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Is Fidelity Contrafund K (FCNKX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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Mutual Fund Equity Report fund seekers may want to consider taking a look at Fidelity Contrafund K (FCNKX - Free Report) . FCNKX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

Fidelity is based in Boston, MA, and is the manager of FCNKX. Fidelity Contrafund K made its debut in May of 2008, and since then, FCNKX has accumulated about $13.64 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. Will Danoff is the fund's current manager and has held that role since May of 2008.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 17.96%, and is in the middle third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 19.19%, 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. FCNKX's standard deviation over the past three years is 18.53% compared to the category average of 17.13%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 17.05% compared to the category average of 15.31%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

With a 5-year beta of 1.02, the fund is likely to be as volatile as the market average. Another factor to consider is alpha, as it reflects a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark-in this case, the S&P 500. With a positive alpha of 1.67, managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking 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 primarily on equities that are traded in the United States.

As of the last filing date, the mutual fund has 86.57% of its assets in stocks, with an average market capitalization of $668.19 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

  1. Technology
  2. Finance
  3. Retail Trade
With turnover at about 27%, this fund makes fewer trades than its comparable peers.

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, FCNKX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.74% compared to the category average of 1%. FCNKX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.

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 Contrafund K ( FCNKX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.

Don't stop here for your research on Mutual Fund Equity Report funds. We also have plenty more on our site in order to help you find the best possible fund for your portfolio. Make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for more information about the world of funds, and feel free to compare FCNKX to its peers as well for additional information. If you want to check out our stock reports as well, make sure to go to Zacks.com to see all of the great tools we have to offer, including our time-tested Zacks Rank.


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