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Is Fidelity Growth Discovery (FDSVX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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There are plenty of choices in the Mutual Fund Equity Report category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that might be worth investigating is Fidelity Growth Discovery (FDSVX - Free Report) . FDSVX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

FDSVX is a part of the Fidelity family of funds, a company based out of Boston, MA. Fidelity Growth Discovery debuted in March of 1998. Since then, FDSVX has accumulated assets of about $2.54 billion, according to the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Jason Weiner, has been in charge of the fund since February of 2007.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. FDSVX has a 5-year annualized total return of 12.02% 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 12.9%, 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. The standard deviation of FDSVX over the past three years is 22.23% compared to the category average of 20.57%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 19.68% compared to the category average of 18.14%. 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 1.01, so it is likely going to be as volatile as 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. The fund has produced a positive alpha over the past 5 years of 2.15, which shows that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Holdings

Investigating 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 mostly on equities that are traded in the United States.

The mutual fund currently has 95.71% of its holdings in stocks, with an average market capitalization of $312.76 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

  • Technology
  • Finance
Turnover is 45%, which means, on average, the fund makes fewer trades than its comparable peers.

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, FDSVX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.89% compared to the category average of 0.99%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, FDSVX is actually cheaper than its peers.

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 Growth Discovery ( FDSVX ) 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.

For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the Mutual Fund Equity Report, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds 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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