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Is Fidelity International Small Cap (FISMX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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If you have been looking for Non US - Equity funds, a place to start could be Fidelity International Small Cap (FISMX - Free Report) . FISMX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

We classify FISMX in the Non US - Equity category, which is an area rife with potential choices. Investing in companies outside the United States is how Non US - Equity funds set themselves apart, since global funds tend to keep a good portion of their portfolio stateside. Many of these funds like to allocate across emerging and developed markets, and will often focus on all cap levels.

History of Fund/Manager

Fidelity is based in Boston, MA, and is the manager of FISMX. The Fidelity International Small Cap made its debut in September of 2002 and FISMX has managed to accumulate roughly $960.66 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Sam Chamovitz who has been in charge of the fund since March of 2014.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 1.23%, 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 -3.6%, 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. The standard deviation of FISMX over the past three years is 16.46% compared to the category average of 10.56%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 14.64% compared to the category average of 10.54%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

Investors should always remember the downsides to a potential investment, and this segment carries some risks one should be aware of. In FISMX's case, the fund lost 58.45% in the most recent bear market and outperformed its peer group by 0%. This means that the fund could possibly be an on par choice than its peers during a down market environment.

Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.89, 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. FISMX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -4.35, demonstrating 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, FISMX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.18% compared to the category average of 1.22%. FISMX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.

While the minimum initial investment for the product is $0, investors should also note that there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.

Bottom Line

Overall, Fidelity International Small Cap ( FISMX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Fidelity International Small Cap ( FISMX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the Non US - Equity, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds 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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