Owned this fund all year, and it was the last one I own to drop below zero. In the 2000-2002 bear, S&P 500 dropped about -48% and FSMEX was up 44.45%.

This time the S&P 500 had a top to bottom drop of -42.7%, its peer PRHSX dropped -33.34% top to bottom, and FSMEX dropped -26.6% at its worst. It actually dropped more than that in 2002, but finished that year down only -6.24%, when the S&P 500 was down over -22%.

So this fund drops less than the major indices, less than its peers, and catches up pretty quickly after its drops.

Its best year was up 50.37%, and its worst year down only -6.24%. FSMEX has only 1 down year in the past 10 years, compared to 3 down years for the major indices. 2006 it underperformed due to a new fund mgr, but that fund manager left & it's back to normal. This fund often deviates from major indices & goes up while the major indexes go down. 2000 & 2001 show that, along with the first 8 months of 2008.

Demographics favor continued good performance long-term, no matter who wins the election. If Obama wins, there might be a temporary overreaction down in the health care sector. Congress might want to change the health care system, but the govt already spent $700B or more on the financial system. So the money won't be there to change the health care system for quite awhile. FSMEX is a keeper.