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

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Have you been searching for a Sector - Other fund? You might want to begin with 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

Fidelity is based in Boston, MA, and is the manager of FSRFX. The Fidelity Select Transportation made its debut in September of 1986 and FSRFX has managed to accumulate roughly $521.96 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. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 14.58%, and is 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 6.82%, 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. Compared to the category average of 21.86%, the standard deviation of FSRFX over the past three years is 21.33%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 22.43% compared to the category average of 23.97%. 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 1.12, so it is likely going to be 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -2.8. This means 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, FSRFX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.69% compared to the category average of 0.81%. FSRFX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.

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, 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. 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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