There are plenty of choices in the Small Cap Value category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that you should consider investigating is Fidelity Small Cap Value (FCPVX Quick QuoteFCPVX - Free Report) . FCPVX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

Zacks categorizes FCPVX as Small Cap Value, which is a segment packed with options. Known for investing in companies with market caps under $2 billion, Small Cap Value mutual funds represent good value because of many things; stocks in these funds offer low P/E ratios, high dividend yields, and better-than-average P/S ratios.

History of Fund/Manager

Fidelity is responsible for FCPVX, and the company is based out of Boston, MA. The Fidelity Small Cap Value made its debut in November of 2004 and FCPVX has managed to accumulate roughly $1.48 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Derek Janssen who has been in charge of the fund since January of 2013.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. FCPVX has a 5-year annualized total return of 5.3% 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 4.78%, 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. FCPVX's standard deviation over the past three years is 14.68% compared to the category average of 11.15%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 13.54% compared to the category average of 11.08%. This makes the fund more 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 the most recent bear market, FCPVX lost 49.99% and outperformed its peer group by 1%. This makes the fund a possibly better choice than its peers during a sliding market environment.

Investors should not forget about beta, an important way to measure a mutual fund's risk compared to the market as a whole. FCPVX has a 5-year beta of 0.95, which means it is likely to be less volatile than the market average. 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. FCPVX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -3.75, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Holdings

Investigating 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 primarily on equities that are traded in the United States.

The mutual fund currently has 95.82% of its holdings in stocks, and these companies have an average market capitalization of $3.12 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

1. Finance
2. Industrial Cyclical
3. Other
4. Retail Trade

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, FCPVX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.64% compared to the category average of 1.29%. FCPVX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.

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 Small Cap Value ( FCPVX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Fidelity Small Cap Value ( FCPVX ) looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.

For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the Small Cap Value, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information. If you want to check out our stock reports as well, make sure to go to Zacks.com to see all of the great tools we have to offer, including our time-tested Zacks Rank.