Looking for a Sector - Health fund? You may want to consider Fidelity Select Health Care Services (FSHCX) as a possible option. FSHCX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
The world of Sector - Health funds is an area filled with options, such as FSHCX. Healthcare is one of the biggest sectors of the American economy, and Sector - Health mutual funds provide a great opportunity to invest in this industry. Here, funds can include everything from for-profit hospitals to pharmaceutical companies and medical device manufacturers.
History of Fund/Manager
Fidelity is based in Boston, MA, and is the manager of FSHCX. Fidelity Select Health Care Services made its debut in June of 1986, and since then, FSHCX has accumulated about $1.40 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by Justin Segalini who has been in charge of the fund since January of 2016.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 11.28%, and is in the top third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 3.68%, which places it in the middle 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. The standard deviation of FSHCX over the past three years is 17.79% compared to the category average of 17.39%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 18.44% compared to the category average of 17.89%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.66, which means it is hypothetically less volatile than the market at large. 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. FSHCX has generated a positive alpha over the past five years of 1.22, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking 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, FSHCX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.73% compared to the category average of 1.13%. So, FSHCX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $0; 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 Health Care Services ( FSHCX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Fidelity Select Health Care Services ( FSHCX ) looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
Your research on the Sector - Health segment doesn't have to stop here. You can check out all the great mutual fund tools we have to offer by going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds to see the additional features we offer 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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