If investors are looking at the Small Cap Growth fund category, make sure to pass over Fidelity Advisor Small Cap Growth A (FCAGX Quick QuoteFCAGX - Free Report) . FCAGX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

The world of Small Cap Growth funds is an area filled with options, such as FCAGX. These funds tend to create their portfolios around stocks that sport large growth opportunities and market capitalization of less than $2 billion. The companies in these portfolios are usually on the smaller side, and are in up-and-coming industries and markets.

History of Fund/Manager

Fidelity is based in Boston, MA, and is the manager of FCAGX. Since Fidelity Advisor Small Cap Growth A made its debut in November of 2004, FCAGX has garnered more than $395.01 million in assets. The fund is currently managed by Patrick Venanzi who has been in charge of the fund since November of 2011.

Performance

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. FCAGX has a 5-year annualized total return of 5.39%, and is 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 16.56%, 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. Over the past three years, FCAGX's standard deviation comes in at 18.68%, compared to the category average of 12.56%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 19.63% compared to the category average of 13.91%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

Investors should not forget about beta, an important way to measure a mutual fund's risk compared to the market as a whole. FCAGX has a 5-year beta of 1.12, which means it is likely to be more volatile than the market average. 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. The fund has produced a negative alpha over the past 5 years of -8.55, which shows that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick 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 principally on equities that are traded in the United States.

This fund is currently holding about 87.85% in stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $6.32 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

• Technology
• Health
• Industrial Cyclical

This fund's turnover is about 77%, so the fund managers are making more trades in a given year than the category 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, FCAGX is a load fund and it has an expense ratio of 1.17%.

Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $0 and that 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

As a mutual fund with a 'sell' rank, FCAGX is in the bottom 40% of all funds we cover and it may be one to avoid putting on your short list of possible picks in Small Cap Growth. This fund from Fidelity needs to turn around some of its key fundamental metrics such as the Zacks Ranks of its holdings, alpha, and performance in order for investors to consider Fidelity Advisor Small Cap Growth A in the future.

This could just be the start of your research on FCAGX in the Small Cap Growth 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.