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Is Fidelity Select Materials (FSDPX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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If you've been stuck searching for Sector - Energy funds, consider Fidelity Select Materials (FSDPX - Free Report) as a possibility. FSDPX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

FSDPX is one of many Sector - Energy funds to choose from. Sector - Energy mutual funds are comprised of various changing and hugely important industries throughout the massive global energy sector. Even though clean energy is beginning to pick up steam, oil and gas companies have the highest exposure, but carbon-based fuels will be the biggest group of assets in these funds.

History of Fund/Manager

Fidelity is based in Boston, MA, and is the manager of FSDPX. Since Fidelity Select Materials made its debut in September of 1986, FSDPX has garnered more than $658.11 million in assets. The fund is currently managed by Jody Simes who has been in charge of the fund since November of 2019.

Performance

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. FSDPX has a 5-year annualized total return of 9.46% and is in the top third among its category peers. But if you are looking for a shorter time frame, it is also worth looking at its 3-year annualized total return of 9.26%, 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. The standard deviation of FSDPX over the past three years is 23.74% compared to the category average of 17.8%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 19.6% compared to the category average of 14.64%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

With a 5-year beta of 1.13, the fund is likely to be more volatile than the market average. Because alpha represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which is the S&P 500 in this case, one should pay attention to this metric as well. FSDPX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -7.62, which means managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Holdings

Exploring 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 primarily on equities that are traded in the United States.

This fund is currently holding about 79.15% stock in stocks, with an average market capitalization of $42.89 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

  1. Industrial Cyclical
  2. Other
  3. Non-Durable
This fund's turnover is about 36%, so the fund managers are making fewer trades than the average comparable fund.

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, FSDPX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.80% compared to the category average of 1.53%. So, FSDPX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.

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 Select Materials ( FSDPX ) 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 FSDPX? 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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