Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Is Fidelity Asset Manager 50% (FASMX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

Read MoreHide Full Article

Having trouble finding a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund? Fidelity Asset Manager 50% (FASMX - Free Report) is a possible starting point. FASMX possesses 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 based in Boston, MA, and is the manager of FASMX. The Fidelity Asset Manager 50% made its debut in December of 1988 and FASMX has managed to accumulate roughly $7.51 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. Geoffrey Stein is the fund's current manager and has held that role since June of 2009.

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 4.4%, and is in the middle 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 3.87%, 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. Over the past three years, FASMX's standard deviation comes in at 12.68%, compared to the category average of 16.56%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 10.89% compared to the category average of 14.45%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

With a 5-year beta of 0.57, 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. With a negative alpha of -2.46, managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick 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, FASMX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.60% compared to the category average of 0.86%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, FASMX is actually cheaper than its peers.

This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $0, while there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.

Bottom Line

Overall, Fidelity Asset Manager 50% ( FASMX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.

Don't stop here for your research on Mutual Fund Equity Report funds. We also have plenty more on our site in order to help you find the best possible fund for your portfolio. Make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for more information about the world of funds, and feel free to compare FASMX to its peers 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.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


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


Fidelity Asset Manager 50% (FASMX) - free report >>

Published in