Any investors hoping to find a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund could think about starting with Fidelity Overseas Fund (FOSFX Quick QuoteFOSFX - Free Report) . FOSFX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), 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 FOSFX. Since Fidelity Overseas Fund made its debut in December of 1984, FOSFX has garnered more than $7.31 billion in assets. The fund's current manager, Vincent Montemaggiore, has been in charge of the fund since January of 2012.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. FOSFX has a 5-year annualized total return of 4.91% and it sits in the middle third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 7.68%, 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. Compared to the category average of 19.69%, the standard deviation of FOSFX over the past three years is 20.23%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 19.12% compared to the category average of 17.17%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

With a 5-year beta of 0.95, 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -4.88. This means that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

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, FOSFX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.94% compared to the category average of 1.13%. FOSFX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.

While the minimum initial investment for the product is $0, investors should also note that there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.

Bottom Line

Overall, Fidelity Overseas Fund ( FOSFX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.

For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the Mutual Fund Equity Report, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information. Zacks provides a full suite of tools to help you analyze your portfolio - both funds and stocks - in the most efficient way possible.