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Is Fidelity Puritan Fund (FPURX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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Any investors hoping to find an Allocation Balanced fund could think about starting with Fidelity Puritan Fund (FPURX - Free Report) . FPURX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
FPURX is one of many Zacks' Allocation Balanced mutual funds to pick from. Allocation Balanced funds seek to invest in a balance of asset types, like stocks, bonds, and cash, though including precious metals or commodities is not unusual; these funds are mostly categorized by their respective asset allocation. Investors utilize Allocation Balanced funds as a way to get a good start with diversified mutual funds, as well as for core holdings in a portfolio of funds.
History of Fund/Manager
Fidelity is based in Boston, MA, and is the manager of FPURX. Fidelity Puritan Fund debuted in April of 1947. Since then, FPURX has accumulated assets of about $24.90 billion, according to the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Daniel Kelley, has been in charge of the fund since July of 2018.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. FPURX has a 5-year annualized total return of 10.74% 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 6.46%, 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. FPURX's standard deviation over the past three years is 13.13% compared to the category average of 13.26%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 13.15% compared to the category average of 14.15%. 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 0.71, which means it is hypothetically 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. FPURX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -0.09, which means 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, FPURX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.50% compared to the category average of 0.88%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, FPURX 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 Puritan Fund ( FPURX ) 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 the Allocation Balanced 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 FPURX too 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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Is Fidelity Puritan Fund (FPURX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Any investors hoping to find an Allocation Balanced fund could think about starting with Fidelity Puritan Fund (FPURX - Free Report) . FPURX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
FPURX is one of many Zacks' Allocation Balanced mutual funds to pick from. Allocation Balanced funds seek to invest in a balance of asset types, like stocks, bonds, and cash, though including precious metals or commodities is not unusual; these funds are mostly categorized by their respective asset allocation. Investors utilize Allocation Balanced funds as a way to get a good start with diversified mutual funds, as well as for core holdings in a portfolio of funds.
History of Fund/Manager
Fidelity is based in Boston, MA, and is the manager of FPURX. Fidelity Puritan Fund debuted in April of 1947. Since then, FPURX has accumulated assets of about $24.90 billion, according to the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Daniel Kelley, has been in charge of the fund since July of 2018.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. FPURX has a 5-year annualized total return of 10.74% 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 6.46%, 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. FPURX's standard deviation over the past three years is 13.13% compared to the category average of 13.26%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 13.15% compared to the category average of 14.15%. 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 0.71, which means it is hypothetically 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. FPURX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -0.09, which means 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, FPURX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.50% compared to the category average of 0.88%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, FPURX 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 Puritan Fund ( FPURX ) 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 the Allocation Balanced 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 FPURX too 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.