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Is Fidelity Japan Smaller Companies (FJSCX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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If investors are looking at the Japan - Equity fund category, Fidelity Japan Smaller Companies (FJSCX - Free Report) could be a potential option. FJSCX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
We note that FJSCX is a Japan - Equity option, an area loaded with different choices. Japan - Equity mutual funds primarily invest in companies in one of the world's richest and most diversified economies, Japan. While the country remains partially exposed to global economic trends due to its export focus, its lack of natural resources can also impact the nation.
History of Fund/Manager
Fidelity is based in Boston, MA, and is the manager of FJSCX. Fidelity Japan Smaller Companies debuted in November of 1995. Since then, FJSCX has accumulated assets of about $438.76 million, according to the most recently available information. Masaki Nakamura is the fund's current manager and has held that role since February of 2022.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. FJSCX has a 5-year annualized total return of 10.2%, and is in the middle 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 22.34%, 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. The standard deviation of FJSCX over the past three years is 13.18% compared to the category average of 11.97%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 14.78% compared to the category average of 14.4%. 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 0.62, which means it is hypothetically less 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. The fund has produced a positive alpha over the past 5 years of 0.56, which shows that 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, FJSCX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.85% compared to the category average of 0.93%. So, FJSCX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
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, Fidelity Japan Smaller Companies ( FJSCX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
Your research on the Japan - Equity 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. If you want to check out our stock reports as well, make sure to go to Zacks.com to see all of the great tools we have to offer, including our time-tested Zacks Rank.
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Is Fidelity Japan Smaller Companies (FJSCX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
If investors are looking at the Japan - Equity fund category, Fidelity Japan Smaller Companies (FJSCX - Free Report) could be a potential option. FJSCX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
We note that FJSCX is a Japan - Equity option, an area loaded with different choices. Japan - Equity mutual funds primarily invest in companies in one of the world's richest and most diversified economies, Japan. While the country remains partially exposed to global economic trends due to its export focus, its lack of natural resources can also impact the nation.
History of Fund/Manager
Fidelity is based in Boston, MA, and is the manager of FJSCX. Fidelity Japan Smaller Companies debuted in November of 1995. Since then, FJSCX has accumulated assets of about $438.76 million, according to the most recently available information. Masaki Nakamura is the fund's current manager and has held that role since February of 2022.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. FJSCX has a 5-year annualized total return of 10.2%, and is in the middle 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 22.34%, 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. The standard deviation of FJSCX over the past three years is 13.18% compared to the category average of 11.97%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 14.78% compared to the category average of 14.4%. 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 0.62, which means it is hypothetically less 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. The fund has produced a positive alpha over the past 5 years of 0.56, which shows that 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, FJSCX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.85% compared to the category average of 0.93%. So, FJSCX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
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, Fidelity Japan Smaller Companies ( FJSCX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
Your research on the Japan - Equity 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. If you want to check out our stock reports as well, make sure to go to Zacks.com to see all of the great tools we have to offer, including our time-tested Zacks Rank.