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Is Fidelity Trend Fund (FTRNX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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If you have been looking for Global - Equity funds, a place to start could be Fidelity Trend Fund (FTRNX - Free Report) . FTRNX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

We note that FTRNX is a Global - Equity option, an investment area loaded with different options. While Global - Equity mutual funds invest their assets in large markets--think the U.S., Europe, and Japan--they aren't limited by geography. Their investment technique is one that leverages the global economy in order to offer stable returns.

History of Fund/Manager

Fidelity is based in Boston, MA, and is the manager of FTRNX. Fidelity Trend Fund made its debut in December of 1961, and since then, FTRNX has accumulated about $1.78 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by Shilpa Mehra who has been in charge of the fund since August of 2018.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. FTRNX has a 5-year annualized total return of 9.76% and is in the top third among its category peers. But if you are looking for a shorter time frame, it is also worth looking at its 3-year annualized total return of 11.31%, 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. The standard deviation of FTRNX over the past three years is 15.52% compared to the category average of 12.74%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 14.19% compared to the category average of 12.38%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

Investors should always remember the downsides to a potential investment, and this segment carries some risks one should be aware of. In the most recent bear market, FTRNX lost 53.03% and outperformed its peer group by 0%. This could mean that the fund is an on par choice than comparable funds during a bear market.

Even still, the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.97, so investors should note that it is hypothetically as volatile as the market at large. Because alpha represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which is the S&P 500 in this case, one should pay attention to this metric as well. With a positive alpha of 3.15, managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Holdings

Exploring 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 mostly on equities that are traded in the United States.

Right now, 92.58% of this mutual fund's holdings are stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $267.89 billion. Turnover is 73%, which means, on average, the fund makes more trades per year than the comparable average.

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, FTRNX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.63% compared to the category average of 1.18%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, FTRNX is actually cheaper 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 Trend Fund ( FTRNX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Fidelity Trend Fund ( FTRNX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

This could just be the start of your research on FTRNXin the Global - Equity 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. 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.


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