The month of March is often (though not always) “Springtime for Retailers”. Figure 1 displays the growth of $1,000 invested in Fidelity Select Retailing (ticker FSRPX) only during the month of March since FSRPX started trading in 1986.
Figure 1 – Growth of $1,000 invested in Fidelity Select Retailing (FSRPX) only during the month of March (1986-2016)
For the record:
*# of years March was UP = 25 (80.6%%)
*# of years March was DOWN = 6 (19.4%)
*Average % gain during March when March is UP = +5.3%
*Average % loss during March when March is UP = (-2.3%)
*Best March = +19.1% (2009)
*Worst March = (-4.9%) (2001)
Year-by-Year Results for FSRPX in March
| Year | FSRPX % +(-) |
| 1986 | 9.0 |
| 1987 | 3.0 |
| 1988 | 1.3 |
| 1989 | 4.8 |
| 1990 | 8.2 |
| 1991 | 10.4 |
| 1992 | (2.0) |
| 1993 | 7.7 |
| 1994 | (2.1) |
| 1995 | 1.1 |
| 1996 | 7.4 |
| 1997 | 1.3 |
| 1998 | 6.9 |
| 1999 | 1.7 |
| 2000 | 15.5 |
| 2001 | (4.9) |
| 2002 | 3.0 |
| 2003 | 3.1 |
| 2004 | (0.9) |
| 2005 | 1.8 |
| 2006 | 3.1 |
| 2007 | 1.4 |
| 2008 | 0.3 |
| 2009 | 19.1 |
| 2010 | 7.7 |
| 2011 | 1.9 |
| 2012 | 7.0 |
| 2013 | 0.8 |
| 2014 | (3.9) |
| 2015 | (0.0) |
| 2016 | 6.1 |
Figure 2 – FSRPX in March
Investment Alternatives
*Fidelity Select Retailing (FSRPX)
*Profunds Consumer Cyclical (CYPIX)
*Rydex Retailing (RYRIX)
*SDPR S&P Retailing ETF (XRT)
*HOLDRS Retailing ETF (RTH)
Summary
As always, this blog offers “information” and not “recommendations”. So for the record, I am not “predicting” that retail stocks will rise in March 2017 (as if I had the ability to do so), I am merely pointing out how they performed over the previous 31 months of March.
Jay Kaeppel
Disclaimer: The data presented herein were obtained from various third-party sources. While I believe the data to be reliable, no representation is made as to, and no responsibility, warranty or liability is accepted for the accuracy or completeness of such information. The information, opinions and ideas expressed herein are for informational and educational purposes only and do not constitute and should not be construed as investment advice, an advertisement or offering of investment advisory services, or an offer to sell or a solicitation to buy any security.
Jay,
Your information about the short-term trading charge on FSRPX is wrong in two ways. The first is that Fidelity removed the short-term charges on the Select funds in December. The second is that the old charge was 0.75% (not 2.5%) if a Select fund other than money market was not owned for at least 30 days.