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Is Fidelity International Capital Appreciation (FIVFX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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Mutual Fund Equity Report fund seekers should not consider taking a look at Fidelity International Capital Appreciation (FIVFX - Free Report) at this time. FIVFX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

Fidelity is responsible for FIVFX, and the company is based out of Boston, MA. Fidelity International Capital Appreciation made its debut in November of 1994, and since then, FIVFX has accumulated about $4.15 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund's current manager, Sammy Simnegar, has been in charge of the fund since January of 2008.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 4.35%, 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 2.5%, 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. FIVFX's standard deviation over the past three years is 19.53% compared to the category average of 19.49%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 17.12% compared to the category average of 17.29%. This makes the fund less 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. FIVFX has a 5-year beta of 0.89, which means it 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. FIVFX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -5.56, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Expenses

Costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing, and particularly as competition heats up in this market. And all things being equal, a lower cost product will outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, so taking a closer look at these metrics is key for investors. In terms of fees, FIVFX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.03% compared to the category average of 1.15%. So, FIVFX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.

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 International Capital Appreciation ( FIVFX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Fidelity International Capital Appreciation ( FIVFX ) looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.

Want even more information about FIVFX? Then go over to Zacks.com and check out our mutual fund comparison tool, and all of the other great features that we have to help you with your mutual fund analysis 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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