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Is Fidelity Advisor Equity Growth M (FAEGX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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If investors are looking at the Large Cap Growth fund category, make sure to pass over Fidelity Advisor Equity Growth M (FAEGX - Free Report) . FAEGX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 5 (Strong Sell), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

FAEGX is part of the Large Cap Growth section, and this segment boasts an array of other possible options. Large Cap Growth mutual funds purchase stakes in numerous large U.S. companies that are expected to develop and grow at a faster rate than other large-cap stocks. Companies are usually considered to be large-cap if their market capitalization is over $10 billion.

History of Fund/Manager

Fidelity is based in Boston, MA, and is the manager of FAEGX. Fidelity Advisor Equity Growth M debuted in September of 1992. Since then, FAEGX has accumulated assets of about $1.35 billion, according to the most recently available information. Jason Weiner is the fund's current manager and has held that role since November of 2006.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 11.62%, and it sits in the top third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 16.38%, 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. Compared to the category average of 10.49%, the standard deviation of FAEGX over the past three years is 13.66%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 12.9% compared to the category average of 10.44%. 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 FAEGX's case, the fund lost 56.48% in the most recent bear market and underperformed its peer group by 8%. This means that the fund could possibly be a worse choice than its peers during a down 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. FAEGX has a 5-year beta of 0.99, which means it is likely to be as volatile as 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 0.97, managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking 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 largely on equities that are traded in the United States.

As of the last filing date, the mutual fund has 77.78% of its assets in stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $229.36 billion. With turnover at about 43%, this fund is 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, FAEGX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.25% compared to the category average of 1.08%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, FAEGX is actually more expensive than its peers.

This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $0, while there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.

Bottom Line

Overall, Fidelity Advisor Equity Growth M ( FAEGX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, this fund looks like a poor potential choice for investors right now.

Your research on the Large Cap Growth segment doesn't have to stop here. You can check out all the great mutual fund tools we have to offer by going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds to see the additional features we offer as well for additional information. Zacks provides a full suite of tools to help you analyze your portfolio - both funds and stocks - in the most efficient way possible.


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