Fund Evaluator:
Fidelity Advisor Freedom Retirement A (FAFAX)
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Best Performing in Target-Date Retirement Over the Last Year
| 11.7% | Victory Target Retirement Income (URINX) |
| 10.7% | BlackRock LifePath® Dyn Retirement Inv A (LPRAX) |
| 10.2% | BlackRock LifePath ESG Index Ret Inv A (LERAX) |
| 10.1% | BlackRock LifePath® Index Retire Inv A (LIRAX) |
| 9.9% | American Century OneChcBlnd+InRet Inv (AAAMX) |
Fund Details
Fidelity Advisor Freedom Retirement A Overview
Fidelity Advisor Freedom Retirement A (FAFAX) is an actively managed Allocation Target-Date Retirement fund. Fidelity Investments launched the fund in 2003.
The investment seeks high total return with a secondary objective of principal preservation. The fund invests in a combination of Fidelity® U.S. equity funds, international equity funds, bond funds, and short-term funds.
About Fidelity Advisor Freedom Retirement A (FAFAX)
There are 4 members of the management team with an average tenure of 7.49 years: Andrew Dierdorf (2011), Brett Sumsion (2014), Finola McGuire Foley (2025), Cait Dourney Earle (2025). Management tenure is more important for actively managed funds than passive index funds.
The fund has 1 primary benchmark: Bloomberg US Agg Bond TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. Fidelity Advisor Freedom Retirement A has 47 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 80.8% of the fund’s assets. The fund meets the SEC requirement of being classified as a diversified fund. The fund is not considered to have an ESG focus with its investment selection and management.
Fidelity Advisor Freedom Retirement A is part of the Allocation global asset class and is within the Allocation fund group. Fidelity Advisor Freedom Retirement A has 23.5% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 14.7%. There is 16.6% allocated to foreign stock, and 0.1% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 63.3% (56.3% domestic bond, 7.0% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). Fidelity Advisor Freedom Retirement A has 5.1% of the portfolio in cash.
Assets Under Management
The fund has $77 million in total assets, which is below the $487 million average for the Target-Date Retirement category. Normally, lower assets under management translates to higher average expense ratios, and greater total assets are desired. However, for some investment categories, such as small-cap investing, it may be difficult for the manager to fully employ the desired active strategy if assets grow too large or too quickly.
FAFAX Performance and Fees
The expense ratio measures how much of a fund’s assets are used for administrative expenses and operating expenses, including adviser fees and fees for the transfer agent and custodial services. The Fidelity Advisor Freedom Retirement A expense ratio is above average compared to funds in the Target-Date Retirement category. Fidelity Advisor Freedom Retirement A has an expense ratio of 0.71%, which is 10% higher than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a D. While it is difficult to predict returns, it is known that high annual expense ratios reduce your rate of return, and excessive fees are difficult to overcome. Active management normally comes with higher expense ratios than passive index management. Certain investment categories such as small company and foreign also normally have higher expense ratios. It is best to compare fund expense ratios against the category averages for meaningful assessments.
High portfolio turnover can translate to higher expenses and lower aftertax returns. Fidelity Advisor Freedom Retirement A has a portfolio turnover rate of 22%, indicating that holds its assets around 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 28% for the Target-Date Retirement category.
Recently, in the month of July 2026, Fidelity Advisor Freedom Retirement A returned -1.0%, which earned it a grade of F, as the Target-Date Retirement category had an average return of -0.6%. The letter grades of A, B, C, D and F are based upon relative rankings within the investment category. A grade of A, for example, would indicate that the return is in the highest 20% for that time period compared to all funds in that category.
Fidelity Advisor Freedom Retirement A has a trailing yield of 2.66%, which is below the 3.19% category average. The fund normally distributes its income monthly and its capital gains semi-annually.
It’s natural to seek the best-performing investments, but you must consider the relationship between risk and return and the impact of costs and taxes on your realized returns.
Fidelity Advisor Freedom Retirement A Grades
Year to date, the fund has returned 3.5%, 0.4 percentage points worse than the category, which translates into a grade of D. The fund has returned 7.6% over the past year (grade of F), 6.8% over the past three years (grade of F) and 2.4% per year over the past five years (grade of F) and 3.9% per year over the past 10 years (grade of F).
