We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience.
This includes personalizing content and advertising.
By pressing "Accept All" or closing out of this banner, you consent to the use of all cookies and similar technologies and the sharing of information they collect with third parties.
You can reject marketing cookies by pressing "Deny Optional," but we still use essential, performance, and functional cookies.
In addition, whether you "Accept All," Deny Optional," click the X or otherwise continue to use the site, you accept our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service, revised from time to time.
You are being directed to ZacksTrade, a division of LBMZ Securities and licensed broker-dealer. ZacksTrade and Zacks.com are separate companies. The web link between the two companies is not a solicitation or offer to invest in a particular security or type of security. ZacksTrade does not endorse or adopt any particular investment strategy, any analyst opinion/rating/report or any approach to evaluating individual securities.
If you wish to go to ZacksTrade, click OK. If you do not, click Cancel.
Is Fidelity Advisor Financial Services A (FAFDX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Read MoreHide Full Article
Having trouble finding a Sector - Finance fund? Fidelity Advisor Financial Services A (FAFDX - Free Report) is a potential starting point. FAFDX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
FAFDX 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 based in Boston, MA, and is the manager of FAFDX. Fidelity Advisor Financial Services A made its debut in September of 1996, and since then, FAFDX has accumulated about $243.07 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. Matt Reed is the fund's current manager and has held that role since June of 2019.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 10.43%, and is 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 19.48%, 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 12.47%, the standard deviation of FAFDX over the past three years is 16.81%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 19.13% compared to the category average of 14.16%. 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 0.91, so it is likely going to be 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. FAFDX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -0.06, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick 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, FAFDX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.00% compared to the category average of 0.97%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, FAFDX is actually more expensive than its peers.
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, even with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, Fidelity Advisor Financial Services A ( FAFDX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a good potential choice for investors right now.
For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the Sector - Finance, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds 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.
Zacks' 7 Best Strong Buy Stocks (New Research Report)
Valued at $99, click below to receive our just-released report
predicting the 7 stocks that will soar highest in the coming month.
View the Zacks #1 Rank List
Image: Bigstock
Is Fidelity Advisor Financial Services A (FAFDX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Having trouble finding a Sector - Finance fund? Fidelity Advisor Financial Services A (FAFDX - Free Report) is a potential starting point. FAFDX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
FAFDX 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 based in Boston, MA, and is the manager of FAFDX. Fidelity Advisor Financial Services A made its debut in September of 1996, and since then, FAFDX has accumulated about $243.07 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. Matt Reed is the fund's current manager and has held that role since June of 2019.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 10.43%, and is 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 19.48%, 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 12.47%, the standard deviation of FAFDX over the past three years is 16.81%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 19.13% compared to the category average of 14.16%. 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 0.91, so it is likely going to be 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. FAFDX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -0.06, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick 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, FAFDX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.00% compared to the category average of 0.97%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, FAFDX is actually more expensive than its peers.
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, even with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, Fidelity Advisor Financial Services A ( FAFDX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a good potential choice for investors right now.
For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the Sector - Finance, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds 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.