7 top Fidelity funds for your 401k

Related topics: Fidelity, 401k, mutual funds, Vanguard, retirement

By making two moves early this year, you can get more from your 401k: Make the maximum contribution to your company's 401k plan, and invest in funds that have the lowest possible expense ratio, which puts more of your money to work.

With that in mind, here are seven proven Fidelity funds that belong in your portfolio. The funds can be combined into two types of risk-adjusted portfolio -- one targeting aggressive growth and the other designed to provide growth and income. Which type is best for you will depend on your age and risk tolerance.

• Best Vanguard funds for your 401k

Fidelity Low-Priced Stock Fund

Fund manager Joel Tillinghast has rarely owned fewer than 800 stocks in his portfolio, and often owns more than 1,000. At last count, Fidelity Low-Priced Stock (FLPSX) had 907 holdings. Tillinghast buys stocks priced at $35 a share or less, which increases the likelihood of small- and mid-cap investments in bull markets, but in bear markets can net him companies of virtually any size.

His long-term record has been one of solid, consistent performance. Average annual total returns over the last 10 years exceed 11%, almost double the performance of its Russell 2000 ($RUT.X) benchmark. Many of Tillinghast's top holdings come from the health care, consumer services and technology sectors. Among his top holdings: UnitedHealth (UNH, news), home health provider Lincare Holdings (LNCR, news), Oracle (ORCL, news) and Safeway (SWY, news).

Fidelity Focused Stock Fund

Manager Stephen DuFour invests in a concentrated portfolio of 45 stocks, mainly large-cap growth and value stocks. The top 10 holdings and sector weightings of the Fidelity Focused Stock Fund (FTQGX) reveal his focus on an expected recovery of U.S. and global consumers.

As a growth investor, DuFour looks for great companies trading at what he considers to be very good prices. DuFour said he looks for companies that have unit growth, pricing power, increasing margins and opportunities to expand their footprints.

The top three sectors are information technology (32%), industrials (22%) and consumer discretionary (12%). Among his top holdings are Union Pacific (UNP, news), Cummins (CMI, news), Edwards Lifesciences (EW, news), Estée Lauder (EL, news) and Perrigo (PRGO, news).

Fidelity Select Health Care

The national move toward health reform presents investors with opportunities. The Fidelity Select Health Care (FSPHX) fund is one way to make a low-risk, long-term growth play in the consumer sector. In 2010, the fund posted a gain of 17%, more than 4 percentage points better than the Standard & Poor's 500 Index ($INX). This $1.81 billion fund, managed by Edward Yoon, led the entire Fidelity health category.

Among its top holdings are Medco Health Solutions (MHS, news), Illumina (ILMN, news) and Covidien (COV, news).

There's a stealthy global growth story here; emerging-market demand for more and better health care is increasing, to the benefit of both the foreign companies in this fund and the U.S. companies that derive an increasing share of their sales in the burgeoning global marketplace.

While a few companies would be hurt by any changes in health care policy, the bottom line is that broader coverage provides access to bigger sales for many health care companies. Fidelity Select Health Care has a track record of being ahead of the sector trends, so it's likely to focus on the opportunities and avoid the pitfalls in the months ahead.

Fidelity Contrafund

This is one of Fidelity's most recognized funds. Since its inception in 1967, it has seen huge inflows. The Fidelity Contrafund (FCNTX) is managed by William Danoff, a highly regarded manager and proven contrarian investor.

The $61 billion fund posted a return of 16.3% in 2010, which is especially impressive considering its size.

Among the fund's top holdings are U.S. icons Coca-Cola (KO, news), Apple (AAPL, news) and McDonald's (MCD, news), but Danoff also buys international value stocks.

Fidelity Global Balanced Fund

If you want exposure to equity and debt securities, this is the fund. The Fidelity Global Balanced (FGBLX) fund has 843 holdings from around the world, ranging from Japanese, Italian and German government bonds to U.S. companies like Exxon Mobil (XOM, news).

By policy, 25% of the fund is invested in fixed income, but the fund is also in the large-cap growth category. This gives investors exposure to global debt and equity. In a difficult environment in 2010, it posted a 10.4% return.

Fidelity Floating Rate High Income

If inflation increases in 2011, this bond fund can provide some protection. The Fidelity Floating Rate High Income (FFRHX) fund invests primarily in senior U.S. bank loans with rates that reset every three months. This allows the fund's yield and price to rise if short-term rates rise.

The fund invests primarily in loans made to weaker companies, but manager Christine McConnell says her analysts examine loans to avoid those that may fail. The average maturity of its investments is less than five years, and the fund yields 3.5%.

Its annualized return over the past three years was 5.24%.

The investment seeks a high level of income. It normally invests at least 80% of assets in floating-rate loans, which often are lower-quality debt securities, and other floating-rate securities.

Fidelity Dividend Growth

Dividend growth has become a very popular goal for investors looking for greater returns. The Fidelity Dividend Growth (FDGFX) fund ranks near the top of its class. Manager Larry Rakers invests in companies that he believes will initiate or increase their dividend payouts.

Foreign holdings make up about 15% of the fund. Its top three sectors are financials (18%), information technology (17%) and industrials (14%).

Among the fund's top holdings are Wells Fargo (WFC, news), JPMorgan Chase (JPM, news), Lam Research (LRCX, news), Hewlett-Packard (HPQ, news) and Merck (MRK, news).

Making the funds work for you

The portfolios below both provide good sector diversification, and the allocations in each are designed to cushion overall portfolio risk.

The aggressive growth portfolio is well-suited to individuals who can tolerate more investment risk and portfolio volatility.

The growth and income portfolio is suited for investors nearing retirement. Its goal is capital appreciation and generating cash. This is considered an investment approach that strikes a middle path between aggressive growth and conservative capital protection.