Is Fidelity Mid-Cap Stock Fund (FMCSX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

FMCSX

If you've been stuck searching for Mutual Fund Equity Report funds, consider Fidelity Mid-Cap Stock Fund (FMCSX - Free Report) as a possibility. FMCSX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

Fidelity is based in Boston, MA, and is the manager of FMCSX. Since Fidelity Mid-Cap Stock Fund made its debut in March of 1994, FMCSX has garnered more than $6.44 billion in assets. John Roth is the fund's current manager and has held that role since February of 2011.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. FMCSX has a 5-year annualized total return of 14.8% 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 21.56%, 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 18.59%, the standard deviation of FMCSX over the past three years is 20.81%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 17.52% compared to the category average of 15.46%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

Investors should not forget about beta, an important way to measure a mutual fund's risk compared to the market as a whole. FMCSX has a 5-year beta of 1.04, which means it is likely to be more 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. FMCSX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -3.45, which means managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

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, FMCSX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.76% compared to the category average of 1%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, FMCSX 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 Mid-Cap Stock Fund ( FMCSX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Fidelity Mid-Cap Stock Fund ( FMCSX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

Want even more information about FMCSX? Then go over to Zacks.com and check out our mutual fund comparison tool, and all of the other great features that we have to help you with your mutual fund analysis 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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