If you've been stuck searching for Mutual Fund Equity Report funds, consider Fidelity Select Biotechnology (FBIOX) as a possibility. FBIOX carries 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 responsible for FBIOX, and the company is based out of Boston, MA. The Fidelity Select Biotechnology made its debut in December of 1985 and FBIOX has managed to accumulate roughly $4.81 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Rajiv Kaul, has been in charge of the fund since October of 2005.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. FBIOX has a 5-year annualized total return of 3.14% and it sits 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 -1.09%, 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, FBIOX's standard deviation comes in at 19.73%, compared to the category average of 17.14%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 23.38% compared to the category average of 18.86%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With a 5-year beta of 0.78, the fund is likely to be less volatile than the market average. Alpha is an additional metric to take into consideration, since it represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which in this case, is the S&P 500. FBIOX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -4.8, which means managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Expenses
Costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing, and particularly as competition heats up in this market. And all things being equal, a lower cost product will outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, so taking a closer look at these metrics is key for investors. In terms of fees, FBIOX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.71% compared to the category average of 1.28%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, FBIOX is actually cheaper than its peers.
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, even with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Fidelity Select Biotechnology ( FBIOX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a great potential choice for investors right now.
Want even more information about FBIOX? 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.
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