On the lookout for a Large Cap Growth fund? Starting with Fidelity Blue Chip Growth Fund (FBGRX Quick QuoteFBGRX - Free Report) is one possibility. FBGRX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

FBGRX is classified in the Large Cap Growth segment by Zacks, an area full of possibilities. Companies are usually considered to be large-cap if their stock market valuation is more than $10 billion. Large Cap Growth mutual funds invest in many large U.S. firms that are projected to grow at a faster rate than their large-cap peers.

History of Fund/Manager

FBGRX is a part of the Fidelity family of funds, a company based out of Boston, MA. Fidelity Blue Chip Growth Fund made its debut in December of 1987, and since then, FBGRX has accumulated about $59.64 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by Sonu Kalra who has been in charge of the fund since July of 2009.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. FBGRX has a 5-year annualized total return of 20.59% 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 7.87%, 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. Compared to the category average of 17.79%, the standard deviation of FBGRX over the past three years is 24.7%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 24.16% compared to the category average of 18.06%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

With a 5-year beta of 1.21, the fund is likely to be more volatile than the market average. Because alpha represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which is the S&P 500 in this case, one should pay attention to this metric as well. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a positive alpha of 3.26. This means that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking 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, FBGRX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.49% compared to the category average of 0.94%. From a cost perspective, FBGRX is actually cheaper than its peers.

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 Blue Chip Growth Fund ( FBGRX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees, Fidelity Blue Chip Growth Fund ( FBGRX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the Large Cap Growth, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds 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.