Having trouble finding a Mid Cap Value fund? Fidelity Value Fund (FDVLX Quick QuoteFDVLX - Free Report) is a potential starting point. FDVLX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

FDVLX is one of many Mid Cap Value mutual funds to choose from. Mid Cap Value funds usually invest in companies with a stock market valuation between $2 billion and $10 billion; these medium-sized firms possess strong value and income opportunities for investors.

History of Fund/Manager

FDVLX is a part of the Fidelity family of funds, a company based out of Boston, MA. Since Fidelity Value Fund made its debut in December of 1978, FDVLX has garnered more than $7.85 billion in assets. A team of investment professionals is the fund's current manager.

Performance

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 16.98%, 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 11.85%, 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. Over the past three years, FDVLX's standard deviation comes in at 21.49%, compared to the category average of 16.65%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 21.54% compared to the category average of 15.8%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

With a 5-year beta of 1.14, the fund is likely to be more volatile than the market average. 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. FDVLX's 5-year performance has produced a positive alpha of 1.3, which means managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Holdings

Examining 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 largely on equities that are traded in the United States.

This fund is currently holding about 79.45% in stocks, with an average market capitalization of $16.91 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

• Finance
• Industrial Cyclical

This fund's turnover is about 73%, so the fund managers are making more trades per year than the comparable average.

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, FDVLX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.71% compared to the category average of 0.96%. So, FDVLX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.

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 consideration. Returns would be less if those were included.

Bottom Line

Overall, Fidelity Value Fund ( FDVLX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

This could just be the start of your research on FDVLX in the Mid Cap Value category. Consider going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information about this fund, and all the others that we rank as well for additional information. And don't forget, Zacks has all of your needs covered on the equity side too! Make sure to check out Zacks.com for more information on our screening capabilities, Rank, and all our articles as well.