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

There are plenty of choices in the Large Cap Growth category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that might be worth investigating is Fidelity Growth Company (FDGRX). FDGRX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.ObjectiveFDGRX is classified in the Large Cap Growth segment by Zacks, an area full of possibilities. Companies are usually considered to be large-cap if their stock market valuation is more than $10 billion. Large Cap Growth mutual funds invest in many large U.S. firms that are projected to grow at a faster rate than their large-cap peers.History of Fund/ManagerFidelity is based in Boston, MA, and is the manager of FDGRX. Fidelity Growth Company made its debut in January of 1983, and since then, FDGRX has accumulated about $60.78 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. Steven S. Wymer is the fund's current manager and has held that role since January of 1997.PerformanceObviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 22.07%, 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 15.14%, 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. The standard deviation of FDGRX over the past three years is 21.73% compared to the category average of 17.83%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 23.35% compared to the category average of 18.36%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.Risk FactorsInvestors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.16, which means it is hypothetically more volatile than the market at large. Because alpha represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which is the S&P 500 in this case, one should pay attention to this metric as well. FDGRX has generated a positive alpha over the past five years of 4.92, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.HoldingsInvestigating 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 primarily on equities that are traded in the United States.As of the last filing date, the mutual fund has 82.02% of its assets in stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $508.47 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors: Technology Retail Trade With turnover at about 18%, this fund is making fewer trades than comparable funds.ExpensesAs 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, FDGRX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.52% compared to the category average of 0.94%. So, FDGRX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $0, while there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.Bottom LineOverall, Fidelity Growth Company ( FDGRX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.Your research on the Large Cap Growth segment doesn't have to stop here. You can check out all the great mutual fund tools we have to offer by going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds to see the additional features we offer as well for additional information. 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