Investors have adopted a cautious optimism approach amid renewed trade tensions following President Donald Trump’s aggressive tariff policies toward Canada, Mexico and the European Union. Out of concern for rising inflation due to tariff hikes, the Federal Reserve has held its benchmark interest rates steady. The Fed has adopted a wait-and-see stance, closely monitoring the inflationary consequences before making any potential policy adjustments.

The report published by the U.S. Labor Department indicates a notable acceleration in consumer prices for June, with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) increasing by 0.3% monthly and reaching 2.7% year over year, a peak since February. This surge in inflation is primarily due to the rising costs of goods resulting from recent tariff hikes. While the Producer Price Index (PPI) for June registered a flat monthly performance, its year-over-year figures continue to signify elevated price levels. The U.S. labor market remains resilient amid growing concerns about tariffs and corporate job cuts. The job market added stronger-than-anticipated 147,000 jobs in June, which contributed to a decrease in the unemployment rate to 4.1%.

Amid such uncertain market conditions, mutual fund investing can help those who wish to diversify their portfolio among various asset classes but lack professional expertise in managing funds. Fidelity mutual funds like Fidelity Select Semiconductors Portfolio (FSELX Quick QuoteFSELX - Free Report) , Fidelity Series Blue Chip Growth Fund (FSBDX Quick QuoteFSBDX - Free Report) , Fidelity Advisor Series Growth Opportunities Fund (FAOFX Quick QuoteFAOFX - Free Report) and Fidelity Contrafund (FLCNX Quick QuoteFLCNX - Free Report)  should be good choices since they provide low-cost and uncomplicated equity funds that can help investors meet their goals.

These funds have wide exposure in industries like finance, industrial cyclical, utilities, technology and energy. These have not only preserved investors’ wealth but also generated excellent returns.

Why Invest in Fidelity Mutual Funds?

Fidelity mutual funds would be a compelling choice for investors. This is because Fidelity mutual funds have given positive returns in the past and are expected to perform well in the long run.

Headquartered in Boston, MA, Fidelity Investment is one of the oldest and most trusted mutual fund companies in the world. The company was founded in 1946 and had 51.5 million individual investors and $15.1 trillion of assets under administration as of Dec. 31, 2024.

Fidelity Investment has more than 770,00 associates in 11 countries across North America, Europe, Asia and Australia to carry out extensive and in-depth research and provide potential investment avenues worldwide to their clients.

The company provides best-in-class financial planning, advisory services, retirement planning, wealth management and brokerage services to its clients. Thus, investors who wish to diversify their portfolio among various asset classes but lack professional expertise in managing funds can choose Fidelity mutual funds. Fidelity Investment sells its mutual fund products directly to its clients, which results in a zero-load charge.

We have thus selected four Fidelity mutual funds that boast a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #1 (Strong Buy), have positive three-year and five-year annualized returns, and minimum initial investments within $5000. The funds carry an expense ratio of less than 1%. Notably, mutual funds, in general, reduce transaction costs and diversify portfolios without an array of commission charges mostly associated with stock purchases (read more: Mutual Funds: Advantages, Disadvantages, and How They Make Investors Money).

Fidelity Select Semiconductors Portfolio fund invests most of its net assets in common stocks of domestic and foreign companies that areprincipally engaged in the design, manufacture, or sale of semiconductors and semiconductor equipment. FSELX chooses to invest in stocks based on fundamental analysis factors such as each issuer's financial condition, industry position, and market and economic conditions.

Adam Benjamin has been the lead manager of FSELX since March 15, 2020. Most of the fund’s exposure was in companies like NVIDIA (25%), Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (8.3%) and Broadcom (8%) as of Feb. 28, 2025.

FSELX’s three-year and five-year annualized returns are nearly 44.8% and 32.9%, respectively. FSELX has an annual expense ratio of 0.62%.

To see how this fund performed compared to its category and other 1, 2, and 3 Ranked Mutual Funds, please click here.

Fidelity Series Blue Chip Growth Fund invests most of its net assets in common stocks of blue-chip companies,which generally have large or medium market capitalizations. FSBDX advisors consider blue-chip companies as those that are well-known, well-established and well-capitalized.

Sonu Kalra has been the lead manager of FSBDX since Nov. 7, 2013. Most of the fund’s exposure was in companies like NVIDIA (11.2%), Apple (9.8%) and Amazon.com (8.9%) as of Jan. 31, 2025.

FSBDX’s three-year and five-year annualized returns of 31% and 19.3%, respectively. FSBDX has an annual expense ratio of 0.01%.

Fidelity Advisor Series Growth Opportunities Fund invests most of its net assets in common stocks of domestic and foreign companies that, according to its advisors, have above-average growth potential. FAOFX advisors generally choose to invest in stocks based on fundamental analysis factors like financial condition and industry position, along with market and economic conditions.

Kyle Weaver has been the lead manager of FAOFX since July 14, 2015. Most of the fund’s exposure was in companies like NVIDIA (13.4%), Meta Platforms(9.5%) and Amazon.com (8%) as of Feb. 28, 2025.

FAOFX’s three-year and five-year annualized returns are 30.1% and 17%, respectively. FAOFX has an annual expense ratio of 0.0.1%.

Fidelity Contrafund invests the majority of its net assets in common stocks of domestic and foreign companies whose value, according to the fund managers, is not fully recognized by the public.

William Danoff has been the lead manager of FLCNX since May 25, 2017. Most of the fund’s exposure was in companies like Meta Platforms (15.7%), Berkshire Hathaway (10%) and NVIDIA (8.3%) as of March 31, 2025.

FLCNX has three-year and five-year annualized returns of 28.4% and 18%, respectively. FLCNX has an annual expense ratio of 0.45%.

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