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Is Fidelity Select Medical Equipment & Systems (FSMEX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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If you have been looking for Mutual Fund Equity Report funds, a place to start could be Fidelity Select Medical Equipment & Systems (FSMEX - Free Report) . FSMEX 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

Fidelity is based in Boston, MA, and is the manager of FSMEX. Fidelity Select Medical Equipment & Systems made its debut in April of 1998, and since then, FSMEX has accumulated about $7.45 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. Edward Yoon is the fund's current manager and has held that role since May of 2007.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 13.73%, 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 12.46%, 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, FSMEX's standard deviation comes in at 21.07%, compared to the category average of 19.34%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 19.31% compared to the category average of 18.24%. 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 0.93, so it is likely going to be less 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a positive alpha of 1.82. This means that 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, FSMEX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.68% compared to the category average of 1.29%. FSMEX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.

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 Medical Equipment & Systems ( FSMEX ) 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 FSMEX? 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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