Looking for a Sector - Other fund? You may want to consider Fidelity Select Chemicals (FSCHX Quick QuoteFSCHX - Free Report) as a possible option. FSCHX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

FSCHX is a part of the Fidelity family of funds, a company based out of Boston, MA. Since Fidelity Select Chemicals made its debut in July of 1985, FSCHX has garnered more than $464.74 million in assets. The fund's current manager, Emma Baumgartner, has been in charge of the fund since August of 2023.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. FSCHX has a 5-year annualized total return of 5.3%, and it sits in the bottom third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 3.08%, 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. FSCHX's standard deviation over the past three years is 18.9% compared to the category average of 17.6%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 20.66% compared to the category average of 20.61%. 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. FSCHX has a 5-year beta of 1, which means it is likely to be as volatile as the market average. Because alpha represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which is the S&P 500 in this case, one should pay attention to this metric as well. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -7. 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, FSCHX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.69% compared to the category average of 1.09%. FSCHX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.

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, even with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Fidelity Select Chemicals ( FSCHX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a somewhat average choice for investors right now.

Don't stop here for your research on Sector - Other funds. We also have plenty more on our site in order to help you find the best possible fund for your portfolio. Make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for more information about the world of funds, and feel free to compare FSCHX to its peers as well for additional information. For analysis of the rest of your portfolio, make sure to visit Zacks.com for our full suite of tools which will help you investigate all of your stocks and funds in one place.