Any investors hoping to find a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund could think about starting with Fidelity Value Fund (FDVLX Quick QuoteFDVLX - Free Report) . FDVLX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

FDVLX finds itself in the Fidelity family, based out of Boston, MA. Fidelity Value Fund made its debut in December of 1978, and since then, FDVLX has accumulated about $8.32 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. A team of investment professionals is the fund's current manager.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. FDVLX has a 5-year annualized total return of 11.8% and it sits in the top 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 18.04%, which places it in the top 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. Compared to the category average of 18.69%, the standard deviation of FDVLX over the past three years is 26.55%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 22.77% compared to the category average of 16.39%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

Investors should not forget about beta, an important way to measure a mutual fund's risk compared to the market as a whole. FDVLX has a 5-year beta of 1.3, which means it 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. FDVLX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -5.68, which means managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Holdings

Investigating 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.

Currently, this mutual fund is holding 90.54% stock in stocks, with an average market capitalization of $15.33 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

1. Industrial Cyclical
2. Finance

With turnover at about 77%, this fund is making more trades in a given year than the average of comparable funds.

Expenses

For investors, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is key, since costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing. Competition is heating up in this space, and a lower cost product will likely outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, all things being equal. In terms of fees, FDVLX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.79% compared to the category average of 1.09%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, FDVLX is actually cheaper than its peers.

While the minimum initial investment for the product is $0, investors should also note that there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.

Bottom Line

Overall, Fidelity Value Fund ( FDVLX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees, Fidelity Value Fund ( FDVLX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

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