Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Is Fidelity Growth & Income Portfolio (FGRIX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

Read MoreHide Full Article

On the lookout for a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund? Starting with Fidelity Growth & Income Portfolio (FGRIX - Free Report) is one possibility. FGRIX 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 FGRIX. Since Fidelity Growth & Income Portfolio made its debut in December of 1985, FGRIX has garnered more than $7.85 billion in assets. The fund is currently managed by Matthew Fruhan who has been in charge of the fund since February of 2011.

Performance

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 12.81%, 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 16.4%, 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. FGRIX's standard deviation over the past three years is 18.5% compared to the category average of 17.01%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 16.54% compared to the category average of 14.95%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

With a 5-year beta of 0.97, the fund is likely to be as volatile as 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. FGRIX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -2.25, which means managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Holdings

Exploring 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 largely on equities that are traded in the United States.

This fund is currently holding about 88.28% stock in stocks, with an average market capitalization of $364.40 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

  1. Finance
  2. Technology
  3. Industrial Cyclical
With turnover at about 16%, this 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, FGRIX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.58% compared to the category average of 0.92%. So, FGRIX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.

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 Growth & Income Portfolio ( FGRIX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

Want even more information about FGRIX? 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. And don't forget, Zacks has all of your needs covered on the equity side too! Make sure to check out Zacks.com for more information on our screening capabilities, Rank, and all our articles as well.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


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


Fidelity Growth & Income (FGRIX) - free report >>

Published in