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

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Having trouble finding a Mid Cap Value fund? Fidelity Mid Cap Value Fund (FSMVX - Free Report) is a possible starting point. FSMVX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), 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 based in Boston, MA, and is the manager of FSMVX. Fidelity Mid Cap Value Fund made its debut in November of 2001, and since then, FSMVX has accumulated about $1.96 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. Kevin Walenta is the fund's current manager and has held that role since June of 2017.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 10.72%, and it sits 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 8.51%, which places it in the middle 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. Compared to the category average of 9.16%, the standard deviation of FSMVX over the past three years is 9.97%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 10.08% compared to the category average of 8.96%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

Investors should always remember the downsides to a potential investment, and this segment carries some risks one should be aware of. In FSMVX's case, the fund lost 55.58% in the most recent bear market and outperformed its peer group by 4.17%. This could mean that the fund is a better choice than comparable funds during a bear market.

Nevertheless, with a 5-year beta of 0.94, the fund is likely to be less 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. The fund has produced a negative alpha over the past 5 years of -2.48, which shows that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

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, FSMVX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.68% compared to the category average of 1.19%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, FSMVX is actually cheaper than its peers.

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 ( FSMVX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Fidelity Mid Cap Value Fund ( FSMVX ) looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.

Want even more information about FSMVX? Then go over to Zacks.com and check out our mutual fund comparison tool, and all of the other great features that we have to help you with your mutual fund analysis 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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