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Is Fidelity Stock Selector Small Cap (FDSCX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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Any investors hoping to find a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund could think about starting with Fidelity Stock Selector Small Cap (FDSCX - Free Report) . FDSCX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

Fidelity is based in Boston, MA, and is the manager of FDSCX. Fidelity Stock Selector Small Cap made its debut in June of 1993, and since then, FDSCX has accumulated about $1.28 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.

Performance

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. FDSCX has a 5-year annualized total return of 7.97% and is in the top third among its category peers. If you're interested in shorter time frames, do not dismiss looking at the fund's 3 -year annualized total return of 8.24%, which places it in the middle 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. FDSCX's standard deviation over the past three years is 21.77% compared to the category average of 15.47%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 22.31% compared to the category average of 16.75%. 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 1.09, 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -2.94. This means that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Holdings

Exploring 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.

Currently, this mutual fund is holding 91.43% in stocks, and these companies have an average market capitalization of $5.12 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

  • Industrial Cyclical
  • Finance
  • Other
  • Technology
  • Retail Trade
  • Health
Turnover is 31%, which means this fund makes fewer trades than comparable funds.

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, FDSCX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.96% compared to the category average of 1.05%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, FDSCX 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.

Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.

Bottom Line

Overall, Fidelity Stock Selector Small Cap ( FDSCX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees, Fidelity Stock Selector Small Cap ( FDSCX ) looks like a good potential 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. Zacks provides a full suite of tools to help you analyze your portfolio - both funds and stocks - in the most efficient way possible.


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