Best No Load and NTF Funds Available at Fidelity

lynnbolin2021

I have found myself with a little extra time on my hands and took on a rather large project in my latest article on Seeking Alpha.

This article begins with a comparison of Mutual Fund Observer Composite Ratings to Morningstar Overall Ratings for over 250 No Load, No Transaction Funds available at Fidelity. It provides at Return vs Maximum Drawdown comparison using MFO ratings. I update my own Rating System including MFO Composite Ratings to identify the best 12 of these funds available at Fidelity. Of course definitions of the "Best" funds will vary by investor, so I list five funds per investment bucket. MFO metrics are included for these funds.

https://seekingalpha.com/article/4417912-best-no-load-mutual-funds-available-fidelity

Stay Safe and Be Well,
Best Regards

catch22

Thank you again Lynn, for your tremendous efforts.

And I add these for and to you.


--- su·per·la·tive
/səˈpərlədiv/

an exaggerated or hyperbolical expression of praise.
"they ran out of superlatives to describe him"

--- gra·cious
/ˈɡrāSHəs/

characterized by charm, good taste, generosity of spirit

Regards,
Catch

Crash

Extraordinary. Thank you.

carew388

Awesome list,except for 2 funds I'm confused on: DODLX and NTBIX both have transaction fees at Fidelity?

JD_co

Annoying that so many of my recent Fund purchases at FIDO have had Transaction Fees (i.e. ARBIX, HMEZX, FPFIX). I would usually refuse to pay $50 a pop - feels like a corporate donation.

carew388

HMEAX is ntf at Vanguard and E-Trade. I had HMEAX transferred to Schwab when I closed my E-Trade account, so that I could periodically invest in this fund with no transaction fees. I can't force myself to pay $50 transaction fees, although $10 fees would be fine !

lynnbolin2021

carew388 said:

Awesome list,except for 2 funds I'm confused on: DODLX and NTBIX both have transaction fees at Fidelity?

Sorry for the confusion, @carew388 Table #5 was a list of "Best" Funds from Fidelity without regardless of whether they had fees. The first three funds per line in Table #11 are NTF and the next two have transaction fees.

lynnbolin2021

JD_co said:

Annoying that so many of my recent Fund purchases at FIDO have had Transaction Fees (i.e. ARBIX, HMEZX, FPFIX). I would usually refuse to pay $50 a pop - feels like a corporate donation.

@JD_co I bought ARBIX through Vanguard. I buy other funds that I intend to hold such as TMSRX in large enough amounts that I don't mind the transaction fee. You are right, and the purpose of this article was to find good funds without the transaction fee!

Thanks for reading and commenting.

lynnbolin2021

catch22 said:

Thank you again Lynn, for your tremendous efforts.

And I add these for and to you.


--- su·per·la·tive
/səˈpərlədiv/

an exaggerated or hyperbolical expression of praise.
"they ran out of superlatives to describe him"

--- gra·cious
/ˈɡrāSHəs/

characterized by charm, good taste, generosity of spirit

Regards,
Catch

Thank you for the kind words, @catch22. I enjoy doing the research and sharing.

Graust

Delete

JonGaltIII

Interesting share. I'm looking forward to reading Charles post further. I'm in a few of those funds. Quick observations on a few of the 12:

PRBLX seems like a fine fund but it tracks so closely to the S&P 500 Index, why not just invest in an S&P index fund?

PRSIX (a 30-50 allocation fund) was listed as one of the top 12 as FMSDX but when I compare the two, FMSDX appears to be the clear winner. PRSIX does have a longer track record but FMSDX has certainly outperformed PRSIX in the last 5 years. I guess PRSIX has a slightly lower ER, though.

PRGSX is a great fund and deserves to be included. It's outpacing my MGGPX this year and with a lower expense ratio. I had a difficult time deciding between the two. Perhaps I should revisit it.

EAPCX - "commodities broad basket" Interesting. I've never owned one of these funds.

Really appreciate reading the methodology that Charles shared and how his choices compare to Fidelity Picks and M*.

mcmarasco

JonG, I recently invested in PRBLX/PRILX and not an S&P index simply because it gives me some downside protection, less volatility and index like returns.

It’s just a little smoother ride, I believe. If you are only concerned with absolute return, then I would agree, just invest in FXAIX.

JMHO. Matt

rforno

I'm a strong supporter of PRBLX/PRILX and hold the latter in large quantities at the moment.

Though Portfolio Visualizer hardly shows it giving index-like returns. It does much better!

carew388

+1 PRILX has higher returns, lower standard deviation, and a higher sharpe ratio despite a 61 basis point expense ratio advantage for FXAIX (per Fidelity fund comparison tool)

Observant1

PRILX has generated higher returns than VFIAX with lower volatility and smaller drawdowns.

----------3Yr ---5Yr --10Yr -15Yr
PRILX 21.17 17.47 14.66 11.98*
VFIAX 18.50 17.11 14.21 10.22

*PRBLX

The seasoned management team executes a thoughtful, repeatable investment strategy.
What's not to like?

wxman123

rforno said:

I'm a strong supporter of PRBLX/PRILX and hold the latter in large quantities at the moment.

Though Portfolio Visualizer hardly shows it giving index-like returns. It does much better!

Indeed, if I could go back in my investing history and pick "just one" PRBLX would likely be the one. I basically did just that with my wife's 401K and then IRA, my god, but without the hairdressing dips!

lynnbolin2021

JonGaltIII said:

PRSIX (a 30-50 allocation fund) was listed as one of the top 12 as FMSDX but when I compare the two, FMSDX appears to be the clear winner. PRSIX does have a longer track record but FMSDX has certainly outperformed PRSIX in the last 5 years. I guess PRSIX has a slightly lower ER, though.

