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Is Fidelity China Region Fund (FHKCX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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There are plenty of choices in the Mutual Fund Equity Report category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that might be worth investigating is Fidelity China Region Fund (FHKCX - Free Report) . FHKCX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

FHKCX finds itself in the Fidelity family, based out of Boston, MA. Fidelity China Region Fund made its debut in November of 1995, and since then, FHKCX has accumulated about $955.76 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund's current manager, Ivan Xie, has been in charge of the fund since April of 2018.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. FHKCX has a 5-year annualized total return of 1.68% 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 -0.88%, 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. Compared to the category average of 27.81%, the standard deviation of FHKCX over the past three years is 27.72%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 25% compared to the category average of 25.2%. 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. FHKCX has a 5-year beta of 0.62, 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. FHKCX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -2.49, which means managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick 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, FHKCX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.93% compared to the category average of 1.52%. FHKCX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.

This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $0, while there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.

Bottom Line

Overall, Fidelity China Region Fund ( FHKCX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Fidelity China Region Fund ( FHKCX ) looks like a good potential 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 FHKCX to its peers as well for additional information. And don't forget, Zacks has all of your needs covered on the equity side too! Make sure to check out Zacks.com for more information on our screening capabilities, Rank, and all our articles as well.


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