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Is Fidelity Europe (FIEUX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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Having trouble finding a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund? Well, Fidelity Europe (FIEUX - Free Report) would not be a good potential starting point right now. FIEUX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 5 (Strong Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

FIEUX finds itself in the Fidelity family, based out of Boston, MA. Since Fidelity Europe made its debut in October of 1986, FIEUX has garnered more than $587.25 million in assets. Melissa Reilly is the fund's current manager and has held that role since November of 2008.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 2.51%, and is in the bottom third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 6.33%, which places it in the bottom third during this time-frame.

It is important to note that the product's returns may not reflect all its expenses. Any fees not reflected would lower the returns. Total returns do not reflect the fund's [%] sale charge. If sales charges were included, total returns would have been lower.

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 18.29%, the standard deviation of FIEUX over the past three years is 19.86%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 19.47% compared to the category average of 16.02%. 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 0.93, so it is likely going to be 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. FIEUX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -6.88, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick 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, FIEUX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.88% compared to the category average of 1.31%. From a cost perspective, FIEUX is actually cheaper than its peers.

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

Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.

Bottom Line

Overall, Fidelity Europe ( FIEUX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Fidelity Europe ( FIEUX ) looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.

Want even more information about FIEUX? 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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