Having trouble finding a Large Cap Growth fund? Fidelity Growth Discovery (FDSVX) is a potential starting point. FDSVX possesses 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 FDSVX 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 based in Boston, MA, and is the manager of FDSVX. Fidelity Growth Discovery debuted in March of 1998. Since then, FDSVX has accumulated assets of about $5.85 billion, according to the most recently available information. Daniel Kelley is the fund’s current manager and has held that role since April of 2025.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 11.74%, and is in the top third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 21.34%, 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. FDSVX’s standard deviation over the past three years is 15.83% compared to the category average of 13.98%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund’s standard deviation is 17.79% compared to the category average of 16.33%. 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. 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. With a negative alpha of -1.39, managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
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, FDSVX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.53% compared to the category average of 0.93%. So, FDSVX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
