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Is Fidelity Select Energy Portfolio (FSENX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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If investors are looking at the Mutual Fund Equity Report fund category, Fidelity Select Energy Portfolio (FSENX - Free Report) could be a potential option. FSENX holds 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 FSENX. Fidelity Select Energy Portfolio debuted in July of 1981. Since then, FSENX has accumulated assets of about $3.22 billion, according to the most recently available information. Maurice FitzMaurice is the fund's current manager and has held that role since January of 2020.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. FSENX has a 5-year annualized total return of 9.9% and is in the top third among its category peers. But if you are looking for a shorter time frame, it is also worth looking at its 3-year annualized total return of 24.44%, 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. Over the past three years, FSENX's standard deviation comes in at 45.49%, compared to the category average of 45.02%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 38.92% compared to the category average of 38.91%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.41, which means it is hypothetically more 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. FSENX's 5-year performance has produced a positive alpha of 1.28, which means 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, FSENX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.77% compared to the category average of 1.46%. So, FSENX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.

This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $0, while there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.

Bottom Line

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

Want even more information about FSENX? Then go over to Zacks.com and check out our mutual fund comparison tool, and all of the other great features that we have to help you with your mutual fund analysis for additional information. If you are more of a stock investor, make sure to also check out our Zacks Rank, and our full suite of tools we have available for novice and professional investors alike.


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