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Is Fidelity Select Utilities Growth Portfolio (FSUTX) 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 Utilities Growth Portfolio (FSUTX - Free Report) . FSUTX 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 FSUTX. Since Fidelity Select Utilities Growth Portfolio made its debut in December of 1981, FSUTX has garnered more than $1.43 billion in assets. The fund is currently managed by Douglas Simmons who has been in charge of the fund since October of 2006.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. FSUTX has a 5-year annualized total return of 11.02% and is 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 10.85%, 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 FSUTX over the past three years is 18.5% compared to the category average of 17.02%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 15.29% compared to the category average of 14.54%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

The fund has a 5-year beta of 0.56, so investors should note that it is hypothetically less volatile than the market at large. 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. FSUTX's 5-year performance has produced a positive alpha of 3.6, which means managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Expenses

For investors, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is key, since costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing. Competition is heating up in this space, and a lower cost product will likely outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, all things being equal. In terms of fees, FSUTX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.73% compared to the category average of 1.22%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, FSUTX is actually cheaper than its peers.

Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $0; each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.

Bottom Line

Overall, Fidelity Select Utilities Growth Portfolio ( FSUTX ) 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.

This could just be the start of your research on FSUTXin 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. 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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