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Is Fidelity Mid Cap Value Fund (FSMVX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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There are plenty of choices in the Mid Cap Value category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that might be worth investigating is Fidelity Mid Cap Value Fund (FSMVX - Free Report) . FSMVX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

We classify FSMVX in the Mid Cap Value category, an area rife with potential choices. Mid Cap Value mutual funds aim to target medium-sized companies that possess strong value and income opportunities for investors. A mid-cap company usually holds a market capitalization of between $2 billion and $10 billion.

History of Fund/Manager

Fidelity is responsible for FSMVX, and the company is based out of Boston, MA. Fidelity Mid Cap Value Fund debuted in November of 2001. Since then, FSMVX has accumulated assets of about $1.18 billion, according to the most recently available information. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. FSMVX has a 5-year annualized total return of 10.07% and it sits in the bottom 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 9.78%, 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 FSMVX over the past three years is 24.49% compared to the category average of 16.62%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 19.42% compared to the category average of 13.64%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.18, so it is likely going to be more volatile than the market at large. 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. FSMVX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -8.92, which means managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Holdings

Examining the equity holdings of a mutual fund is also a valuable exercise. This can show us how the manager is applying their stated methodology, as well as if there are any inherent biases in their approach. For this particular fund, the focus is mostly on equities that are traded in the United States.

This fund is currently holding about 92.59% stock in stocks, with an average market capitalization of $18.45 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

  1. Finance
  2. Retail Trade
  3. Industrial Cyclical
With turnover at about 67%, this fund is making more trades in a given year than the average of comparable funds.

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, FSMVX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.43% compared to the category average of 1.11%. So, FSMVX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.

This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $0, while there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.

Bottom Line

Overall, Fidelity Mid Cap Value Fund ( FSMVX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a great potential choice for investors right now.

Your research on the Mid Cap Value 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. And don't forget, Zacks has all of your needs covered on the equity side too! Make sure to check out Zacks.com for more information on our screening capabilities, Rank, and all our articles as well.


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