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

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Global - Equity fund seekers should consider taking a look at Fidelity Trend Fund (FTRNX - Free Report) . FTRNX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

Zacks categorizes FTRNX as Global - Equity, which is a segment packed with options. Global - Equity mutual funds invest in large markets like the U.S., Europe, and Japan, and operate with very few geographical limitations. They also provide an investment technique that leverages the diverse nature of the global economy in the hopes of providing a stable return.

History of Fund/Manager

FTRNX finds itself in the Fidelity family, based out of Boston, MA. The Fidelity Trend Fund made its debut in December of 1961 and FTRNX has managed to accumulate roughly $3.37 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Shilpa Mehra who has been in charge of the fund since August 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 22.86%, and is in the top third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 22.76%, 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. Over the past three years, FTRNX's standard deviation comes in at 20.21%, compared to the category average of 20.03%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 16.62% compared to the category average of 16.42%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

With a 5-year beta of 1.01, the fund is likely to be as volatile as the market average. Alpha is an additional metric to take into consideration, since it represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which in this case, is the S&P 500. FTRNX has generated a positive alpha over the past five years of 5.17, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Expenses

For investors, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is key, since costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing. Competition is heating up in this space, and a lower cost product will likely outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, all things being equal. In terms of fees, FTRNX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.72% compared to the category average of 1.13%. From a cost perspective, FTRNX 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 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.

Don't stop here for your research on Global - Equity funds. We also have plenty more on our site in order to help you find the best possible fund for your portfolio. Make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for more information about the world of funds, and feel free to compare FTRNX to its peers as well for additional information. If you are more of a stock investor, make sure to also check out our Zacks Rank, and our full suite of tools we have available for novice and professional investors alike.


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