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Is Fidelity Select Banking (FSRBX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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There are plenty of choices in the Sector - Finance category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that might be worth investigating is Fidelity Select Banking (FSRBX - Free Report) . FSRBX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

FSRBX is one of many Sector - Finance funds to choose from. Sector - Finance mutual funds provide investors with a diversified and stabilized investment approach focused on the financial space, which is a notoriously large, complex, and heavily-regulated industry. These funds include everything from insurance companies and exchanges to banks and investment giants; interest rates can impact the players of this space as well.

History of Fund/Manager

Fidelity is responsible for FSRBX, and the company is based out of Boston, MA. Fidelity Select Banking made its debut in June of 1986, and since then, FSRBX has accumulated about $427.89 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by Matt Reed who has been in charge of the fund since September of 2016.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 19.04%, 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 13.31%, 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. Compared to the category average of 21.65%, the standard deviation of FSRBX over the past three years is 26.88%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 26.37% compared to the category average of 22.59%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

The fund has a 5-year beta of 1.04, so investors should note that it is hypothetically more 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. With a positive alpha of 2.95, managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking 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, FSRBX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.70% compared to the category average of 1.27%. From a cost perspective, FSRBX 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 consideration. Returns would be less if those were included.

Bottom Line

Overall, Fidelity Select Banking ( FSRBX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Fidelity Select Banking ( FSRBX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

This could just be the start of your research on FSRBX in the Sector - Finance 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. Zacks provides a full suite of tools to help you analyze your portfolio - both funds and stocks - in the most efficient way possible.


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