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Is Fidelity Select Environmental & Alternative (FSLEX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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If you've been stuck searching for Mutual Fund Equity Report funds, consider Fidelity Select Environmental & Alternative (FSLEX - Free Report) as a possibility. FSLEX bears 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

FSLEX finds itself in the Fidelity family, based out of Boston, MA. Fidelity Select Environmental & Alternative made its debut in June of 1989, and since then, FSLEX has accumulated about $498.13 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by Asher Anolic who has been in charge of the fund since July of 2021.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 5.88%, and it sits 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 7.93%, 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 25.6%, the standard deviation of FSLEX over the past three years is 25.92%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 23.21% compared to the category average of 23.16%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

Investors should not forget about beta, an important way to measure a mutual fund's risk compared to the market as a whole. FSLEX has a 5-year beta of 1.18, which means it is likely to be more volatile than the market average. 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. The fund has produced a negative alpha over the past 5 years of -4.97, which shows that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Holdings

Exploring the equity holdings of a mutual fund is also a valuable exercise. This can show us how the manager is applying their stated methodology, as well as if there are any inherent biases in their approach. For this particular fund, the focus is primarily on equities that are traded in the United States.

Currently, this mutual fund is holding 80.53% stock in stocks, and these companies have an average market capitalization of $426.90 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

  1. Technology
  2. Industrial Cyclical
  3. Utilities
  4. Retail Trade
This fund's turnover is about 89%, so the fund managers are making fewer trades than its comparable peers.

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, FSLEX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.79% compared to the category average of 1.25%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, FSLEX 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 Environmental & Alternative ( FSLEX ) 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 FSLEX? 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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