If you have been looking for Mutual Fund Equity Report fund category, a potential starting could be Fidelity Small Cap Growth (FCPGX Quick QuoteFCPGX - Free Report) . FCPGX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

Fidelity is responsible for FCPGX, and the company is based out of Boston, MA. Fidelity Small Cap Growth debuted in November of 2004. Since then, FCPGX has accumulated assets of about $2.75 billion, according to the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Patrick Venanzi who 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 11.34%, and is 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 7.86%, 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 16.94%, the standard deviation of FCPGX over the past three years is 23.96%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 21.86% compared to the category average of 15.2%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

With a 5-year beta of 1.11, the fund is likely to be more 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. FCPGX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -1.73, which means managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick 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 principally on equities that are traded in the United States.

As of the last filing date, the mutual fund has 94.9% of its assets in stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $5.36 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

1. Technology
2. Health
3. Industrial Cyclical
4. Retail Trade

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, FCPGX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.99% compared to the category average of 1.20%. From a cost perspective, FCPGX 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.

Bottom Line

Overall, Fidelity Small Cap Growth ( FCPGX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.

For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the Mutual Fund Equity Report, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds 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.