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Fidelity Files for Small-Cap Fund

Allison Bisbey Colter

Fidelity Investments is expanding its lineup of small-cap funds. But its latest offering may be coming late to the party.

The financial services giant filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission last month to launch the Fidelity Small Cap Opportunities Fund, which will invest in the stocks of both "growth" and "value" companies in the U.S. and abroad.

Manager Lionel Harris has been with Fidelity since 1995 and has run the firm's $786 million (FCPGX Quote)Small Cap Growth fund (FCPGX) since April 2005.

Morningstar analyst Dan Lefkovitz says Harris has put together a decent record at Small Cap Growth. But he's concerned that capacity could be an issue, because Fidelity already runs a lot of money in small-cap funds.

The $39.49 billion (FLPSX Quote)Low-Priced Stock (FLPSX) fund, which was once the firm's best-known small-cap offering, is now closed to new investors. But it has become so big that manager Joel Tillinghast has to put money to work in bigger companies as well. Morningstar classifies its investment style as "mid-cap blend."

Fidelity's $4.77 billion (FSLCX Quote)Small Cap Stock (FSLCX) fund, run by Paul Antico, is also closed to new investors, as is the $1.71 billion (FISMX Quote)International Small Cap (FISMX) , which is jointly managed by Tokuya Sano, Ben Patson and Wilson Wong.

"Over the past five years, we've seen lot of small cap funds -- domestic and foreign -- close, which can be taken as sign that the asset class has done very well, but it might not be time to invest," Lefkovitz says.

The analyst notes that Fidelity has launched several small-cap funds over the past few years, including the $1.43 billion (FCPVX Quote)Small Cap Value (FCPVX), International Small Cap and the $1.39 billion (FSCOX Quote)International Small Cap Opportunities (FSCOX).

"It's fair to say that the small-cap boom that's occurred since 2000 caught Fidelity flat-footed," he says. "Large-cap growth has been their sweet spot, historically."

The analyst notes that Fidelity has more than a dozen large-cap growth funds and very few small-cap or value funds.