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Is Fidelity Select IT Services (FBSOX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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If you have been looking for Index fund category, a potential starting could be Fidelity Select IT Services (FBSOX - Free Report) . FBSOX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), 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 FBSOX. The Fidelity Select IT Services made its debut in February of 1998 and FBSOX has managed to accumulate roughly $2.02 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Becky Baker, has been in charge of the fund since July of 2020.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 10.94%, and is in the bottom third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of -3.49%, 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. Over the past three years, FBSOX's standard deviation comes in at 21.71%, compared to the category average of 25.65%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 23.14% compared to the category average of 25.67%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

The fund has a 5-year beta of 1.12, so investors should note that it is hypothetically more volatile than the market at large. 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 -4.89, managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Holdings

Investigating 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 largely on equities that are traded in the United States.

The mutual fund currently has 82.57% of its holdings in stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $255.21 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

  • Technology
  • Services
With turnover at about 43%, this fund makes fewer trades than comparable funds.

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, FBSOX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.73% compared to the category average of 1.23%. So, FBSOX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.

While the minimum initial investment for the product is $0, investors should also note that 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 IT Services ( FBSOX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Fidelity Select IT Services ( FBSOX ) looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.

Want even more information about FBSOX? 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. Want to learn even more? We have a full suite of tools on stocks that you can use to find the best choices for your portfolio too, no matter what kind of investor you are.


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