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Is Fidelity Four-In-One Index Fund (FFNOX) 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 possible option is Fidelity Four-In-One Index Fund (FFNOX - Free Report) . FFNOX has no Zacks Mutual Fund Rank, but we have been able to look into other metrics like performance, volatility, and cost.

History of Fund/Manager

FFNOX finds itself in the Fidelity family, based out of Boston, MA. Fidelity Four-In-One Index Fund made its debut in July of 1999, and since then, FFNOX has accumulated about $7.44 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by Andrew Dierdorf who has been in charge of the fund since January of 2009.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 6.03%, and is 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 6.28%, 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. The standard deviation of FFNOX over the past three years is 18.73% compared to the category average of 17.34%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 16.14% compared to the category average of 15.11%. 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 0.84, so it is likely going to be less volatile than the market at large. 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. With a negative alpha of -2.18, managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

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, FFNOX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.08% compared to the category average of 0.86%. So, FFNOX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.

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

Your research on the Mutual Fund Equity Report segment doesn't have to stop here. You can check out all the great mutual fund tools we have to offer by going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds to see the additional features we offer 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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