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Is Fidelity Select Semiconductors (FSELX) 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 Semiconductors (FSELX - Free Report) is one possibility. FSELX 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

FSELX is a part of the Fidelity family of funds, a company based out of Boston, MA. The Fidelity Select Semiconductors made its debut in July of 1985 and FSELX has managed to accumulate roughly $10.87 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. Adam Benjamin is the fund's current manager and has held that role since March of 2020.

Performance

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. FSELX has a 5-year annualized total return of 29.84% and it sits 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 20.93%, which places it in the top 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. Over the past three years, FSELX's standard deviation comes in at 37.03%, compared to the category average of 26.03%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 34.11% compared to the category average of 25.38%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

With a 5-year beta of 1.45, the fund 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. With a positive alpha of 14.11, 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, FSELX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.68% compared to the category average of 1.22%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, FSELX is actually cheaper than its peers.

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

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

Bottom Line

Overall, Fidelity Select Semiconductors ( FSELX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees, Fidelity Select Semiconductors ( FSELX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

Don't stop here for your research on Mutual Fund Equity Report funds. We also have plenty more on our site in order to help you find the best possible fund for your portfolio. Make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for more information about the world of funds, and feel free to compare FSELX to its peers 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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