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Having trouble finding a Global - Equity fund? Fidelity Worldwide Fund (FWWFX) is a potential starting point. FWWFX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
We note that FWWFX is a Global - Equity option, an investment area loaded with different options. While Global - Equity mutual funds invest their assets in large markets--think the U.S., Europe, and Japan--they aren't limited by geography. Their investment technique is one that leverages the global economy in order to offer stable returns.
History of Fund/Manager
Fidelity is responsible for FWWFX, and the company is based out of Boston, MA. The Fidelity Worldwide Fund made its debut in May of 1990 and FWWFX has managed to accumulate roughly $2.24 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, William Kennedy, has been in charge of the fund since January of 2006.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. FWWFX has a 5-year annualized total return of 8.12% and is in the top third among its category peers. But if you are looking for a shorter time frame, it is also worth looking at its 3-year annualized total return of 12.91%, which places it in the top third during this time-frame.
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. Over the past three years, FWWFX's standard deviation comes in at 12.32%, compared to the category average of 9.75%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 12.09% compared to the category average of 9.95%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should always remember the downsides to a potential investment, and this segment carries some risks one should be aware of. In the most recent bear market, FWWFX lost 53.1% and outperformed its peer group by 0%. This makes the fund a possibly on par choice than its peers during a sliding market environment.
Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.92, so it is likely going to be less 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -1.09. This means that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.