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Is Fidelity Select Consumer Finance (FSVLX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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Any investors hoping to find a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund could think about starting with Fidelity Select Consumer Finance (FSVLX - Free Report) . FSVLX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

FSVLX is a part of the Fidelity family of funds, a company based out of Boston, MA. The Fidelity Select Consumer Finance made its debut in December of 1985 and FSVLX has managed to accumulate roughly $161.94 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Ruth Nagle who has been in charge of the fund since February of 2022.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 9.39%, and is 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 8.17%, 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 25.84%, the standard deviation of FSVLX over the past three years is 29.92%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 24.96% compared to the category average of 22.24%. 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 1.32, so it is likely going to be more volatile than the market at large. Alpha is an additional metric to take into consideration, since it represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which in this case, is the S&P 500. FSVLX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -7.28, demonstrating that 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, FSVLX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.81% compared to the category average of 1.47%. From a cost perspective, FSVLX 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 Consumer Finance ( FSVLX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Fidelity Select Consumer Finance ( FSVLX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

Your research on the Mutual Fund Equity Report segment doesn't have to stop here. You can check out all the great mutual fund tools we have to offer by going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds to see the additional features we offer as well 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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