Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Is Fidelity Select Energy Portfolio (FSENX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

Read MoreHide Full Article

Any investors hoping to find a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund could think about starting with Fidelity Select Energy Portfolio (FSENX - Free Report) . FSENX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), 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 FSENX. Fidelity Select Energy Portfolio made its debut in July of 1981, and since then, FSENX has accumulated about $2.41 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by Maurice FitzMaurice who has been in charge of the fund since January of 2020.

Performance

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. FSENX has a 5-year annualized total return of 9.9% 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 52.72%, which places it in the top 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. FSENX's standard deviation over the past three years is 33.68% compared to the category average of 36.19%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 38.5% compared to the category average of 40.67%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.34, which means it is hypothetically more volatile than the market at large. 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a positive alpha of 1.2. This means 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, FSENX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.73% compared to the category average of 1.52%. FSENX 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.

Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.

Bottom Line

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

Want even more information about FSENX? 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. For analysis of the rest of your portfolio, make sure to visit Zacks.com for our full suite of tools which will help you investigate all of your stocks and funds in one place.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


Fidelity Select Energy Portfolio (FSENX) - free report >>

Published in