On the lookout for a Pacific Rim - Equity fund? Starting with Fidelity Emerging Asia Fund (FSEAX Quick QuoteFSEAX - Free Report) is one possibility. FSEAX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

FSEAX is classified in the Pacific Rim - Equity segment by Zacks, which is an area full of possibilities. Pacific Rim - Equity mutual funds see big investment opportunities in the dominant export-focused markets of Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, and Korea. These funds also invest less than 10% of their assets in Japanese firms, as Japan mutual funds are very popular.

History of Fund/Manager

FSEAX is a part of the Fidelity family of funds, a company based out of Boston, MA. Fidelity Emerging Asia Fund debuted in April of 1993. Since then, FSEAX has accumulated assets of about $1.70 billion, according to the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Xiaoting Zhao who has been in charge of the fund since June of 2019.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 2.64%, and it sits in the top third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 22.14%, 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. The standard deviation of FSEAX over the past three years is 15.92% compared to the category average of 15.76%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 20.64% compared to the category average of 19.11%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

Investors should not forget about beta, an important way to measure a mutual fund's risk compared to the market as a whole. FSEAX has a 5-year beta of 0.65, which means it is likely to be less volatile than the market average. 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. FSEAX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -6.11, 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, FSEAX is a no load fund and it has an expense ratio of 1.03%.

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

This puts this fund from Fidelity in the top 40% of all mutual funds we have a rank on right now. As a result, this is likely an excellent choice for investors seeking an option in the Pacific Rim - Equity category.

For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the Pacific Rim - Equity, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information. If you are more of a stock investor, make sure to also check out our Zacks Rank, and our full suite of tools we have available for novice and professional investors alike.