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Is Fidelity Series Growth Company (FCGSX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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Any investors hoping to find a Large Cap Growth fund could think about starting with Fidelity Series Growth Company (FCGSX - Free Report) . FCGSX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

FCGSX 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

Fidelity is based in Boston, MA, and is the manager of FCGSX. Fidelity Series Growth Company debuted in November of 2013. Since then, FCGSX has accumulated assets of about $23.92 billion, according to the most recently available information. Steven Wymer is the fund's current manager and has held that role since November of 2013.

Performance

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 17%, 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 34.86%, 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 15.94%, the standard deviation of FCGSX over the past three years is 17.67%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 20.83% compared to the category average of 19.38%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.24, which means it is hypothetically more volatile than the market at large. 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. FCGSX has generated a positive alpha over the past five years of 2.15, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Holdings

Investigating 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 mostly on equities that are traded in the United States.

As of the last filing date, the mutual fund has 88.86% of its assets in stocks, with an average market capitalization of $558.98 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

  • Technology
  • Retail Trade

With turnover at about 30%, this fund is making fewer trades than its comparable peers.

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, FCGSX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.00% compared to the category average of 0.93%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, FCGSX is actually cheaper than its peers.

While the minimum initial investment for the product is $0, investors should also note that there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.

Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into consideration. Returns would be less if those were included.

Bottom Line

With a rank of 'hold' we aren't getting a good signal one way or another on FCGSX. That is why it might be a good idea to consider other items, such as the fund's expense ratio of %, and how this compares to other potential options being considered for investment. If cheaper, it might make a decent choice, but a more expensive fund might be worth avoiding. Just make sure to pay attention to its rank in case it shifts in the near future.

Your research on the Large Cap Growth 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. For analysis of the rest of your portfolio, make sure to visit Zacks.com for our full suite of tools which will help you investigate all of your stocks and funds in one place.

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