Is Fidelity International Real Estate (FIREX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

There are plenty of choices in the Sector - Real Estate category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that you should consider investigating is Fidelity International Real Estate (FIREX). FIREX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.ObjectiveZacks categorizes FIREX in Sector - Real Estate, which is a segment packed with options. Real estate investment trusts (REITs) are a popular income vehicle thanks to their taxation rules, and Sector - Real Estate mutual funds typically invest in them. A REIT is required to pay out at least 90% of its income annually to avoid double taxation, and this technique makes securities in these funds high dividend players-almost bond-like in some cases-though their risk is similar to equities.History of Fund/ManagerFidelity is based in Boston, MA, and is the manager of FIREX. The Fidelity International Real Estate made its debut in December of 2004 and FIREX has managed to accumulate roughly $154.35 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. Guillermo De Las Casas is the fund's current manager and has held that role since April of 2010.PerformanceOf course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of -2.86%, and it sits in the bottom third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 5.1%, 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, FIREX's standard deviation comes in at 15.99%, compared to the category average of 11.74%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 16.63% compared to the category average of 13.53%. 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 0.72, which means it is hypothetically less 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. FIREX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -12.4, 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, FIREX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.88% compared to the category average of 0.95%. FIREX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.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, even with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Fidelity International Real Estate ( FIREX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a somewhat average choice for investors right now.Want even more information about FIREX? Then go over to Zacks.com and check out our mutual fund comparison tool, and all of the other great features that we have to help you with your mutual fund analysis for additional information. Zacks provides a full suite of tools to help you analyze your portfolio - both funds and stocks - in the most efficient way possible.7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 DaysJust released: Experts distill 7 elite stocks from the current list of 220 Zacks Rank #1 Strong Buys. They deem these tickers "Most Likely for Early Price Pops."Since 1988, the full list has beaten the market more than 2X over with an average gain of +23.7% per year. So be sure to give these hand picked 7 your immediate attention. See them 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