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Is Fidelity Select FinTech Portfolio (FSVLX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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Looking for a Sector - Finance fund? You may want to consider Fidelity Select FinTech Portfolio (FSVLX - Free Report) as a possible option. FSVLX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

FSVLX is classified in the Sector - Finance segment by Zacks, and this area is full of possibilities. The financial space is notoriously large, complex, and heavily-regulated, and Sector - Finance mutual funds give investors a stable, diversified approach to investing in this industry. These funds can include everything from banks and investment giants to exchanges and insurance companies, though investors should note that interest rates could have a big impact.

History of Fund/Manager

Fidelity is based in Boston, MA, and is the manager of FSVLX. The Fidelity Select FinTech Portfolio made its debut in December of 1985 and FSVLX has managed to accumulate roughly $101.69 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. Ruth Nagle is the fund's current manager and has held that role since February of 2022.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. FSVLX has a 5-year annualized total return of 11.69%, and it sits in the bottom 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 13.75%, 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. Over the past three years, FSVLX's standard deviation comes in at 20.83%, compared to the category average of 23.48%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 22.4% compared to the category average of 22.64%. 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 1.19, which means it is hypothetically more 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 -3.75. This means that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick 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, FSVLX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.75% compared to the category average of 1.27%. So, FSVLX 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 consideration. Returns would be less if those were included.

Bottom Line

Overall, Fidelity Select FinTech Portfolio ( FSVLX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Fidelity Select FinTech Portfolio ( FSVLX ) looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.

Want even more information about FSVLX? 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. 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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