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Is Fidelity Select Software & Company Services (FSCSX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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On the lookout for a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund? Starting with Fidelity Select Software & Company Services (FSCSX - Free Report) is one possibility. FSCSX possesses 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 FSCSX. Fidelity Select Software & Company Services debuted in July of 1985. Since then, FSCSX has accumulated assets of about $8.91 billion, according to the most recently available information. Ali Khan is the fund's current manager and has held that role since July of 2014.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. FSCSX has a 5-year annualized total return of 16.1% and it sits in the top third among its category peers. If you're interested in shorter time frames, do not dismiss looking at the fund's 3-year annualized total return of 11.3%, 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 FSCSX over the past three years is 21.05% compared to the category average of 24.89%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 19.11% compared to the category average of 23.05%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

With a 5-year beta of 1.03, the fund is likely to be as volatile as 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a positive alpha of 4.41. This means that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking 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, FSCSX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.67% compared to the category average of 1.30%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, FSCSX 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 Software & Company Services ( FSCSX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Fidelity Select Software & Company Services ( FSCSX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

This could just be the start of your research on FSCSXin 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. For analysis of the rest of your portfolio, make sure to visit Zacks.com for our full suite of tools which will help you investigate all of your stocks and funds in one place.


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