If you've been stuck searching for Mutual Fund Equity Report funds, consider Fidelity Real Estate Investment (FRESX Quick QuoteFRESX - Free Report) as a possibility. FRESX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

Fidelity is based in Boston, MA, and is the manager of FRESX. Since Fidelity Real Estate Investment made its debut in November of 1986, FRESX has garnered more than $2.49 billion in assets. The fund is currently managed by Steve Buller who has been in charge of the fund since December of 1997.

Performance

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 1.99%, and it sits in the bottom 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 2.87%, which places it in the bottom third during this time-frame.

It is important to note that the product's returns may not reflect all its expenses. Any fees not reflected would lower the returns. Total returns do not reflect the fund's [%] sale charge. If sales charges were included, total returns would have been lower.

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 FRESX over the past three years is 20.46% compared to the category average of 19.69%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 20.01% compared to the category average of 19.9%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

With a 5-year beta of 0.89, the fund is likely to be less 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. With a negative alpha of -6.01, managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick 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, FRESX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.72% compared to the category average of 1.18%. So, FRESX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.

Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $0 and that each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.

Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.

Bottom Line

Overall, even with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Fidelity Real Estate Investment ( FRESX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a great potential choice for investors right now.

This could just be the start of your research on FRESXin 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 want to check out our stock reports as well, make sure to go to Zacks.com to see all of the great tools we have to offer, including our time-tested Zacks Rank.