Is Fidelity Select Consumer Staples (FDFAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

If you have been looking for Sector - Other fund category, a potential starting could be Fidelity Select Consumer Staples (FDFAX). FDFAX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.History of Fund/ManagerFidelity is based in Boston, MA, and is the manager of FDFAX. Fidelity Select Consumer Staples debuted in July of 1985. Since then, FDFAX has accumulated assets of about $678.80 million, according to the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Ben Shuleva who has been in charge of the fund since January of 2020.PerformanceOf course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 5.69%, 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 4.13%, 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, FDFAX's standard deviation comes in at 13.48%, compared to the category average of 13.95%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 14.03% compared to the category average of 13.56%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.Risk FactorsWith a 5-year beta of 0.58, the fund is likely to be less volatile than 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. FDFAX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -3.41, 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, FDFAX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.67% compared to the category average of 0.94%. FDFAX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.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 consideration. Returns would be less if those were included.Bottom LineOverall, Fidelity Select Consumer Staples ( FDFAX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Fidelity Select Consumer Staples ( FDFAX ) looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.For additional information on the Sector - Other area of the mutual fund world, make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds. There, you can see more about the ranking process, and dive even deeper into FDFAX too for additional information. If you are more of a stock investor, make sure to also check out our Zacks Rank, and our full suite of tools we have available for novice and professional investors alike.5 Stocks Set to DoubleEach was handpicked by a Zacks expert as the #1 favorite stock to gain +100% or more in the coming year. While not all picks can be winners, previous recommendations have soared +112%, +171%, +209% and +232%.Most of the stocks in this report are flying under Wall Street radar, which provides a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor.Today, See These 5 Potential Home Runs >>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 (FDFAX): 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