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Is Fidelity Select Biotechnology (FBIOX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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If investors are looking at the Sector - Health fund category, Fidelity Select Biotechnology (FBIOX - Free Report) could be a potential option. FBIOX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
We note that FBIOX is a Sector - Health fund, and this area is also loaded with various options. Sector - Health mutual funds give investors an opportunity to focus on one of the largest sectors of the American economy, healthcare. Funds in this category can include everything from for-profit hospitals to pharmaceutical companies and medical device manufacturers.
History of Fund/Manager
Fidelity is based in Boston, MA, and is the manager of FBIOX. Fidelity Select Biotechnology debuted in December of 1985. Since then, FBIOX has accumulated assets of about $3.75 billion, according to the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Rajiv Kaul, has been in charge of the fund since October of 2005.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 0.33%, and is in the bottom 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 8.46%, 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, FBIOX's standard deviation comes in at 18.07%, compared to the category average of 15.81%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 20.07% compared to the category average of 16.53%. 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 0.62, so it is likely going to be less 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -8.78. 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, FBIOX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.63% compared to the category average of 1.11%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, FBIOX is actually cheaper than its peers.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $0, while there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into consideration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, even with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Fidelity Select Biotechnology ( FBIOX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a great potential choice for investors right now.
This could just be the start of your research on FBIOX in the Sector - Health 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. 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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Is Fidelity Select Biotechnology (FBIOX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
If investors are looking at the Sector - Health fund category, Fidelity Select Biotechnology (FBIOX - Free Report) could be a potential option. FBIOX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
We note that FBIOX is a Sector - Health fund, and this area is also loaded with various options. Sector - Health mutual funds give investors an opportunity to focus on one of the largest sectors of the American economy, healthcare. Funds in this category can include everything from for-profit hospitals to pharmaceutical companies and medical device manufacturers.
History of Fund/Manager
Fidelity is based in Boston, MA, and is the manager of FBIOX. Fidelity Select Biotechnology debuted in December of 1985. Since then, FBIOX has accumulated assets of about $3.75 billion, according to the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Rajiv Kaul, has been in charge of the fund since October of 2005.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 0.33%, and is in the bottom 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 8.46%, 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, FBIOX's standard deviation comes in at 18.07%, compared to the category average of 15.81%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 20.07% compared to the category average of 16.53%. 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 0.62, so it is likely going to be less 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -8.78. 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, FBIOX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.63% compared to the category average of 1.11%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, FBIOX is actually cheaper than its peers.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $0, while there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into consideration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, even with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Fidelity Select Biotechnology ( FBIOX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a great potential choice for investors right now.
This could just be the start of your research on FBIOX in the Sector - Health 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. 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.