This is no time for heroes...stick to solid long-term growth, and these funds will help you get ther, writes Jim Lowell of Fidelity Investor.
In periods of uncertainty such as we are seeing today, our risk-adjusted investment discipline, manager know-how, and asset allocation acumen have always served us well
Meanwhile, I’ll focus on what matters most to me—the skills of the Fidelity mangers whose funds we’re invested. Here's a review of five favorite fund managers and their funds, which we hold in our model portfolio.
Fidelity Contrafund (FCNTX)
I’ve said this so many times over the years that I have to kick myself to not forget to say it again: manager William Danoff has superior bear-market strengths and above-average bull-market ones.
He is a perfect example of the go-anywhere active manager who brings home the bacon without risking the whole enchilada. He invests in companies that he thinks are undervalued by institutions and individuals alike.
It began trading in May 1967 and was the brainchild of a great polymath contrarian, Leo Dworsky. It has a market value of close to $58 billion.
Foreign investments make up 11.1% of the holdings. The top three sectors are information technology (27.7%), consumer discretionary (22.7%), and financials (11.2%). The top ten holdings are Apple, Google, Berkshire Hathaway, Coca Cola, McDonalds, Wells Fargo, Disney, TJX Companies, Noble Energy, and Colgate-Palmolive.
Fidelity Equity Dividend Income (FEQTX)
We traded into this fund once it changed its dividend objective stripes (setting a dividend mandate) and adopted a veteran manager we like a lot.
Manager Scott Offen invests in income-producing investments, which leads to a large-cap value tilt. It began trading in August 1990, and has a market value of over $4 billion. Foreign investments make up 9.5% of the holdings.
The top three sectors are financials (16.2%), consumer staples (13.4%), and information technology (13.2%). The top ten holdings are Chevron, GE, Wells Fargo, IBM, Microsoft, Pfizer, AT&T, Merck, Johnson & Johnson, Exxon Mobil.
Fidelity Focused Stock (FTQGX)
Concentration can be a poor stock picker’s worst enemy and a good stock picker’s best friend.
Manager Stephen DuFour invests in 30 to 80 stocks of mainly large-cap growth and value companies. It began trading in November 1996, and has a market value of over $480 million.
Foreign investments make up 2.1% of the holdings. The top three sectors are information technology (26.1%), health care (15.9%), and consumer discretionary (14.9%). The top ten holdings are MasterCard, Citrix Systems, Wells Fargo, TJX Companies, Estee Lauder, UnitedHealth Group, Sempra Energy, Apple, Biogen, and Union Pacific.
Fidelity Low-Priced Stock (FLPSX)
A stock picker’s stock picker—a water-cooler harbinger, a no-nonsense manager—Joel Tillinghast invests in low-priced stocks; stocks trading at $35 or less. FLPSX began trading in December 1989, and has a market value of close to $24 billion.
Foreign investments make up 33.6% of the holdings. The top three sectors are consumer discretionary (27%), information technology (19%), and health care (13%). The top ten holdings are UnitedHealth Group, Microsoft, Next Plc, Seagate Technology, Ross Stores, Metro, Lincare Holdings, Coventry Health Care, Eni, and Best Buy.
Fidelity Select Healthcare (FSPHX)
We remain overweight health care for reasons noted in detail time and again, but which follow this refrain: health care provides necessary goods and services for huge demographics that are aging and whose collective demand isn’t slowing.
Manager Eddie Yoon invests in companies involved with the design, production, or sale of health-care products or services. It began trading in July 1981, and has a market value of over $2.2 billion.
Foreign investments make up 12.7% of the holdings. The top three sectors are health care (93.1%), consumer staples (1.8%), and industrials (1.3%). The top ten holdings are UnitedHealth Group, Amgen, Pfizer, Gilead Sciences, Merck, Catalyst Health Solutions, Humana, Watson Pharmaceuticals, WellPoint, and Eli Lilly.
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