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Is Fidelity Growth Strategies Fund (FDEGX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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If investors are looking at the All Cap Growth fund category, Fidelity Growth Strategies Fund (FDEGX - Free Report) could be a potential option. FDEGX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

FDEGX is part of the All Cap Growth category, which is a segment that boasts an array of other possible options. All Cap Growth mutual funds aim to invest in various equity securities, regardless of company size that exhibit growth characteristics. These portfolios have holdings across the cap levels-- small, medium and large-cap-- in order to increase diversification throughout the fund.

History of Fund/Manager

FDEGX is a part of the Fidelity family of funds, a company based out of Boston, MA. Fidelity Growth Strategies Fund debuted in December of 1990. Since then, FDEGX has accumulated assets of about $3.27 billion, according to the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Jean Park who has been in charge of the fund since August of 2013.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. FDEGX has a 5-year annualized total return of 12.66% 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 5.26%, 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. The standard deviation of FDEGX over the past three years is 22.17% compared to the category average of 18.13%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 21.07% compared to the category average of 18.89%. 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. FDEGX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -2.09, which means managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

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, FDEGX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.75% compared to the category average of 1%. FDEGX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.

This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $0, while 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 Growth Strategies Fund ( FDEGX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Fidelity Growth Strategies Fund ( FDEGX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

For additional information on the All Cap Growth 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 FDEGX 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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