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Is Fidelity Growth Company (FDGRX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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If you're looking for a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund category, then a potential option is Fidelity Growth Company (FDGRX - Free Report) . FDGRX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

Fidelity is responsible for FDGRX, and the company is based out of Boston, MA. Fidelity Growth Company made its debut in January of 1983, and since then, FDGRX has accumulated about $31.61 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. Steven S. Wymer is the fund's current manager and has held that role since January of 1997.

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 12.45%, and it sits in the top 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 10.81%, 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, FDGRX's standard deviation comes in at 27.03%, compared to the category average of 20.49%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 24.16% compared to the category average of 18.04%. 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 1.17, which means it is hypothetically more volatile than the market at large. Because alpha represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which is the S&P 500 in this case, one should pay attention to this metric as well. With a positive alpha of 2.26, managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Holdings

Examining 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 principally on equities that are traded in the United States.

This fund is currently holding about 98.02% stock in stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $279.17 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

  • Technology
  • Retail Trade
With turnover at about 16%, this fund makes fewer trades than the average comparable fund.

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, FDGRX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.83% compared to the category average of 0.99%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, FDGRX is actually cheaper than its peers.

Investors should also note, that according to our data, the fund does not have any minimum investment requirements.

Bottom Line

Overall, Fidelity Growth Company ( FDGRX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.

For additional information on the Mutual Fund Equity Report area of the mutual fund world, make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds. There, you can see more about the ranking process, and dive even deeper into FDGRX too 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.


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