Is Fidelity Growth Company (FDGRX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

If you have been looking for Large Cap Growth funds, a place to start could be Fidelity Growth Company (FDGRX). FDGRX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

We classify FDGRX in the Large Cap Growth category, an area rife with potential choices. Large Cap Growth funds invest in many large U.S. companies that are expected to grow much faster compared to other large-cap stocks. To be considered large-cap, companies must have a market cap over $10 billion.

History of Fund/Manager

Fidelity is responsible for FDGRX, and the company is based out of Boston, MA. The Fidelity Growth Company made its debut in January of 1983 and FDGRX has managed to accumulate roughly $84.00 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Steven S. Wymer, has been in charge of the fund since January of 1997.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. FDGRX has a 5-year annualized total return of 15.28%, and is 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 27.64%, which places it in the top 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. Over the past three years, FDGRX's standard deviation comes in at 18.42%, compared to the category average of 13.77%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 21.45% compared to the category average of 16.23%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

Investors should not forget about beta, an important way to measure a mutual fund's risk compared to the market as a whole. FDGRX has a 5-year beta of 1.26, which means it is likely to be more volatile than the market average. Alpha is an additional metric to take into consideration, since it represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which in this case, is the S&P 500. The fund has produced a positive alpha over the past 5 years of 0.86, which shows that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking 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 largely on equities that are traded in the United States.

This fund is currently holding about 84.48% in stocks, and these companies have an average market capitalization of $636.75 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

• Technology
• Retail Trade

Turnover is 16%, which means, on average, the fund makes fewer trades than the average comparable fund.

Expenses

Costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing, and particularly as competition heats up in this market. And all things being equal, a lower cost product will outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, so taking a closer look at these metrics is key for investors. In terms of fees, FDGRX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.69% compared to the category average of 0.93%. FDGRX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.

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

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

Bottom Line

Overall, Fidelity Growth Company ( FDGRX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

Don't stop here for your research on Large Cap Growth 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 FDGRX to its peers as well for additional information. If you are more of a stock investor, make sure to also check out our Zacks Rank, and our full suite of tools we have available for novice and professional investors alike.

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