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

Sector - Other fund seekers should consider taking a look at Fidelity Environmental & Alt Energy (FSLEX). FSLEX bears 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 FSLEX. Fidelity Environmental & Alt Energy made its debut in June of 1989, and since then, FSLEX has accumulated about $672.99 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.PerformanceObviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. FSLEX has a 5-year annualized total return of 11.64%, 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 24.26%, 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. Compared to the category average of 18.5%, the standard deviation of FSLEX over the past three years is 17.56%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 20.2% compared to the category average of 20.07%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.Risk FactorsInvestors should not forget about beta, an important way to measure a mutual fund's risk compared to the market as a whole. FSLEX has a 5-year beta of 1.2, which means it is likely to be more volatile than the market average. 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -2.39. This means that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.ExpensesAs competition heats up in the mutual fund market, costs become increasingly important. Compared to its otherwise identical counterpart, a low-cost product will be an outperformer, all other things being equal. Thus, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is vital for investors. In terms of fees, FSLEX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.69% compared to the category average of 0.83%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, FSLEX is actually cheaper than its peers.While the minimum initial investment for the product is $0, investors should also note that 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 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.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. Want to learn even more? We have a full suite of tools on stocks that you can use to find the best choices for your portfolio too, no matter what kind of investor you are.Radical New Technology Could Hand Investors Huge GainsQuantum Computing is the next technological revolution, and it could be even more advanced than AI.While some believed the technology was years away, it is already present and moving fast. Large hyperscalers, such as Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Oracle, and even Meta and Tesla, are scrambling to integrate quantum computing into their infrastructure.Senior Stock Strategist Kevin Cook reveals 7 carefully selected stocks poised to dominate the quantum computing landscape in his report, Beyond AI: The Quantum Leap in Computing Power.Kevin was among the early experts who recognized NVIDIA's enormous potential back in 2016. Now, he has keyed in on what could be "the next big thing" in quantum computing supremacy. Today, you have a rare chance to position your portfolio at the forefront of this opportunity.See Top Quantum Stocks Now >>This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks