Fidelity International Index Fund (FSPSX)

Overview

This fund focuses on investing primarily in the common stocks included in the MSCI EAFE Index, which is designed to measure the equity market performance in Europe, Australasia, and the Far East. This means that the fund is heavily inclined towards foreign stock markets, aiming to give investors exposure to international companies. To achieve a portfolio that mirrors the MSCI EAFE Index, the fund's manager employs statistical sampling techniques. These techniques are based on a variety of factors such as capitalization, industry exposures, dividend yield, price/earnings (P/E) ratio, price/book (P/B) ratio, earnings growth, and country weightings. The goal is to replicate the returns of the MSCI EAFE Index as closely as possible, which requires a minimum of 80% of the fund's assets to be invested directly in the stocks that comprise the index.

Products and Services

The fund's investment strategy is focused on providing a diversified exposure to international markets through a single investment product. The main products and services offered by the fund include:

• MSCI EAFE Index Exposure: This is the primary service offered by the fund, where it commits at least 80% of its assets to stocks included in the MSCI EAFE Index. This index is representative of developed markets outside of North America, encompassing Europe, Australasia, and the Far East.

This product aims to offer investors a way to gain diversified exposure to international markets, particularly in regions that are considered developed outside of the North American context. It's suitable for investors looking to diversify their portfolio with foreign equities.

• Statistical Sampling Techniques: To replicate the performance of the MSCI EAFE Index as closely as possible, the fund uses statistical sampling. This involves selecting stocks based on factors such as capitalization, industry exposures, dividend yield, price/earnings ratio, price/book ratio, earnings growth, and country weightings.

These techniques allow the fund to construct a portfolio that closely mirrors the index's return characteristics, without necessarily having to invest in all the securities that the index comprises. It's a method that aims to achieve similar risk and return profiles to the MSCI EAFE Index with potentially lower costs.