Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Is Fidelity Asset Manager 70% (FASGX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

Read MoreHide Full Article

If investors are looking at the Mutual Fund Equity Report fund category, Fidelity Asset Manager 70% (FASGX - Free Report) could be a potential option. FASGX possesses 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 responsible for FASGX, and the company is based out of Boston, MA. Fidelity Asset Manager 70% made its debut in December of 1991, and since then, FASGX has accumulated about $3.90 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by Geoffrey Stein who has been in charge of the fund since June of 2009.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 5.88%, and it sits 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 4.58%, which places it in the bottom third during this time-frame.

It is important to note that the product's returns may not reflect all its expenses. Any fees not reflected would lower the returns. Total returns do not reflect the fund's [%] sale charge. If sales charges were included, total returns would have been lower.

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. Over the past three years, FASGX's standard deviation comes in at 13.64%, compared to the category average of 14.53%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 14.55% compared to the category average of 15.4%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.75, so it is likely going to be less volatile than the market at large. 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. FASGX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -2.87, which means managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

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, FASGX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.67% compared to the category average of 0.85%. So, FASGX 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.

Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.

Bottom Line

Overall, Fidelity Asset Manager 70% ( FASGX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Fidelity Asset Manager 70% ( FASGX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

For additional information on the Mutual Fund Equity Report area of the mutual fund world, make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds. There, you can see more about the ranking process, and dive even deeper into FASGX too for additional information. For analysis of the rest of your portfolio, make sure to visit Zacks.com for our full suite of tools which will help you investigate all of your stocks and funds in one place.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


Fidelity Asset Manager 70% (FASGX) - free report >>

Published in