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Is Fidelity Small Cap Growth (FCPGX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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Small Cap Growth fund seekers may want to consider taking a look at Fidelity Small Cap Growth (FCPGX - Free Report) . FCPGX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
FCPGX is one of many different Small Cap Growth funds to choose from. Small Cap Growth mutual funds build portfolios around stocks with markets caps under $2 billion and large growth opportunities. Additionally, these portfolios typically highlight smaller companies in promising markets and industries.
History of Fund/Manager
Fidelity is based in Boston, MA, and is the manager of FCPGX. Fidelity Small Cap Growth made its debut in November of 2004, and since then, FCPGX has accumulated about $2.65 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund's current manager, Patrick Venanzi, has been in charge of the fund since November of 2011.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 10.23%, and it sits 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 -1.1%, which places it in the middle 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. FCPGX's standard deviation over the past three years is 21.13% compared to the category average of 15.51%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 22.06% compared to the category average of 16.6%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
The fund has a 5-year beta of 1.06, so investors should note that it is hypothetically more volatile than 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. FCPGX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -3.63, which means managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick 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.
Right now, 89.27% of this mutual fund's holdings are stocks, and these companies have an average market capitalization of $4.78 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
Technology
Industrial Cyclical
Health
With turnover at about 75%, this fund is making more traders than comparable funds in a given year.
Expenses
For investors, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is key, since costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing. Competition is heating up in this space, and a lower cost product will likely outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, all things being equal. In terms of fees, FCPGX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.05% compared to the category average of 1%. FCPGX is actually more expensive than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
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, even with its comparatively strong performance, worse downside risk, and higher fees, Fidelity Small Cap Growth ( FCPGX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
Want even more information about FCPGX? 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. If you want to check out our stock reports as well, make sure to go to Zacks.com to see all of the great tools we have to offer, including our time-tested Zacks Rank.
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Is Fidelity Small Cap Growth (FCPGX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Small Cap Growth fund seekers may want to consider taking a look at Fidelity Small Cap Growth (FCPGX - Free Report) . FCPGX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
FCPGX is one of many different Small Cap Growth funds to choose from. Small Cap Growth mutual funds build portfolios around stocks with markets caps under $2 billion and large growth opportunities. Additionally, these portfolios typically highlight smaller companies in promising markets and industries.
History of Fund/Manager
Fidelity is based in Boston, MA, and is the manager of FCPGX. Fidelity Small Cap Growth made its debut in November of 2004, and since then, FCPGX has accumulated about $2.65 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund's current manager, Patrick Venanzi, has been in charge of the fund since November of 2011.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 10.23%, and it sits 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 -1.1%, which places it in the middle 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. FCPGX's standard deviation over the past three years is 21.13% compared to the category average of 15.51%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 22.06% compared to the category average of 16.6%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
The fund has a 5-year beta of 1.06, so investors should note that it is hypothetically more volatile than 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. FCPGX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -3.63, which means managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick 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.
Right now, 89.27% of this mutual fund's holdings are stocks, and these companies have an average market capitalization of $4.78 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
- Technology
- Industrial Cyclical
- Health
With turnover at about 75%, this fund is making more traders than comparable funds in a given year.Expenses
For investors, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is key, since costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing. Competition is heating up in this space, and a lower cost product will likely outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, all things being equal. In terms of fees, FCPGX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.05% compared to the category average of 1%. FCPGX is actually more expensive than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
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, even with its comparatively strong performance, worse downside risk, and higher fees, Fidelity Small Cap Growth ( FCPGX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
Want even more information about FCPGX? 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. If you want to check out our stock reports as well, make sure to go to Zacks.com to see all of the great tools we have to offer, including our time-tested Zacks Rank.