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Is Fidelity Japan Smaller Companies (FJSCX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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Having trouble finding a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund? Fidelity Japan Smaller Companies (FJSCX - Free Report) is a possible starting point. FJSCX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

FJSCX is a part of the Fidelity family of funds, a company based out of Boston, MA. The Fidelity Japan Smaller Companies made its debut in November of 1995 and FJSCX has managed to accumulate roughly $397.37 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Masaki Nakamura who has been in charge of the fund since February of 2022.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. FJSCX has a 5-year annualized total return of 0.01% and is in the bottom 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 -0.43%, which places it in the middle 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. Compared to the category average of 16.98%, the standard deviation of FJSCX over the past three years is 14.99%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 13.46% compared to the category average of 15.62%. This makes the fund less 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. FJSCX has a 5-year beta of 0.55, which means it is likely to be less volatile than 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. FJSCX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -6.47, which means 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, FJSCX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.90% compared to the category average of 1.44%. So, FJSCX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.

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 Japan Smaller Companies ( FJSCX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.

Don't stop here for your research on Mutual Fund Equity Report 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 FJSCX to its peers 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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