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Is Fidelity Select Leisure (FDLSX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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There are plenty of choices in the Mutual Fund Equity Report category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that you should consider investigating is Fidelity Select Leisure (FDLSX - Free Report) . FDLSX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

Fidelity is responsible for FDLSX, and the company is based out of Boston, MA. Since Fidelity Select Leisure made its debut in May of 1984, FDLSX has garnered more than $651.95 million in assets. William Hilkert is the fund's current manager and has held that role since August of 2020.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 15.73%, 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 17.69%, 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, FDLSX's standard deviation comes in at 26.39%, compared to the category average of 23.25%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 22.13% compared to the category average of 20.21%. 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 1.19, which means it is hypothetically more volatile than the market at large. 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. FDLSX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -2.57, which means 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, FDLSX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.73% compared to the category average of 1.21%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, FDLSX is actually cheaper than its peers.

This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $0, while there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.

Bottom Line

Overall, Fidelity Select Leisure ( FDLSX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Fidelity Select Leisure ( FDLSX ) looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.

This could just be the start of your research on FDLSXin the Mutual Fund Equity Report category. Consider going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information about this fund, and all the others that we rank as well for additional information. Want to learn even more? We have a full suite of tools on stocks that you can use to find the best choices for your portfolio too, no matter what kind of investor you are.


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