Is Fidelity Environmental & Alt Energy (FSLEX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

If you have been looking for Sector - Other funds, a place to start could be Fidelity Environmental & Alt Energy (FSLEX). FSLEX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.History of Fund/ManagerFSLEX finds itself in the Fidelity family, based out of Boston, MA. Fidelity Environmental & Alt Energy made its debut in June of 1989, and since then, FSLEX has accumulated about $612.50 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by Brian Aronson who has been in charge of the fund since February of 2025.PerformanceInvestors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 17.21%, and is in the middle 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 22.53%, 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. Over the past three years, FSLEX's standard deviation comes in at 17.55%, compared to the category average of 19.33%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 21.06% compared to the category average of 21.01%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.Risk FactorsInvestors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.23, which means it is hypothetically more 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. FSLEX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -2.6, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.ExpensesFor 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, FSLEX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.69% compared to the category average of 0.85%. So, FSLEX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.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 consideration. Returns would be less if those were included.Bottom LineOverall, Fidelity Environmental & Alt Energy ( FSLEX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a great potential choice for investors right now.Don't stop here for your research on Sector - Other 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 FSLEX to its peers as well 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.Zacks' Research Chief Picks Stock Most Likely to "At Least Double"Our experts have revealed their Top 5 recommendations with money-doubling potential – and Director of Research Sheraz Mian believes one is superior to the others. Of course, all our picks aren’t winners but this one could far surpass earlier recommendations like Hims & Hers Health, which shot up +209%.See Our Top Stock to Double (Plus 4 Runners Up) >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Get Your Free (FSLEX): Fund Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks