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Is Fidelity Select Portfolio Medical Technology and Devices (FSMEX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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Looking for a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund? You may want to consider Fidelity Select Portfolio Medical Technology and Devices (FSMEX - Free Report) as a possible option. FSMEX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), 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 Portfolio Medical Technology and Devices debuted in April of 1998. Since then, FSMEX has accumulated assets of about $6.79 billion, according to the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Edward Yoon, has been in charge of the fund since May of 2007.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. FSMEX has a 5-year annualized total return of 11.47% and is 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 7.74%, which places it in the bottom 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. FSMEX's standard deviation over the past three years is 22.19% compared to the category average of 19.52%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 20.33% compared to the category average of 18.75%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

With a 5-year beta of 0.9, the fund is likely to be less volatile than the market average. 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. FSMEX's 5-year performance has produced a positive alpha of 2.42, 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, FSMEX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.68% compared to the category average of 1.30%. So, FSMEX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.

This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $0, while there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.

Bottom Line

Overall, Fidelity Select Portfolio Medical Technology and Devices ( FSMEX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a somewhat average 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. And don't forget, Zacks has all of your needs covered on the equity side too! Make sure to check out Zacks.com for more information on our screening capabilities, Rank, and all our articles as well.


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