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Is Fidelity International Small Cap Opportunities (FSCOX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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If investors are looking at the Non US - Equity fund category, Fidelity International Small Cap Opportunities (FSCOX - Free Report) could be a potential option. FSCOX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
FSCOX is classified in the Non US - Equity area by Zacks, and this segment is full of potential. Non US - Equity funds focus their investments on companies outside of the United States, which is an important distinction since global mutual funds tend to keep a sizable portion of their portfolio based in the United States. Most of these funds will allocate across emerging and developed markets, and can often extend across cap levels too.
History of Fund/Manager
FSCOX is a part of the Fidelity family of funds, a company based out of Boston, MA. Fidelity International Small Cap Opportunities made its debut in August of 2005, and since then, FSCOX has accumulated about $632.92 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. Jed Weiss is the fund's current manager and has held that role since December of 2008.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 7.16%, and it sits in the top 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 2.3%, 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. Over the past three years, FSCOX's standard deviation comes in at 19.59%, compared to the category average of 15.02%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 19.68% compared to the category average of 16.36%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.97, which means it is hypothetically as volatile as 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. FSCOX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -7.68, which means 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, FSCOX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.98% compared to the category average of 1%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, FSCOX is actually cheaper than its peers.
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 International Small Cap Opportunities ( FSCOX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
Your research on the Non US - Equity segment doesn't have to stop here. You can check out all the great mutual fund tools we have to offer by going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds to see the additional features we offer 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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Is Fidelity International Small Cap Opportunities (FSCOX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
If investors are looking at the Non US - Equity fund category, Fidelity International Small Cap Opportunities (FSCOX - Free Report) could be a potential option. FSCOX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
FSCOX is classified in the Non US - Equity area by Zacks, and this segment is full of potential. Non US - Equity funds focus their investments on companies outside of the United States, which is an important distinction since global mutual funds tend to keep a sizable portion of their portfolio based in the United States. Most of these funds will allocate across emerging and developed markets, and can often extend across cap levels too.
History of Fund/Manager
FSCOX is a part of the Fidelity family of funds, a company based out of Boston, MA. Fidelity International Small Cap Opportunities made its debut in August of 2005, and since then, FSCOX has accumulated about $632.92 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. Jed Weiss is the fund's current manager and has held that role since December of 2008.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 7.16%, and it sits in the top 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 2.3%, 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. Over the past three years, FSCOX's standard deviation comes in at 19.59%, compared to the category average of 15.02%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 19.68% compared to the category average of 16.36%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.97, which means it is hypothetically as volatile as 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. FSCOX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -7.68, which means 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, FSCOX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.98% compared to the category average of 1%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, FSCOX is actually cheaper than its peers.
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 International Small Cap Opportunities ( FSCOX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
Your research on the Non US - Equity segment doesn't have to stop here. You can check out all the great mutual fund tools we have to offer by going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds to see the additional features we offer 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.