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Is Fidelity Select Transportation (FSRFX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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There are plenty of choices in the Sector - Other category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that you should consider investigating is Fidelity Select Transportation (FSRFX - Free Report) . FSRFX 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

FSRFX is a part of the Fidelity family of funds, a company based out of Boston, MA. The Fidelity Select Transportation made its debut in September of 1986 and FSRFX has managed to accumulate roughly $610.77 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Matthew Moulis who has been in charge of the fund since January of 2012.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. FSRFX has a 5-year annualized total return of 11.07% and is in the middle third among its category peers. If you're interested in shorter time frames, do not dismiss looking at the fund's 3 -year annualized total return of 11.95%, which places it in the middle 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, FSRFX's standard deviation comes in at 22.22%, compared to the category average of 22.19%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 23.01% compared to the category average of 23.89%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.13, so it is likely going to be more volatile than the market at large. 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. With a negative alpha of -3.94, managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Holdings

Examining 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 principally on equities that are traded in the United States.

Right now, 77.39% of this mutual fund's holdings are stocks, with an average market capitalization of $67.65 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

  • Industrial Cyclical
  • Technology
Turnover is about 23%, so those in charge of the fund make fewer trades than the average comparable fund.

Expenses

As competition heats up in the mutual fund market, costs become increasingly important. Compared to its otherwise identical counterpart, a low-cost product will be an outperformer, all other things being equal. Thus, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is vital for investors. In terms of fees, FSRFX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.76% compared to the category average of 0.86%. FSRFX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.

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 Transportation ( FSRFX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Fidelity Select Transportation ( FSRFX ) looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.

For additional information on the Sector - Other area of the mutual fund world, make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds. There, you can see more about the ranking process, and dive even deeper into FSRFX too 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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