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Is Fidelity Blue Chip Growth K (FBGKX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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If you have been looking for Large Cap Growth funds, a place to start could be Fidelity Blue Chip Growth K (FBGKX - Free Report) . FBGKX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

FBGKX is classified in the Large Cap Growth segment by Zacks, an area full of possibilities. Companies are usually considered to be large-cap if their stock market valuation is more than $10 billion. Large Cap Growth mutual funds invest in many large U.S. firms that are projected to grow at a faster rate than their large-cap peers.

History of Fund/Manager

FBGKX finds itself in the Fidelity family, based out of Boston, MA. Fidelity Blue Chip Growth K debuted in May of 2008. Since then, FBGKX has accumulated assets of about $7.97 billion, according to the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Sonu Kalra who has been in charge of the fund since July of 2009.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 24.9%, and it sits 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 29.94%, 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. FBGKX's standard deviation over the past three years is 22.78% compared to the category average of 17.53%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 18.99% compared to the category average of 14.77%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.14, so it is likely going to be more 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 positive alpha of 6.97, managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking 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, FBGKX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.69% compared to the category average of 1.04%. FBGKX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.

While the minimum initial investment for the product is $0, investors should also note that there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.

Bottom Line

Overall, Fidelity Blue Chip Growth K ( FBGKX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Fidelity Blue Chip Growth K ( FBGKX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the Large Cap Growth, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds 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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