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Is Fidelity Select Materials (FSDPX) 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 Select Materials (FSDPX - Free Report) . FSDPX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

Zacks categorizes FSDPX as Sector - Energy, a segment packed with options. Sector - Energy mutual funds encompass a wide range of vastly changing and vitally important industries throughout this massive global sector. Oil and gas comprise the bulk of the exposure here, and carbon-based fuels are going to be the majority of assets in these funds. However, clean energy is starting to pick up steam.

History of Fund/Manager

FSDPX finds itself in the Fidelity family, based out of Boston, MA. Fidelity Select Materials debuted in September of 1986. Since then, FSDPX has accumulated assets of about $441.36 million, according to the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Ashley Fernandes, has been in charge of the fund since April of 2022.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 10.64%, and is 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 10.46%, 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, FSDPX's standard deviation comes in at 19.23%, compared to the category average of 13%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 20.48% compared to the category average of 14.53%. 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 1.05, so it is likely going to be 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. FSDPX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -4.88, which means managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick 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, FSDPX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.69% compared to the category average of 0.99%. So, FSDPX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.

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, worse downside risk, and lower fees, Fidelity Select Materials ( FSDPX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a great 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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