Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Is Fidelity Advisor Gold A (FGDAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

Read MoreHide Full Article

If you have been looking for Sector - Precious Metal fund category, a potential starting could be Fidelity Advisor Gold A (FGDAX - Free Report) . FGDAX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

We note that FGDAX is a Sector - Precious Metal option, and this area is loaded with different options. Sector - Precious Metal funds typically invest in companies that are involved in the mining and production of precious metals like gold, silver, platinum, and palladium. Because stocks in this environment often trade as leveraged bets of the underlying commodity--they are tied to the prices of the metal--these equities tend to be volatile.

History of Fund/Manager

Fidelity is based in Boston, MA, and is the manager of FGDAX. Since Fidelity Advisor Gold A made its debut in December of 2006, FGDAX has garnered more than $51.09 million in assets. The fund is currently managed by Steven Calhoun who has been in charge of the fund since September of 2018.

Performance

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of -0.77%, and it sits 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 -2.78%, which places it in the top 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. FGDAX's standard deviation over the past three years is 26.12% compared to the category average of 13.47%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 33.88% compared to the category average of 14.45%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

Investors cannot discount the risks to this segment though, as it is always important to remember the downside for any potential investment. In FGDAX's case, the fund lost 29.69% in the most recent bear market and outperformed its peer group by 6.14%. These results could imply that the fund is a better choice than its peers during a sliding market environment.

Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of -0.2, so it is likely going to be less 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. FGDAX's 5-year performance has produced a positive alpha of 5.86, which means managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking 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, FGDAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.18% compared to the category average of 1.37%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, FGDAX is actually cheaper than its peers.

Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $0; each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.

Bottom Line

Overall, Fidelity Advisor Gold A ( FGDAX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, strong performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees compared to its peers.

For additional information on the Sector - Precious Metal 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 FGDAX too for additional information. If you want to check out our stock reports as well, make sure to go to Zacks.com to see all of the great tools we have to offer, including our time-tested Zacks Rank.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


Fidelity Advisor Gold A (FGDAX) - free report >>

Published in