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Is Fidelity Blue Chip Growth Fund (FBGRX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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If you've been stuck searching for Mutual Fund Equity Report funds, consider Fidelity Blue Chip Growth Fund (FBGRX - Free Report) as a possibility. FBGRX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

Fidelity is based in Boston, MA, and is the manager of FBGRX. Fidelity Blue Chip Growth Fund debuted in December of 1987. Since then, FBGRX has accumulated assets of about $31.17 billion, according to the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Sonu Kalra who has been in charge of the fund since July of 2009.

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 10.56%, 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 7%, 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. FBGRX's standard deviation over the past three years is 27.44% compared to the category average of 20.22%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 23.79% compared to the category average of 17.83%. 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. FBGRX has a 5-year beta of 1.17, which means it is likely to be more volatile than the market average. Alpha is an additional metric to take into consideration, since it represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which in this case, is the S&P 500. With a positive alpha of 0.55, 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 mostly on equities that are traded in the United States.

This fund is currently holding about 97.17% stock in stocks, with an average market capitalization of $372.85 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

  • Technology
  • Retail Trade
Turnover is 34%, which means this fund makes fewer trades than the average comparable fund.

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, FBGRX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.76% compared to the category average of 0.99%. FBGRX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.

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

This could just be the start of your research on FBGRXin the Mutual Fund Equity Report category. Consider going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information about this fund, and all the others that we rank as well for additional information. Want to learn even more? We have a full suite of tools on stocks that you can use to find the best choices for your portfolio too, no matter what kind of investor you are.


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