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Is Fidelity Advisor Energy Fund M (FAGNX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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Any investors hoping to find a Sector - Energy fund could think about starting with Fidelity Advisor Energy Fund M (FAGNX - Free Report) . FAGNX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

We classify FAGNX in the Sector - Energy category, an area that is rife with possible choices. Throughout the massive global energy sector, Sector - Energy mutual funds hold a wide range of quickly changing and vitally important industries. While oil and gas comprise the bulk of the exposure, carbon-based fuels will be the biggest group of assets in these funds, though clean energy is starting to pick up steam.

History of Fund/Manager

FAGNX finds itself in the Fidelity family, based out of Boston, MA. Fidelity Advisor Energy Fund M debuted in December of 1987. Since then, FAGNX has accumulated assets of about $100.24 million, according to the most recently available information. Maurice FitzMaurice is the fund's current manager and has held that role since January of 2020.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 19.03%, and it sits in the middle 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 10.66%, 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. The standard deviation of FAGNX over the past three years is 26.42% compared to the category average of 16.32%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 35.81% compared to the category average of 19.19%. This makes the fund more 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. FAGNX has a 5-year beta of 1.15, which means it 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. FAGNX's 5-year performance has produced a positive alpha of 4.71, which means managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking 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, FAGNX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.24% compared to the category average of 0.99%. From a cost perspective, FAGNX is actually more expensive than its peers.

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 similar performance, worse downside risk, and higher fees, Fidelity Advisor Energy Fund M ( FAGNX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a good potential choice for investors right now.

This could just be the start of your research on FAGNXin the Sector - Energy 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. And don't forget, Zacks has all of your needs covered on the equity side too! Make sure to check out Zacks.com for more information on our screening capabilities, Rank, and all our articles as well.


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