Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Is Fidelity Capital Appreciation (FDCAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

Read MoreHide Full Article

If you have been looking for Index fund category, a potential starting could be Fidelity Capital Appreciation (FDCAX - Free Report) . FDCAX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), 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 FDCAX. Fidelity Capital Appreciation made its debut in November of 1986, and since then, FDCAX has accumulated about $6.11 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. Jason Weiner is the fund's current manager and has held that role since October of 2018.

Performance

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 18.91%, and it sits in the middle 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 20.98%, which places it in the middle 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. FDCAX's standard deviation over the past three years is 18.65% compared to the category average of 17.37%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 15.5% compared to the category average of 14.37%. 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 0.98, which means it is hypothetically as volatile as 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a positive alpha of 1.75. This means that 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 primarily on equities that are traded in the United States.

Currently, this mutual fund is holding 85.92% stock in stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $368.86 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

  1. Technology
  2. Finance
  3. Health
Turnover is 61%, which means, on average, the fund makes fewer trades than the average comparable fund.

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, FDCAX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.82% compared to the category average of 0.80%. FDCAX is actually more expensive than its peers when you consider factors like cost.

Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $0 and that each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.

Bottom Line

Overall, Fidelity Capital Appreciation ( FDCAX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, Fidelity Capital Appreciation ( FDCAX ) looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.

This could just be the start of your research on FDCAXin the Index 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. Want to learn even more? We have a full suite of tools on stocks that you can use to find the best choices for your portfolio too, no matter what kind of investor you are.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


Fidelity Capital Appreciation (FDCAX) - free report >>

Published in