Is Fidelity Select Retailing (FSRPX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

Any investors hoping to find a Sector - Other fund could think about starting with Fidelity Select Retailing (FSRPX). FSRPX carries 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/Manager

FSRPX is a part of the Fidelity family of funds, a company based out of Boston, MA. Since Fidelity Select Retailing made its debut in December of 1985, FSRPX has garnered more than $2.24 billion in assets. The fund is currently managed by Julia Pei who has been in charge of the fund since February of 2025.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. FSRPX has a 5-year annualized total return of 3.58%, 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 13.21%, 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. The standard deviation of FSRPX over the past three years is 15.06% compared to the category average of 16.97%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 18.51% compared to the category average of 20.29%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

With a 5-year beta of 1.04, the fund 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. With a negative alpha of -8.67, managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Expenses

As 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, FSRPX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.63% compared to the category average of 0.93%. From a cost perspective, FSRPX is actually cheaper than its peers.

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 Line

Overall, Fidelity Select Retailing ( FSRPX ) 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.

Don't stop here for your research on Sector - Other 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 FSRPX to its peers as well 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.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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