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Is Fidelity Mid Cap Value Fund (FSMVX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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Any investors hoping to find a Mid Cap Value fund could think about starting with Fidelity Mid Cap Value Fund (FSMVX - Free Report) . FSMVX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

FSMVX 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

Fidelity is responsible for FSMVX, and the company is based out of Boston, MA. Since Fidelity Mid Cap Value Fund made its debut in November of 2001, FSMVX has garnered more than $2.33 billion in assets. The fund is currently managed by Kevin Walenta who has been in charge of the fund since June of 2017.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 13.65%, and it sits in the middle 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 9.08%, which places it in the bottom third during this time-frame.

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, FSMVX's standard deviation comes in at 10.5%, compared to the category average of 9.19%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 10.19% compared to the category average of 11.35%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

It's always important to be aware of the downsides to any future investment, so one should not discount the risks that come with this segment. In the most recent bear market, FSMVX lost 55.58% and underperformed comparable funds by 4.23%. This could mean that the fund is a worse choice than comparable funds during a bear market.

Nevertheless, with a 5-year beta of 0.97, the fund is likely to be as volatile as 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. The fund has produced a negative alpha over the past 5 years of -1.49, which shows that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Expenses

As competition heats up in the mutual fund market, costs become increasingly important. Compared to its otherwise identical counterpart, a low-cost product will be an outperformer, all other things being equal. Thus, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is vital for investors. In terms of fees, FSMVX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.69% compared to the category average of 1.19%. FSMVX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.

Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,500 and that each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.

Bottom Line

Overall, Fidelity Mid Cap Value Fund has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

Your research on the Mid Cap Value segment doesn't have to stop here. You can check out all the great mutual fund tools we have to offer by going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds to see the additional features we offer as well for additional information. Zacks provides a full suite of tools to help you analyze your portfolio - both funds and stocks - in the most efficient way possible.


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