Is Fidelity Select Leisure & Entertainment (FDLSX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

There are plenty of choices in the Sector - Other category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that might be worth investigating is Fidelity Select Leisure & Entertainment (FDLSX). FDLSX holds 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/ManagerFidelity is based in Boston, MA, and is the manager of FDLSX. Fidelity Select Leisure & Entertainment debuted in May of 1984. Since then, FDLSX has accumulated assets of about $691.90 million, according to the most recently available information. Kevin Francfort is the fund's current manager and has held that role since September of 2022.PerformanceObviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 18.96%, and it sits 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 18.81%, 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 FDLSX over the past three years is 19.58% compared to the category average of 22.99%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 21.36% compared to the category average of 22.06%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.Risk FactorsInvestors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.12, which means it is hypothetically more volatile than the market at large. 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a positive alpha of 1.97. This means that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.HoldingsInvestigating the equity holdings of a mutual fund is also a valuable exercise. This can show us how the manager is applying their stated methodology, as well as if there are any inherent biases in their approach. For this particular fund, the focus is largely on equities that are traded in the United States.The mutual fund currently has 82.1% of its holdings in stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $89.08 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:Non-DurableTechnologyRetail TradeTurnover is 43%, which means this fund makes fewer trades than its comparable peers.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, FDLSX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.69% compared to the category average of 1.04%. From a cost perspective, FDLSX is actually cheaper than its peers.This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $0, while there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into consideration. Returns would be less if those were included.Bottom LineOverall, Fidelity Select Leisure & Entertainment ( FDLSX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.Your research on the Sector - Other 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. 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Click to get this free report Get Your Free (FDLSX): 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