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Is Fidelity Advisor Small Cap Growth A (FCAGX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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Having trouble finding a Small Cap Growth fund? Fidelity Advisor Small Cap Growth A (FCAGX - Free Report) is a potential starting point. FCAGX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), 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
FCAGX finds itself in the Fidelity family, based out of Boston, MA. The Fidelity Advisor Small Cap Growth A made its debut in November of 2004 and FCAGX has managed to accumulate roughly $484.27 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Patrick Venanzi, has been in charge of the fund since November of 2011.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 8.6%, and is in the top third among its category peers. But if you are looking for a shorter time frame, it is also worth looking at its 3-year annualized total return of 21.79%, 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 12.26%, the standard deviation of FCAGX over the past three years is 19.11%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 20.42% compared to the category average of 13.94%. 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 1.14, 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. FCAGX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -4.71, which means 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.
The mutual fund currently has 81.76% of its holdings in stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $8.13 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
Health
Technology
Industrial Cyclical
With turnover at about 89%, this fund makes fewer trades than the average comparable fund.
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, FCAGX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.13% compared to the category average of 0.97%. So, FCAGX is actually more expensive than its peers from a cost perspective.
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
Overall, even with its comparatively strong performance, worse downside risk, and higher fees, Fidelity Advisor Small Cap Growth A ( FCAGX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a good potential choice for investors right now.
For additional information on the Small Cap Growth area of the mutual fund world, make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds. There, you can see more about the ranking process, and dive even deeper into FCAGX too 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.
View the Zacks #1 Rank List
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Is Fidelity Advisor Small Cap Growth A (FCAGX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Having trouble finding a Small Cap Growth fund? Fidelity Advisor Small Cap Growth A (FCAGX - Free Report) is a potential starting point. FCAGX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), 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
FCAGX finds itself in the Fidelity family, based out of Boston, MA. The Fidelity Advisor Small Cap Growth A made its debut in November of 2004 and FCAGX has managed to accumulate roughly $484.27 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Patrick Venanzi, has been in charge of the fund since November of 2011.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 8.6%, and is in the top third among its category peers. But if you are looking for a shorter time frame, it is also worth looking at its 3-year annualized total return of 21.79%, 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 12.26%, the standard deviation of FCAGX over the past three years is 19.11%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 20.42% compared to the category average of 13.94%. 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 1.14, 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. FCAGX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -4.71, which means 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.
The mutual fund currently has 81.76% of its holdings in stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $8.13 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
With turnover at about 89%, this fund makes fewer trades than the average comparable fund.
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, FCAGX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.13% compared to the category average of 0.97%. So, FCAGX is actually more expensive than its peers from a cost perspective.
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
Overall, even with its comparatively strong performance, worse downside risk, and higher fees, Fidelity Advisor Small Cap Growth A ( FCAGX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a good potential choice for investors right now.
For additional information on the Small Cap Growth area of the mutual fund world, make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds. There, you can see more about the ranking process, and dive even deeper into FCAGX too 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.