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 Fidelity mutual funds are up next in this series of articles covering families of mutual funds. As promised, we are going to use the same format throughout this series so that comparisons can be made between families. That being said, we are going to first talk about the family of mutual funds offered by Fidelity, then talk about fee structures and finally mention some of the top rated Fidelity mutual funds over the past several years.
Fidelity Family of Funds
Fidelity Fund or what is known as Fidelity Investments today was established in 1943 with the belief that making money for its shareholders was best achieved through intensive research. Today, Fidelity claims to employ the largest staff of managers, traders and analysts in the mutual fund industry - 500 employees engaged in these activities worldwide.
Fidelity is one of the largest mutual fund families in the world with over $1.4 trillion in assets under its control. Fidelity offers more than 300 mutual funds including money market funds, domestic and international stock funds, bond funds, index funds and specialty sector offerings. Fidelity offers investors a wide range of offerings including 529 plans, Roth IRAs and traditional IRA accounts and even access to non-Fidelity funds.
Fidelity Fee Structure and Returns
According to Morningstar, Fidelity mutual funds fee structures range from below average to average in comparison to other mutual funds. For example, the average fee charged on a domestic stock fund is just 1.26%. The vast majority of assets controlled by Fidelity, nearly 56%, are invested in domestic stock mutual funds.
The minimum investment to open an account at Fidelity is just $2,500 and most of assets (92%) are held in no-load mutual funds. This is an important point when considering the impact of this fee on the investment's return. As of August 2008, the average return on Fidelity mutual funds is just 8.24% over the past five years.
Top Rated Fidelity Mutual Funds
It would be hard to talk about Fidelity mutual funds without a quick mention of the Magellan Fund. At times the largest mutual fund on the market, Magellan's assets hover around $35 billion. Unfortunately, Magellan has underperformed the S&P over the last five years and its total return over that timeframe is 2.00% (August 2008).
The top rated Fidelity mutual funds currently include:
- Fidelity Leveraged Company Stock (FLVCX) - with over $7.8 billion in assets, this fund would be considered a mid-sized fund for Fidelity. The minimum investment for this fund is $10,000 and it is a no load mutual fund. The strategy of fund is considered a mid-cap blend with 62% of assets invested in the manufacturing sector. Top holdings include Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold, Exterran Holdings, Inc., and Forest Oil Corporation. The expense ratio for the fund is 0.83% and the average return over the last five years is 13.05%. (August 2008)
- Fidelity Canada (FICDX) - with over $4.9 billion in assets, this mutual fund's focus is on Canadian stocks with a heavy emphasis on those companies providing financial services (42%). Top holdings include the Research in Motion, Ltd. The Toronto Dominion Bank and EnCana Corporation. This no-load fund's expense ratio is 0.94% and the fund's assets are primarily (95%) invested in stocks. The minimum investment is $2,500 and this fund has an average return of 18.72% over the past five years. (August 2008)
- Fidelity Advisor Industrials A (FCLAX) - with over $410 million in assets, this large blend mutual fund places heavy emphasis on the manufacturing sector (71% of assets). Top holdings include General Electric Company, United Technologies, and Honeywell International, Inc. The fund has a front-load of 5.75% and a minimum investment is $2,500. The average return of 12.40% over the last five years. (August 2008)
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