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Is Fidelity Advisor Small Cap Growth A (FCAGX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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Small Cap Growth fund seekers may want to consider taking a look at Fidelity Advisor Small Cap Growth A (FCAGX - Free Report) . FCAGX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
The world of Small Cap Growth funds is an area filled with options, such as FCAGX. These funds tend to create their portfolios around stocks that sport large growth opportunities and market capitalization of less than $2 billion. The companies in these portfolios are usually on the smaller side, and are in up-and-coming industries and markets.
History of Fund/Manager
Fidelity is based in Boston, MA, and is the manager of FCAGX. Fidelity Advisor Small Cap Growth A debuted in November of 2004. Since then, FCAGX has accumulated assets of about $374.88 million, according to the most recently available information. Patrick Venanzi is the fund's current manager and has held that role since November of 2011.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 21.62%, and it sits in the middle third among its category peers. If you're interested in shorter time frames, do not dismiss looking at the fund's 3-year annualized total return of 18%, which places it in the middle 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. The standard deviation of FCAGX over the past three years is 23.46% compared to the category average of 16.74%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 18.89% compared to the category average of 13.79%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With a 5-year beta of 1.1, the fund is likely to be more 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. FCAGX's 5-year performance has produced a positive alpha of 2.89, 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, FCAGX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.31% compared to the category average of 1.21%. From a cost perspective, FCAGX is actually more expensive than its peers.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $0; each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.
Bottom Line
Overall, Fidelity Advisor Small Cap Growth A ( FCAGX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, worse downside risk, and higher fees, this fund looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
Your research on the Small Cap Growth segment doesn't have to stop here. You can check out all the great mutual fund tools we have to offer by going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds to see the additional features we offer as well 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.
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Is Fidelity Advisor Small Cap Growth A (FCAGX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Small Cap Growth fund seekers may want to consider taking a look at Fidelity Advisor Small Cap Growth A (FCAGX - Free Report) . FCAGX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
The world of Small Cap Growth funds is an area filled with options, such as FCAGX. These funds tend to create their portfolios around stocks that sport large growth opportunities and market capitalization of less than $2 billion. The companies in these portfolios are usually on the smaller side, and are in up-and-coming industries and markets.
History of Fund/Manager
Fidelity is based in Boston, MA, and is the manager of FCAGX. Fidelity Advisor Small Cap Growth A debuted in November of 2004. Since then, FCAGX has accumulated assets of about $374.88 million, according to the most recently available information. Patrick Venanzi is the fund's current manager and has held that role since November of 2011.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 21.62%, and it sits in the middle third among its category peers. If you're interested in shorter time frames, do not dismiss looking at the fund's 3-year annualized total return of 18%, which places it in the middle 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. The standard deviation of FCAGX over the past three years is 23.46% compared to the category average of 16.74%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 18.89% compared to the category average of 13.79%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With a 5-year beta of 1.1, the fund is likely to be more 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. FCAGX's 5-year performance has produced a positive alpha of 2.89, 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, FCAGX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.31% compared to the category average of 1.21%. From a cost perspective, FCAGX is actually more expensive than its peers.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $0; each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.
Bottom Line
Overall, Fidelity Advisor Small Cap Growth A ( FCAGX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, worse downside risk, and higher fees, this fund looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
Your research on the Small Cap Growth segment doesn't have to stop here. You can check out all the great mutual fund tools we have to offer by going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds to see the additional features we offer as well 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.