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Should You Invest in the Fidelity MSCI Materials Index ETF (FMAT)?

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Launched on 10/21/2013, the Fidelity MSCI Materials Index ETF (FMAT - Free Report) is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to provide a broad exposure to the Materials - Broad segment of the equity market.

An increasingly popular option among retail and institutional investors, passively managed ETFs offer low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency; they are also excellent vehicles for long term investors.

Sector ETFs are also funds of convenience, offering many ways to gain low risk and diversified exposure to a broad group of companies in particular sectors. Materials - Broad is one of the 16 broad Zacks sectors within the Zacks Industry classification. It is currently ranked 2, placing it in top 13%.

Index Details

The fund is sponsored by Fidelity. It has amassed assets over $402.75 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs attempting to match the performance of the Materials - Broad segment of the equity market. FMAT seeks to match the performance of the MSCI USA IMI Materials Index before fees and expenses.

MSCI USA IMI Materials Index represents the performance of the materials sector in the U.S. equity market.

Costs

Since cheaper funds tend to produce better results than more expensive funds, assuming all other factors remain equal, it is important for investors to pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.08%, making it the least expensive product in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.45%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

ETFs offer a diversified exposure and thus minimize single stock risk but it is still important to delve into a fund's holdings before investing. Most ETFs are very transparent products and many disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

Looking at individual holdings, Linde Plc Common Stock Eur.001 accounts for about 11.75% of total assets, followed by Air Products + Chemicals Inc Common Stock Usd1.0 (LIN - Free Report) and Sherwin Williams Co/the Common Stock Usd1.0 (APD - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 48.67% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

So far this year, FMAT has gained about 13.76%, and is up about 63.99% in the last one year (as of 04/13/2021). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $25.86 and $45.23.

The ETF has a beta of 1.15 and standard deviation of 26.82% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 117 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

Fidelity MSCI Materials Index ETF holds a Zacks ETF Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Because of this, FMAT is an excellent option for investors seeking exposure to the Materials ETFs segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.

FlexShares Morningstar Global Upstream Natural Resources ETF (GUNR - Free Report) tracks Morningstar Global Upstream Natural Resources Index and the Materials Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLB - Free Report) tracks Materials Select Sector Index. FlexShares Morningstar Global Upstream Natural Resources ETF has $4.84 billion in assets, Materials Select Sector SPDR ETF has $7.56 billion. GUNR has an expense ratio of 0.46% and XLB charges 0.12%.

Bottom Line

To learn more about this product and other ETFs, screen for products that match your investment objectives and read articles on latest developments in the ETF investing universe, please visit Zacks ETF Center.

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