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Is Fidelity Select Financial Services (FIDSX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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If you've been stuck searching for Mutual Fund Equity Report funds, consider Fidelity Select Financial Services (FIDSX - Free Report) as a possibility. FIDSX carries 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 based in Boston, MA, and is the manager of FIDSX. Fidelity Select Financial Services made its debut in December of 1981, and since then, FIDSX has accumulated about $746.55 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by Matt Reed who has been in charge of the fund since June of 2019.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 7.58%, and is 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 11.56%, 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. FIDSX's standard deviation over the past three years is 27.97% compared to the category average of 28.29%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 24.01% compared to the category average of 24.48%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.09, 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. FIDSX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -1.46, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick 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.

As of the last filing date, the mutual fund has 77.81% of its assets in stocks, with an average market capitalization of $68.20 billion. This fund's turnover is about 53%, so the fund managers are making fewer trades than its comparable peers.

Expenses

For investors, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is key, since costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing. Competition is heating up in this space, and a lower cost product will likely outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, all things being equal. In terms of fees, FIDSX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.75% compared to the category average of 1.50%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, FIDSX is actually cheaper than its peers.

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

Bottom Line

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

Your research on the Mutual Fund Equity Report segment doesn't have to stop here. You can check out all the great mutual fund tools we have to offer by going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds to see the additional features we offer as well 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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