We're adding three funds from the Fidelity family as buy recommendations in our various model portfolios, asserts Walter Frank, editor of MoneyLetter, a leading newsletter in the mutual fund arena.
Fidelity Value Discovery (FVDFX:US)
Simply put, Value Discovery invests in companies that are believed to be undervalued relative to various factors. But there's more to the story.
Manager Sean Gavin recently undertook a study which indicated that adding a quality parameter to the valuation-based approach has the potential to improve long-term results.
He explains, “If you look back over time, a quality and value approach has offered the best probability of outperformance.”
Recently, the consumer stapes, healthcare, and information technology sectors have ranked highly on quality metrics and all three sectors are overweighted in the portfolio. In terms of net assets, financials is the top sector.
The fund outpaces 96% of its large blend peers for the year to date (through May 1), and has performed admirably over longer time frames as well.
Fidelity Independence (FDFFX:US)
This fund's performance this year has benefited from a couple of positions, namely American Airlines (AAL) and Intercept Pharmaceuticals (ICPT), up 44% and 283% respectively.
Led by manager Rob Bertelson, the fund seeks to invest in the fastest growing companies in the market, regardless of whether the growth derives from traditional drivers, company turnarounds, or industry transformations. The fund has no restraints on market cap, sector, country, or style characteristics.
Recently, the two largest sector weights were consumer discretionary and healthcare.
This year, the fund is in the top 3% of the large growth category, and is often well within the top 10% for the calendar year. However, it has tripped up in years where growth is out of favor.
Fidelity Large Cap Stock (FLCSX:US)
Since Matthew Fruhan took the helm in 2005, the fund has fallen below the 50% mark of its category only twice.
He takes a research-intensive approach to investing, looking for companies with attractive earnings and dividend yield potential over the next few years—and where their view is different than the consensus.
He looks for both secular and cyclical growth opportunities and believes the securities become misplaced relative to their real long-term value due to short-term concerns. Fruhan seeks to capitalize on that discrepancy.
The fund can selectively invest outside its stated market cap and it, too, has benefitted from an investment in Intercept Pharmaceuticals.
During the first quarter, Fruhan increased the fund's investments in consumer staples, notably tobacco stocks. The largest sector weights in the portfolio are information technology, healthcare, and energy.
A 2% gain this year puts the fund in the middle of the large growth pack, but it racked up top decline returns in each of the past two calendar years.
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