Mutual Fund Equity Report fund seekers should consider taking a look at Fidelity Select Health Care (FSPHX Quick QuoteFSPHX - Free Report) . FSPHX bears 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 FSPHX. Fidelity Select Health Care debuted in July of 1981. Since then, FSPHX has accumulated assets of about $10.75 billion, according to the most recently available information. Edward Yoon is the fund's current manager and has held that role since October of 2008.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 19.43%, 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 22.18%, 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. The standard deviation of FSPHX over the past three years is 16.64% compared to the category average of 17.98%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 16.36% compared to the category average of 17.17%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

The fund has a 5-year beta of 0.82, so investors should note that it is hypothetically less volatile than the market at large. Alpha is an additional metric to take into consideration, since it represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which in this case, is the S&P 500. FSPHX has generated a positive alpha over the past five years of 4.13, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Expenses

Costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing, and particularly as competition heats up in this market. And all things being equal, a lower cost product will outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, so taking a closer look at these metrics is key for investors. In terms of fees, FSPHX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.67% compared to the category average of 1.30%. From a cost perspective, FSPHX 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 Health Care ( FSPHX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Fidelity Select Health Care ( FSPHX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

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