Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Is Fidelity Growth Strategies Fund (FDEGX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

Read MoreHide Full Article

On the lookout for an All Cap Growth fund? Starting with Fidelity Growth Strategies Fund (FDEGX - Free Report) is one possibility. FDEGX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

Tickers is classified in the All Cap Growth segment by Zacks, an area full of possibilities. All Cap Growth funds have holdings across small, medium, and large-cap levels in order to increase diversification. As long as stocks demonstrate strong growth characteristics, these portfolios will invest in various equity securities regardless of company size.

History of Fund/Manager

Fidelity is based in Boston, MA, and is the manager of FDEGX. The Fidelity Growth Strategies Fund made its debut in December of 1990 and FDEGX has managed to accumulate roughly $2.99 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Jean Park, has been in charge of the fund since August of 2013.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. FDEGX has a 5-year annualized total return of 16.94% and it sits in the bottom third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 17.02%, which places it in the bottom third during this time-frame.

When looking at a fund's performance, it is also important to note the standard deviation of the returns. The lower the standard deviation, the less volatility the fund experiences. FDEGX's standard deviation over the past three years is 18.82% compared to the category average of 18.78%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 15.19% compared to the category average of 15.52%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

With a 5-year beta of 0.95, the fund is likely to be less volatile than the market average. Because alpha represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which is the S&P 500 in this case, one should pay attention to this metric as well. FDEGX's 5-year performance has produced a positive alpha of 0.85, which means managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Expenses

As competition heats up in the mutual fund market, costs become increasingly important. Compared to its otherwise identical counterpart, a low-cost product will be an outperformer, all other things being equal. Thus, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is vital for investors. In terms of fees, FDEGX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.63% compared to the category average of 1.02%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, FDEGX is actually cheaper than its peers.

Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $0 and that each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.

Bottom Line

Overall, Fidelity Growth Strategies Fund ( FDEGX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Fidelity Growth Strategies Fund ( FDEGX ) looks like a great potential choice for investors right now.

For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the All Cap Growth, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information. Zacks provides a full suite of tools to help you analyze your portfolio - both funds and stocks - in the most efficient way possible.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


Fidelity Growth Strategies (FDEGX) - free report >>

Published in