EAPCX - "commodities broad basket" Interesting. I've never owned one of these funds.

@JonGaltIII Thanks for the input. FMSDX is a great fund and one of my larger holdings. The oldest share class of FMSDX is FAYZX which is still only 5.5 years. My concern for FMSDX is that it has 18% in High Yield bonds. I have concerns about how it may perform during a recession.

I worry about a 1970's style period of inflation. Home and stock prices are two examples of inflated prices. Food prices are rising. I bought relatively modest amount VCMDX at Vanguard and FSRRX at Fidelity. FSRRX is less volatile than EAPCX. If signs of inflation increase I will consider EAPCX.

AndyJ

wxman123 said:

Indeed, if I could go back in my investing history and pick "just one" PRBLX would likely be the one.

That's what I told a friend last week (but without the "likely") who wanted a suggestion to replace a whole bunch of tiny individual U.S. equity positions in an RBC investment account.

shipwreckedandalone

Thank you for your excellent work! I wonder if there are a handful of truly exceptional funds that are worth spending the commission $ for? We don't know what we don't know....

carew388

Possibly SVARX ARBIX NTBIX I'm sure there are others.

davidrmoran

@JonGaltIII

I worry about a 1970's style period of inflation. ...

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/blog/2021/04/12/pandemic-prices-assessing-inflation-in-the-months-and-years-ahead/

Anna

Future inflation comment from whitehouse.gov link

rise modestly due to the three temporary factors we discuss above, and to fade back to a lower pace

Pace means rate, so the key is the "rise". If the rise leaves workers behind, however good a lower pace may be, the rise will still be stuck to their lives. This quote means a new, higher, slowing new baseline.

davidrmoran

So how is this different from the recent past of (s)low inflation? What does 'the rise will still be stuck to their lives'? mean (not an economist). There will always be some inflation; you do not at all want none, I read, right?

Anna

@davidmoran - All I meant was that until a worker's wage catches up to the inflation the worker will be "stuck" at a lower purchasing power. The article didn't say inflation would go down, it said the pace of increase would go down.

lynnbolin2021

shipwreckedandalone said:

Thank you for your excellent work! I wonder if there are a handful of truly exceptional funds that are worth spending the commission $ for? We don't know what we don't know....

Here are the funds that I am researching now. They had low draw downs during the past five years and high risk adjusted returns: It is a good starting point.

CLMAX, NTBIX, CRAAX, TMSRX, FMSDX, CTFAX, ETIMX, GAVIX, MNBAX, RBBAX, VWIAX, VTINX

lynnbolin2021

@Anna and @davidmoran,
Thanks for the great discussions about inflation.

The article below shows the estimate for consumer inflation came in higher than expected at 2.6% YOY in part due to higher oil prices.

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/13/us-consumer-price-index-march-2021.html

High debt levels and aging demographics are deflationary. I don't expect a 1970's style high inflation, but I do think that supply chain delays, high stimulus, and pent up demand will increase inflation in the short to intermediate term.

fred495

TMSRX's total returns have been a real disappointment so far this year:

1 Week = -0.4%
1 Month = -1.2%
3 Months = 0.1%
YTD = 0.4%

Just an observation, but the fund will stay on my watch list in the hopes that its performance will eventually show some improvement.

Fred

lynnbolin2021

@Fred TMSRX's have been low, but maximum draw down was only 4.7% during the past three years. One year return is 18% and three year return is 5.4%. Their goal, if I remember correctly, is to make 6% plus the rate of inflation over time.

For me, TMSRX fits in as a low risk fund that will not lose much and will make decent returns. It fits in between bonds and stocks. Below are the funds that I am researching now. During changes in market conditions they do better or worse. I look at mixing and matching to have a consistent performance over time.

CRAAX, TMSRX, FMSDX, CTFAX, ETIMX, GAVIX, MNBAX, RBBAX, VWIAX, VTINX

fred495

Thanks , Lynn, appreciate your comment on TMSRX.

As a retired and somewhat conservative investor, I am also "mixing and matching to have a consistent performance over time" by using the following funds in my portfolio which M* classifies as "Low" or "Below Average" risk:

ARBIX, NVHAX, VWINX, JHQAX, RCTIX, and TSIIX

Just to spice things up a bit, I am also using FMSDX, a fund M* rates as "Above Average" risk.

I am in a capital preservation mode and looking for my portfolio to generate an annual total return of approx. 4-6%.

Thanks, again, for your research and analysis efforts in this area.

Good luck,

Fred

lynnbolin2021

Thanks @fred495. I own ARBIX, VWIAX,FMSDX, and will check out NVHAX, JHQAX, RCTIX, and TSIIX.

hank

Just for the h*** of it, last night I sorted my 16 funds from “best” to “worst.” Very unscientific. No particular criteria other than my perception of potential risk / reward - much gained looking at Yahoo’s excellent historical data. I think that for the 10 minutes or less it took, it’s a useful endeavor. (#3 and #5 probably aren’t available thru Fidelity.)

1. PRWCX
2. PRSIX
3. DODBX
4. PRPFX
5. DODLX

(I realize #4 is a contentious pick and have no desire to argue my case)

At the bottom of the heap were cash equivalent / short term bond funds like TRBUX and TSDLX. It’s hard to justify paying an ER for their minuscule return.

Sorry - Just remembered PRWCX isn’t available - period - unless you already own it.

RPGAX came in #6 on the list. I think over time it will outperform. But the internationals haven’t kept pace with domestic. I doubt the hedge fund exposure to date has added little more than an extra layer of fees. Things do and will change.