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Is Fidelity Low-Priced Stock (FLPSX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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On the lookout for a Mid Cap Value fund? Starting with Fidelity Low-Priced Stock (FLPSX - Free Report) is one possibility. FLPSX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
We classify FLPSX in the Mid Cap Value category, an area rife with potential choices. Mid Cap Value mutual funds aim to target medium-sized companies that possess strong value and income opportunities for investors. A mid-cap company usually holds a market capitalization of between $2 billion and $10 billion.
History of Fund/Manager
FLPSX finds itself in the Fidelity family, based out of Boston, MA. Since Fidelity Low-Priced Stock made its debut in December of 1989, FLPSX has garnered more than $24.79 billion in assets. The fund's current manager, Joel Tillinghast, has been in charge of the fund since December of 1989.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 7.07%, 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 10.3%, 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. FLPSX's standard deviation over the past three years is 10.66% compared to the category average of 11.14%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 10.33% compared to the category average of 10.85%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
One cannot ignore the volatility of this segment, however, as it is always important for investors to remember the downside to any potential investment. In FLPSX's case, the fund lost 48.88% in the most recent bear market and outperformed its peer group by 2.57%. This means that the fund could possibly be a better choice than its peers during a down market environment.
Nevertheless, investors should also note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.85, which means it is hypothetically 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. With a negative alpha of -2.11, 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, FLPSX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.62% compared to the category average of 1.15%. From a cost perspective, FLPSX 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 Low-Priced Stock ( FLPSX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees compared to its peers.
For additional information on the Mid Cap Value 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 FLPSX too 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 Low-Priced Stock (FLPSX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
On the lookout for a Mid Cap Value fund? Starting with Fidelity Low-Priced Stock (FLPSX - Free Report) is one possibility. FLPSX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
We classify FLPSX in the Mid Cap Value category, an area rife with potential choices. Mid Cap Value mutual funds aim to target medium-sized companies that possess strong value and income opportunities for investors. A mid-cap company usually holds a market capitalization of between $2 billion and $10 billion.
History of Fund/Manager
FLPSX finds itself in the Fidelity family, based out of Boston, MA. Since Fidelity Low-Priced Stock made its debut in December of 1989, FLPSX has garnered more than $24.79 billion in assets. The fund's current manager, Joel Tillinghast, has been in charge of the fund since December of 1989.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 7.07%, 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 10.3%, 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. FLPSX's standard deviation over the past three years is 10.66% compared to the category average of 11.14%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 10.33% compared to the category average of 10.85%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
One cannot ignore the volatility of this segment, however, as it is always important for investors to remember the downside to any potential investment. In FLPSX's case, the fund lost 48.88% in the most recent bear market and outperformed its peer group by 2.57%. This means that the fund could possibly be a better choice than its peers during a down market environment.
Nevertheless, investors should also note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.85, which means it is hypothetically 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. With a negative alpha of -2.11, 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, FLPSX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.62% compared to the category average of 1.15%. From a cost perspective, FLPSX 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 Low-Priced Stock ( FLPSX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees compared to its peers.
For additional information on the Mid Cap Value 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 FLPSX too 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.