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

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There are plenty of choices in the Sector - Energy category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that might be worth investigating is Fidelity Advisor Energy Fund M (FAGNX - Free Report) . FAGNX bears 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 is a part of the Fidelity family of funds, a company based out of Boston, MA. Fidelity Advisor Energy Fund M debuted in December of 1987. Since then, FAGNX has accumulated assets of about $101.68 million, according to the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Maurice FitzMaurice, has been in charge of the fund since January of 2020.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 25.63%, and is in the middle third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 6.84%, 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. Over the past three years, FAGNX's standard deviation comes in at 23.3%, compared to the category average of 15.94%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 29.66% compared to the category average of 16.18%. 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 0.83, so it is likely going to be less volatile than the market at large. Another factor to consider is alpha, as it reflects a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark-in this case, the S&P 500. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a positive alpha of 15.14. This means that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Expenses

As competition heats up in the mutual fund market, costs become increasingly important. Compared to its otherwise identical counterpart, a low-cost product will be an outperformer, all other things being equal. Thus, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is vital for investors. In terms of fees, FAGNX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.23% compared to the category average of 0.99%. Looking at the fund 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 consideration. 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.

Your research on the Sector - Energy 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. 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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