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Is Fidelity Mid Cap Value Fund (FSMVX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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On the lookout for a Mid Cap Value fund? Starting with Fidelity Mid Cap Value Fund (FSMVX - Free Report) is one possibility. FSMVX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

The world of Mid Cap Value funds is an area filled with options, like FSMVX. Targeting medium-sized companies with a market cap between $2 billion and $10 billion, Mid Cap Value mutual funds more often than not choose stocks that hold solid value and income investment opportunities.

History of Fund/Manager

Fidelity is based in Boston, MA, and is the manager of FSMVX. Since Fidelity Mid Cap Value Fund made its debut in November of 2001, FSMVX has garnered more than $972.10 million in assets. The fund's current manager, Kevin Walenta, has been in charge of the fund since June of 2017.

Performance

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. FSMVX has a 5-year annualized total return of 8.79% and it sits in the bottom 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 4.25%, which places it in the bottom 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. FSMVX's standard deviation over the past three years is 23.79% compared to the category average of 16.45%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 19.17% compared to the category average of 13.69%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

With a 5-year beta of 1.18, the fund 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -8.87. This means that 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, FSMVX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.43% compared to the category average of 1.12%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, FSMVX is actually cheaper than its peers.

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 Mid Cap Value Fund ( FSMVX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees, Fidelity Mid Cap Value Fund ( FSMVX ) looks like a great potential choice for investors right now.

Want even more information about FSMVX? 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. 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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