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Is Fidelity Select Health Care (FSPHX) 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 Health Care (FSPHX - Free Report) could be a potential option. FSPHX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

Fidelity is responsible for FSPHX, and the company is based out of Boston, MA. Fidelity Select Health Care debuted in July of 1981. Since then, FSPHX has accumulated assets of about $8.37 billion, according to the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Edward Yoon who has been in charge of the fund since October of 2008.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 11.3%, 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 6.56%, which places it in the middle 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. Compared to the category average of 19.27%, the standard deviation of FSPHX over the past three years is 18.16%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 18.46% compared to the category average of 18.91%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

With a 5-year beta of 0.79, the fund is likely to be less volatile than the market average. Another factor to consider is alpha, as it reflects a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark-in this case, the S&P 500. FSPHX's 5-year performance has produced a positive alpha of 3.77, which means managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Holdings

Examining the equity holdings of a mutual fund is also a valuable exercise. This can show us how the manager is applying their stated methodology, as well as if there are any inherent biases in their approach. For this particular fund, the focus is mostly on equities that are traded in the United States.

Right now, 80.08% of this mutual fund's holdings are stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $131.86 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

  • Health
  • Finance
With turnover at about 31%, this fund is making fewer trades than comparable funds.

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 0.68% compared to the category average of 1.29%. Looking at the fund 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, this fund looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

Don't stop here for your research on Mutual Fund Equity Report 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 FSPHX to its peers as well for additional information. For analysis of the rest of your portfolio, make sure to visit Zacks.com for our full suite of tools which will help you investigate all of your stocks and funds in one place.


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