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Is Fidelity Select Chemicals (FSCHX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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If you have been looking for Mutual Fund Equity Report fund category, a potential starting could be Fidelity Select Chemicals (FSCHX - Free Report) . FSCHX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

Fidelity is based in Boston, MA, and is the manager of FSCHX. The Fidelity Select Chemicals made its debut in July of 1985 and FSCHX has managed to accumulate roughly $671.78 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by David Wagner who has been in charge of the fund since August of 2019.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 4.43%, and is in the bottom third among its category peers. But if you are looking for a shorter time frame, it is also worth looking at its 3-year annualized total return of 15.61%, which places it in the bottom 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. Over the past three years, FSCHX's standard deviation comes in at 22.09%, compared to the category average of 23.59%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 24.59% compared to the category average of 27.24%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

With a 5-year beta of 1.14, the fund is likely to be more volatile than the market average. Another factor to consider is alpha, as it reflects a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark-in this case, the S&P 500. FSCHX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -7.35, 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, FSCHX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.75% compared to the category average of 1.22%. FSCHX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.

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 considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.

Bottom Line

Overall, Fidelity Select Chemicals ( FSCHX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Fidelity Select Chemicals ( FSCHX ) looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.

This could just be the start of your research on FSCHXin the Mutual Fund Equity Report category. Consider going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information about this fund, and all the others that we rank as well for additional information. If you are more of a stock investor, make sure to also check out our Zacks Rank, and our full suite of tools we have available for novice and professional investors alike.


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