data management companies Complinet Group and Asset Control Inc, and oil and gas equipment company Production Control Services Inc.

The unit employed 14 people, with half working in the United States and the other half in London.