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Is Fidelity Select Chemicals (FSCHX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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Any investors hoping to find a Sector - Other fund could think about starting with Fidelity Select Chemicals (FSCHX - Free Report) . FSCHX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

Fidelity is based in Boston, MA, and is the manager of FSCHX. Since Fidelity Select Chemicals made its debut in July of 1985, FSCHX has garnered more than $700.84 million in assets. The fund is currently managed by David Wagner who has been in charge of the fund since August of 2019.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. FSCHX has a 5-year annualized total return of 10.73% and it sits 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 1.22%, 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. Over the past three years, FSCHX's standard deviation comes in at 24.93%, compared to the category average of 28.58%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 20.86% compared to the category average of 23.63%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

The fund has a 5-year beta of 1.22, 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 negative alpha of -7.53. This means that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Expenses

As competition heats up in the mutual fund market, costs become increasingly important. Compared to its otherwise identical counterpart, a low-cost product will be an outperformer, all other things being equal. Thus, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is vital for investors. In terms of fees, FSCHX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.79% compared to the category average of 1.26%. From a cost perspective, FSCHX is actually cheaper than its peers.

Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $0 and that each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.

Bottom Line

Overall, Fidelity Select Chemicals ( FSCHX ) 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.

Want even more information about FSCHX? 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. Zacks provides a full suite of tools to help you analyze your portfolio - both funds and stocks - in the most efficient way possible.


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