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Is Fidelity Asset Manager 50% (FASMX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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If you have been looking for Mutual Fund Equity Report funds, a place to start could be Fidelity Asset Manager 50% (FASMX - Free Report) . FASMX possesses 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

FASMX is a part of the Fidelity family of funds, a company based out of Boston, MA. Fidelity Asset Manager 50% made its debut in December of 1988, and since then, FASMX has accumulated about $7.26 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by Geoffrey Stein who has been in charge of the fund since June of 2009.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 4.56%, and it sits in the middle 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 4.66%, which places it in the bottom third during this time-frame.

It is important to note that the product's returns may not reflect all its expenses. Any fees not reflected would lower the returns. Total returns do not reflect the fund's [%] sale charge. If sales charges were included, total returns would have been lower.

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, FASMX's standard deviation comes in at 11.01%, compared to the category average of 14.09%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 11.2% compared to the category average of 14.78%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.57, so it is likely going to be less volatile than the market at large. 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. FASMX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -2.54, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

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, FASMX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.61% compared to the category average of 0.85%. From a cost perspective, FASMX is actually cheaper than its peers.

Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $0; each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.

Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.

Bottom Line

Overall, Fidelity Asset Manager 50% ( FASMX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Fidelity Asset Manager 50% ( FASMX ) looks like a great potential choice for investors right now.

Want even more information about FASMX? 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. 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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