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Is Fidelity Telecom/Utilities Fund (FIUIX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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Sector - Utilities fund seekers may want to consider taking a look at Fidelity Telecom/Utilities Fund (FIUIX - Free Report) . FIUIX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

FIUIX is classified in the Sector - Utilities segment by Zacks, an area full of potential. Sector - Utilities mutual funds focus on companies that provide essential servicessuch as electric power, gas distribution, and water supplyto millions of people on a daily basis. Overall, the utility industry is known for its stability and reduced volatility.

History of Fund/Manager

Fidelity is based in Boston, MA, and is the manager of FIUIX. Fidelity Telecom/Utilities Fund made its debut in November of 1987, and since then, FIUIX has accumulated about $860.37 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by Douglas Simmons who has been in charge of the fund since September of 2005.

Performance

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. FIUIX has a 5-year annualized total return of 6.36% and is in the top third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 6.94%, 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. FIUIX's standard deviation over the past three years is 15.1% compared to the category average of 16.81%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 15.03% compared to the category average of 16.23%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

Investors should not forget about beta, an important way to measure a mutual fund's risk compared to the market as a whole. FIUIX has a 5-year beta of 0.63, which means it 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. FIUIX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -3.17, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick 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, FIUIX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.77% compared to the category average of 0.95%. So, FIUIX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.

Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $0; 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, Fidelity Telecom/Utilities Fund ( FIUIX ) 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.

Want even more information about FIUIX? 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. 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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