Is Fidelity Real Estate Investment (FRESX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

Sector - Real Estate fund seekers may want to consider taking a look at Fidelity Real Estate Investment (FRESX). FRESX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.ObjectiveFRESX is one of many Sector - Real Estate funds to choose from. Sector - Real Estate mutual funds are known to invest in real estate investment trusts (REITs). A popular income vehicle thanks to its taxation rules, a REIT is required to pay out at least 90% of its income annually to avoid double taxation. This technique makes securities in these funds high dividend players, and even bond-like in some instances, though their risk is similar to equities.History of Fund/ManagerFidelity is based in Boston, MA, and is the manager of FRESX. Fidelity Real Estate Investment debuted in November of 1986. Since then, FRESX has accumulated assets of about $3.21 billion, according to the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Steven Buller who has been in charge of the fund since December of 1997.PerformanceOf course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 5.77%, and is in the middle 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 2.44%, 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. The standard deviation of FRESX over the past three years is 20.69% compared to the category average of 20.68%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 20.93% compared to the category average of 21.45%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.Risk FactorsWith a 5-year beta of 1, the fund is likely to be as volatile as the market average. 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. FRESX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -8.95, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.ExpensesCosts 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, FRESX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.69% compared to the category average of 1.08%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, FRESX is actually cheaper than its peers.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 LineOverall, Fidelity Real Estate Investment ( FRESX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Fidelity Real Estate Investment ( FRESX ) looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.Don't stop here for your research on Sector - Real Estate 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 FRESX to its peers 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.Zacks Names #1 Semiconductor StockIt's only 1/9,000th the size of NVIDIA which skyrocketed more than +800% since we recommended it. NVIDIA is still strong, but our new top chip stock has much more room to boom.With strong earnings growth and an expanding customer base, it's positioned to feed the rampant demand for Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Internet of Things. Global semiconductor manufacturing is projected to explode from $452 billion in 2021 to $803 billion by 2028.See This Stock Now for Free >>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 (FRESX): 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