Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Is Fidelity Select Retailing (FSRPX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

Read MoreHide Full Article

On the lookout for a Sector - Other fund? Starting with Fidelity Select Retailing (FSRPX - Free Report) is one possibility. FSRPX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

Fidelity is based in Boston, MA, and is the manager of FSRPX. Fidelity Select Retailing debuted in December of 1985. Since then, FSRPX has accumulated assets of about $3.93 billion, according to the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Boris Shepov, has been in charge of the fund since May of 2018.

Performance

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. FSRPX has a 5-year annualized total return of 20.17% and it sits in the top third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 24.02%, which places it in the top third during this time-frame.

When looking at a fund's performance, it is also important to note the standard deviation of the returns. The lower the standard deviation, the less volatility the fund experiences. FSRPX's standard deviation over the past three years is 23.01% compared to the category average of 24.57%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 18.79% compared to the category average of 20.28%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

With a 5-year beta of 1.14, the fund is likely to be more volatile than the market average. Because alpha represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which is the S&P 500 in this case, one should pay attention to this metric as well. With a positive alpha of 2.85, managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Expenses

As competition heats up in the mutual fund market, costs become increasingly important. Compared to its otherwise identical counterpart, a low-cost product will be an outperformer, all other things being equal. Thus, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is vital for investors. In terms of fees, FSRPX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.73% compared to the category average of 1.26%. From a cost perspective, FSRPX is actually cheaper than its peers.

Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $0; each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.

Bottom Line

Overall, Fidelity Select Retailing ( FSRPX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Fidelity Select Retailing ( FSRPX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

Don't stop here for your research on Sector - Other funds. We also have plenty more on our site in order to help you find the best possible fund for your portfolio. Make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for more information about the world of funds, and feel free to compare FSRPX to its peers as well for additional information. Zacks provides a full suite of tools to help you analyze your portfolio - both funds and stocks - in the most efficient way possible.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


Fidelity Select Retailing (FSRPX) - free report >>

Published in