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Is Fidelity Select Technology (FSPTX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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If investors are looking at the Mutual Fund Equity Report fund category, Fidelity Select Technology (FSPTX - Free Report) could be a potential option. FSPTX carries 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

FSPTX finds itself in the Fidelity family, based out of Boston, MA. Since Fidelity Select Technology made its debut in July of 1981, FSPTX has garnered more than $13.31 billion in assets. The fund is currently managed by Brian Lempel who has been in charge of the fund since July of 2020.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 32.74%, and it sits 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 44.47%, 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, FSPTX's standard deviation comes in at 20.05%, compared to the category average of 22.06%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 19.28% compared to the category average of 20.26%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

Investors should not forget about beta, an important way to measure a mutual fund's risk compared to the market as a whole. FSPTX has a 5-year beta of 1.09, which means it is likely to be more 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. FSPTX's 5-year performance has produced a positive alpha of 11.32, which means managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking 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, FSPTX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.66% compared to the category average of 1.29%. From a cost perspective, FSPTX 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.

Bottom Line

Overall, Fidelity Select Technology ( FSPTX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Fidelity Select Technology ( FSPTX ) looks like a good potential 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. 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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