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Is Fidelity Advisor Semiconductors I (FELIX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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Any investors hoping to find a Sector - Tech fund might consider looking past Fidelity Advisor Semiconductors I (FELIX - Free Report) . FELIX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

We note that FELIX is a Sector - Tech option, and this area is loaded with many options. Found in a wide number of industries such as semiconductors, software, internet, and networking, tech companies are everywhere. Thus, Sector - Tech mutual funds that invest in technology let investors own a stake in a notoriously volatile sector, but with a much more diversifies approach.

History of Fund/Manager

Fidelity is responsible for FELIX, and the company is based out of Boston, MA. Fidelity Advisor Semiconductors I made its debut in December of 2000, and since then, FELIX has accumulated about $80.88 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund's current manager, Stephen Barwikowski, has been in charge of the fund since January of 2009.

Performance

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 19.89%, 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 24.98%, which places it in the top third during this time-frame.

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. Over the past three years, FELIX's standard deviation comes in at 19.13%, compared to the category average of -0.04%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 18.49% compared to the category average of 1.31%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

It's always important to be aware of the downsides to any future investment, so one should not discount the risks that come with this segment. In the most recent bear market, FELIX lost 57.08% and underperformed its peer group by 5708%. This makes the fund a possibly worse choice than its peers during a sliding market environment.

Nevertheless, investors should also note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.27, which means it is hypothetically more 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. FELIX has generated a positive alpha over the past five years of 6.32, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking 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, FELIX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.84% compared to the category average of -53.31%. From a cost perspective, FELIX is actually more expensive 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.

Bottom Line

Overall, Fidelity Advisor Semiconductors I ( FELIX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, strong performance, worse downside risk, and higher fees compared to its peers.

Want even more information about FELIX? Then go over to Zacks.com and check out our mutual fund comparison tool, and all of the other great features that we have to help you with your mutual fund analysis 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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