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Is Fidelity OTC Portfolio (FOCPX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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There are plenty of choices in the Mid Cap Blend category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that you should consider investigating is Fidelity OTC Portfolio (FOCPX - Free Report) . FOCPX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
FOCPX is one of many funds to choose from. Because Mid Cap Blend mutual funds typically feature a portfolio filled with stocks of various sizes and styles, it allows for a diversification strategy focusing on companies with market caps between $2 billion and $10 billion. Mid-cap blends, while offering exciting growth potential, income opportunities, and value picks, offer some stability as well.
History of Fund/Manager
Fidelity is based in Boston, MA, and is the manager of FOCPX. Fidelity OTC Portfolio debuted in December of 1984. Since then, FOCPX has accumulated assets of about $10.85 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 September of 2017.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 12.32%, and is 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 11.43%, 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. Over the past three years, FOCPX's standard deviation comes in at 16.69%, compared to the category average of 11.06%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 15.67% compared to the category average of 10.83%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors cannot discount the risks to this segment though, as it is always important to remember the downside for any potential investment. In FOCPX's case, the fund lost 53.58% in the most recent bear market and underperformed its peer group by 4.74%. This means that the fund could possibly be a worse choice than its peers during a down market environment.
Even still, the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.18, so investors should note that it is hypothetically more 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a positive alpha of 2.68. This means that 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 largely on equities that are traded in the United States.
This fund is currently holding about 96.32% stock in stocks, with an average market capitalization of $355.89 billion. This fund's turnover is about 38%, so the fund managers are making 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, FOCPX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.88% compared to the category average of 1.05%. From a cost perspective, FOCPX is actually cheaper than its peers.
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 OTC Portfolio ( FOCPX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Fidelity OTC Portfolio ( FOCPX ) looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
This could just be the start of your research on FOCPXin the Mid Cap Blend 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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Is Fidelity OTC Portfolio (FOCPX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
There are plenty of choices in the Mid Cap Blend category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that you should consider investigating is Fidelity OTC Portfolio (FOCPX - Free Report) . FOCPX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
FOCPX is one of many funds to choose from. Because Mid Cap Blend mutual funds typically feature a portfolio filled with stocks of various sizes and styles, it allows for a diversification strategy focusing on companies with market caps between $2 billion and $10 billion. Mid-cap blends, while offering exciting growth potential, income opportunities, and value picks, offer some stability as well.
History of Fund/Manager
Fidelity is based in Boston, MA, and is the manager of FOCPX. Fidelity OTC Portfolio debuted in December of 1984. Since then, FOCPX has accumulated assets of about $10.85 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 September of 2017.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 12.32%, and is 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 11.43%, 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. Over the past three years, FOCPX's standard deviation comes in at 16.69%, compared to the category average of 11.06%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 15.67% compared to the category average of 10.83%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors cannot discount the risks to this segment though, as it is always important to remember the downside for any potential investment. In FOCPX's case, the fund lost 53.58% in the most recent bear market and underperformed its peer group by 4.74%. This means that the fund could possibly be a worse choice than its peers during a down market environment.
Even still, the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.18, so investors should note that it is hypothetically more 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a positive alpha of 2.68. This means that 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 largely on equities that are traded in the United States.
This fund is currently holding about 96.32% stock in stocks, with an average market capitalization of $355.89 billion. This fund's turnover is about 38%, so the fund managers are making 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, FOCPX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.88% compared to the category average of 1.05%. From a cost perspective, FOCPX is actually cheaper than its peers.
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 OTC Portfolio ( FOCPX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Fidelity OTC Portfolio ( FOCPX ) looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
This could just be the start of your research on FOCPXin the Mid Cap Blend 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.