Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Is Fidelity Asset Manager 20% (FASIX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

Read MoreHide Full Article

If you have been looking for Mutual Fund Equity Report funds, a place to start could be Fidelity Asset Manager 20% (FASIX - Free Report) . FASIX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

Fidelity is based in Boston, MA, and is the manager of FASIX. Fidelity Asset Manager 20% debuted in October of 1992. Since then, FASIX has accumulated assets of about $3.64 billion, according to the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Geoffrey Stein who has been in charge of the fund since June of 2009.

Performance

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 2.39%, and is 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 0.98%, 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. Compared to the category average of 15.66%, the standard deviation of FASIX over the past three years is 7.38%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 6.08% compared to the category average of 13.72%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

Investors should not forget about beta, an important way to measure a mutual fund's risk compared to the market as a whole. FASIX has a 5-year beta of 0.29, which means it is likely to be less volatile than 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. The fund has produced a negative alpha over the past 5 years of -1.63, which shows that 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, FASIX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.50% compared to the category average of 0.86%. FASIX is actually cheaper 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 Asset Manager 20% ( FASIX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, better downside risk, and lower fees, Fidelity Asset Manager 20% ( FASIX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

This could just be the start of your research on FASIXin the Mutual Fund Equity Report 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 Asset Manager 20% (FASIX) - free report >>

Published in