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Is Fidelity Advisor Technology I (FATIX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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Having trouble finding a Sector - Tech fund? Well, Fidelity Advisor Technology I (FATIX - Free Report) would not be a good potential starting point right now. FATIX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 5 (Strong Sell), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

FATIX is part of the Sector - Tech category, which boasts an array of different possible selections. With a much more diversified approach, Sector - Tech mutual funds give investors a way to own a stake in a notoriously risky sector. Tech companies are in various industries like semiconductors, software, internet, and networking, among others.

History of Fund/Manager

FATIX finds itself in the Fidelity family, based out of Boston, MA. Fidelity Advisor Technology I made its debut in September of 1996, and since then, FATIX has accumulated about $632.27 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. Yun-Min Chai is the fund's current manager and has held that role since January of 2005.

Performance

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 16.87%, and it sits in the top third among its category peers. If you're interested in shorter time frames, do not dismiss looking at the fund's 3-year annualized total return of 23.52%, 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 10.63%, the standard deviation of FATIX over the past three years is 16.27%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 15.98% compared to the category average of 10.99%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

Investors cannot discount the risks to this segment though, as it is always important to remember the downside for any potential investment. In FATIX's case, the fund lost 59.65% in the most recent bear market and underperformed its peer group by 6.32%. These results could imply that the fund is a worse choice than its peers during a sliding market environment.

Even still, the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.18, so investors should note that it is hypothetically more volatile than the market at large. 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 positive alpha of 4.17. This means that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Holdings

Investigating 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.

The mutual fund currently has 92.64% of its holdings in stocks, and these companies have an average market capitalization of $353.79 billion. Turnover is 84%, which means this fund makes fewer trades than its comparable peers.

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, FATIX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.77% compared to the category average of 1.31%. FATIX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.

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 Advisor Technology I ( FATIX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees compared to its peers.

For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the Sector - Tech, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds 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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