MAGELLAN? JUST SWELLIN’

International funds aren’t the only funds turning around at Fidelity. After trailing the Standard & Poor’s 500 stock index for four years running, Fidelity’s flagship Magellan Fund — the nation’s largest mutual fund — has a crack at beating the market in 1998.

The $72 billion-asset fund is up 15.53% this year through April 30, vs. 14.56% for the index.

The promising returns come two years after Robert Stansky replaced Jeffrey Vinik as the megafund’s manager. Mr. Stansky’s biggest bets were General Electric Co., Microsoft Corp., Merck & Co. Inc. and Citicorp. Of the 477 stocks, 15.2% were in technology, 13.2% in finance and 11.7% in health.

“They are definitely doing a better job with the sector mix,” says David J. O’Leary, president of Alpha Equity Research Inc. in Portsmouth, N.H.

Magellan closed to new investors last year.