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FAFAX Trailing NAV Total Returns Data as of 7/31/26
| Last Month |
Last Quarter |
Ann'l. 1Yr |
Ann'l. 3Yr |
Ann'l. 5Yr |
Ann'l. 10Yr |
|
| FAFAX Return (NAV) | -1.0% | 0.4% | 7.6% | 6.8% | 2.4% | 3.9% |
| FAFAX Grade | F | F | F | F | F | F |
| +/- Category | -0.4% | -0.6% | -1.3% | -1.3% | -1.1% | -1.0% |
| Target-Date Retirement Avg | -0.6% | 1.0% | 8.9% | 8.2% | 3.6% | 4.9% |
| FAFAX Tax Cost Ratio | na | na | 1.1% | 1.1% | 1.2% | 1.2% |
FAFAX Annual NAV Total ReturnsData as of 7/31/26
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
| FAFAX Return (NAV) | 3.5% | 9.9% | 4.0% | 7.8% | -11.7% | 2.9% | 8.5% | 10.8% | -1.9% | 7.8% | 4.9% |
| FAFAX Grade | D | D | F | F | B | F | D | D | A | D | C |
| +/- Category | -0.4% | -0.8% | -2.3% | -2.3% | 0.9% | -2.5% | -0.7% | -1.8% | 1.3% | -1.0% | -0.1% |
| Target-Date Retirement Avg | 4.0% | 10.6% | 6.4% | 10.1% | -12.6% | 5.4% | 9.1% | 12.7% | -3.3% | 8.8% | 5.0% |
| Risk Measures | |
| Standard Deviation: | 5.5% |
| Total Risk Index: | 0.45 - Low |
| Category Risk Index: | 0.86 - Low |
| Category Risk Grade: | A (14% Rank) |
| Beta: | 0.57 |
| R-Squared: | 94% |
| Leveraged Fund: | No |
| Inverse Fund: | No |
| Portfolio Characteristics | |
| Equity Investment Style: | Large-Cap Blend |
| Bond Investment Style: | High Quality Moderate Sensitivity |
| Yield: | 2.7% |
| Dividend Distribution: | Monthly |
| Cap Gains Distribution: | Semi-Annually |
| Total Assets: | $216 Mil |
| Fund Total Assets: | $ 77 Mil |
| Share Class Type: | A |
| Portfolio Turnover: | 22% |
Management Team
| Number of Managers: 4 | |||
| Longest Tenure: 15.1 years | |||
| Average Tenure: 7.5 years | |||
| Managers (Year): Dierdorf Andrew (2011), Sumsion Brett (2014), McGuire Foley Finola (2025), Dourney Earle Cait (2025) | |||
Portfolio Composition (as of 6/30/26)
| # of Holdings: | 47 |
| % in Top 10 Holdings: | 80.8% |
| Fund is Non-Diversified: | No |
| % in Foreign Issues: | 23.5% |
Portfolio Allocation |
|
| Domestic Stock: | 14.7% |
| Foreign Stock: | 16.6% |
| Preferred Stock: | 0.1% |
| Domestic Bond: | 56.3% |
| Foreign Bond: | 7.0% |
| Convertible Bond: | 0.0% |
| Other: | 0.3% |
| Cash: | 5.1% |
Purchase Information
| Fund Family: | Fidelity Investments |
| Phone Number: | 877-208-0098 |
| Website: | www.institutional.fidelity.com |
| Status: | Open |
| Inception Date: | July 24, 2003 |
| Min. Initial Purchase: | $ 0 |
| Min. Initial IRA Purchase: | $ 0 |
| True No-Load: | No |
| Front Load Maximum: | 5.75% |
| Deferred Charge Maximum: | 0.00% |
| Redemption Charge Maximum: | 0.00% |
| 12b-1 Fee: | 0.25% |
Expenses and Fees | |
| Expense Ratio (%): | 0.71% ( Rating : Above Avg ) |
| Category Average Expense Ratio (%): | 0.65% |
| Share Class: | Fidelity Advisor Freedom Retirement I |
| Min. Subsequent Purchase: | $ 0 |
| Min. Subsequent IRA Purchase: | $ 0 |
