Fidelity ContrafundFCNTX

Morningstar Rating

Fund Research and Analysis

by Christopher Davis

Behind Fidelity Contrafund's weaknesses lie some formidable strengths.

Next to the competition, there's no doubt this fund has appeared sluggish. Yes, its 22% gain for the year to date through Oct. 12, 2009, isn't bad in absolute terms, and it also beats its benchmark, the S&P 500 Index. Read more

Kudos

Highly experienced manager backed by vast research capabilities.

Superb long-term record earned with steadier performance than most large-growth funds.

Fund has managed to succeed in recent years despite its enormous girth. Read more

Risks

Management's hefty asset load limits flexibility.

Fund has been successful in most markets, though it's looked relatively slow in racier, speculative environments. Read more

Strategy

Call it forced evolution: As this fund's asset base grew in the 1990s, manager Will Danoff had to move away from mid-caps and small caps and adopt a growth-at-a-reasonable-price philosophy. He continues to own a substantial stake in mid-caps, but the fund is now dominated by larger fare. Read more

Management

Will Danoff has been at the helm since September 1990 and is backed by Fidelity's deep research staff. He has adapted his style to the fund's size by holding more large caps, and he has cut the fund's turnover in recent years. He has also run Fidelity Advisor New Insights since its July 2003 inception. Read more

Inside Scoop

A fine long-term record has attracted a lot of new assets and transformed this once-small offering into one of the largest in the fund universe. Reopened to new investors in December 2008, this offering is one of Fidelity's most-compelling core holdings. Read more

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