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Is Fidelity Mid-Cap Stock Fund (FMCSX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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Having trouble finding a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund? Fidelity Mid-Cap Stock Fund (FMCSX - Free Report) is a potential starting point. FMCSX 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 FMCSX. Fidelity Mid-Cap Stock Fund debuted in March of 1994. Since then, FMCSX has accumulated assets of about $6.45 billion, according to the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Nicola Stafford who has been in charge of the fund since July of 2017.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 9.09%, and it sits in the top third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 16.29%, which places it in the top 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, FMCSX's standard deviation comes in at 18.05%, compared to the category average of 16.85%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 20.26% compared to the category average of 18.41%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

The fund has a 5-year beta of 0.98, so investors should note that it is hypothetically 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 negative alpha over the past 5 years of -2.29, which shows that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick 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 primarily on equities that are traded in the United States.

Right now, 84.68% of this mutual fund's holdings are stocks and it has 11.86% of assets in foreign securities. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

  • Finance
  • Industrial Cyclical
  • Other
This fund's turnover is about 19%, so the fund managers are making 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, FMCSX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.84% compared to the category average of 0.97%. So, FMCSX 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.

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

Bottom Line

Overall, Fidelity Mid-Cap Stock Fund ( FMCSX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Fidelity Mid-Cap Stock Fund ( FMCSX ) looks like a good potential 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 FMCSX too 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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