Fidelity Japan Fund Key Takeaways For the fiscal year ending October 31, 2017, the fund's Retail Class shares gained 21.13%, topping the 19.70% advance of the benchmark Tokyo Stock Price Index (TOPIX). A healthy Japanese economy, accommodative monetary policy and a stable political environment in Japan, coupled with firming global economic activity, provided a favorable backdrop for Manager Kirk Neureiter's focus on companies with above-market earnings growth and higher return on capital. Versus the benchmark, stock selection in the industrials and consumer discretionary sectors particularly aided the fund's performance, along with positioning in real estate. In addition, the fund's result reflects a positive fair-value pricing adjustment of 1.33 percentage points. Conversely, stock picking in information technology, materials and consumer staples weighed on relative performance. As of October 31, Kirk believes Japanese stocks could have further to run if Japan's economic activity, supported by accommodative monetary and fiscal policy, remains healthy and the improving economic trends outside of Japan continue. MARKET RECAP The MSCI ACWI (All Country World Index) ex USA Index returned 23.85% for the 12 months ending October 31, 2017, helped partly by a generally weak U.S. dollar. Some favorable election results in continental Europe (+30%) suggested ebbing political uncertainty and near-term risk there, but the U.K. (+20%) faced more-mixed conditions ahead of its expected exit from the European Union. Despite central-bank easing and pressured recently by yen strength Japan (+18%) lagged the rest of the Asia-Pacific group (+22%). Commodity-price volatility slowed Canada (+17%), but the emergingmarkets group (+26%) sped ahead. Sector-wise, information technology (+47%) was driven by a surge among several Chinese internet-related names. Financials (+27%) rode rising interest rates that, at the same time, weighed on real estate (+17%), utilities (+16%), consumer staples (+14%) and telecommunication services (+9%) socalled "bond proxy" sectors. Materials (+28%) and industrials (+27%) responded to demand from China and price gains for certain commodities. In the energy sector (+20%), oil prices lost ground in the spring before rebounding through October 31 to end well above where they started 12 months ago. Lastly, health care (+14%) was hurt by early-period turmoil around drug pricing and health care legislation. Not FDIC Insured May Lose Value No Bank Guarantee
Q&A An interview with Manager Kirk Neureiter Fund Facts Trading Symbol: Kirk Neureiter Manager FJPNX Start Date: September 15, 1992 Size (in millions): $457.52 Investment Approach Fidelity Japan Fund is a concentrated Japanese equity strategy that seeks long-term growth of capital. We try to outperform the benchmark over a full market cycle by investing in companies that we believe have the ability to improve their returns on equity (ROE) over time. This focus on improving returns involves identifying good businesses that are attractively priced relative to the market and that are benefiting from new market development, evolving capital structures, efficiency improvements, pricing power or a change in management incentives. The fund considers security valuations relative to peers, history and the benchmark as key screening criteria. The fund targets 50 to 70 holdings, the majority of which we believe to be "long-term winners," along with a much smaller "opportunistic" bucket composed of cyclical or event-related trading opportunities. Q: Kirk, how did the fund perform for the fiscal year ending October 31, 2017 The fund's Retail Class shares gained 21.13% the past 12 months, topping the 19.70% advance of the TOPIX benchmark but trailing its peer group average. A healthy Japanese economy, accommodative monetary policy, and a stable political environment in Japan, coupled with firming global economic activity, provided a favorable backdrop for my focus on companies with above-market earnings growth and higher return on capital. Q: What was noteworthy about the investment backdrop this period The fund struggled out of the gate but made up ground later on. Following Donald Trump's victory in the U.S. presidential election, stock prices in Japan plunged at first but then reversed course and began a vigorous and sustained rally. Meanwhile, the yen fell sharply in value, whereas the U.S. dollar surged. This setting led to the strongest performance from exporters, large banks and other shares with higher sensitivity to market and currency movements, where the fund was underweighted. Consequently, the fund finished behind its benchmark in each of the first two months of the period. After the new year, as the yen stabilized and the world experienced a synchronized strengthening in economic growth, we were able to more than make up what we'd initially lost against the benchmark. Near period end, Japan's stock market strengthened after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Liberal Democratic Party did well in an early parliamentary election. This consolidated his power and, in our view, increased the likelihood that Abe would remain in power through 2021 and continue the stimulative measures he has championed while in office. Q: Which sectors were key contributors to fund performance versus the benchmark Stock selection in the industrials and consumer discretionary sectors particularly aided the fund's relative performance, along with positioning in real estate. 2 For definitions, fund risks and other important information, please see the Definitions and Important section of this Q&A.
In industrials by far the sector that aided relative performance most our investments in commercial & professional services and in capital goods notably contributed to our favorable result. In the former group, we had exposure to employment agencies, which benefited from tight labor conditions in Japan. Our investments in capital goods companies were aided by strong demand for equipment in China, the U.S. and Europe, as well as in Japan. As a reminder, my focus is on companies with abovemarket earnings growth and higher return on capital, and I generally avoid slower-growing companies whose stocks tend to have higher-than-normal sensitivity to currency movements. I remain convinced that targeting the faster growers is a better long-term strategy. Q: Which stocks were particularly beneficial versus the benchmark The fund's top relative contributor was Sumco, a manufacturer of silicon wafers for the semiconductor and solar photovoltaic-cell industries. Expanding demand for wafers was driven by both traditional sources such as computer manufacturing and newer applications including solar power, e-commerce, "smart" autos and AI (artificial intelligence). Meanwhile, supply remained constrained after years of minimal additions to production capacity. This led to better wafer pricing and helped our overweighted position in Sumco gain 107% this period. Overweighting automaker Suzuki Motor also was beneficial. The ill-fated joint venture between Suzuki and German automaker Volkswagen, which began with such promise in December 2009, finally wound to a close earlier in 2016, after which Suzuki increased its stock buyback program. Meanwhile, the company's robust sales in India continued to drive its earnings growth. Suzuki was a sizable holding. I'll also mention our large stake in Shimadzu, a manufacturer of measuring equipment of various kinds, including optical analyzers and mass spectrometers, as well as medical equipment such as X-ray machines. China's rapidly growing middle class drove demand for higher-value-added products and greater access to health care, both of which benefited Shimadzu products. SMC, a leading global manufacturer of pneumatic equipment, was one of the fund's successful positions in capital goods this period. Near the beginning of the period, a negative report about the company surfaced, depressing its stock. We spent time going over all of the allegations with the company and concluded that the report was off target, then decided to establish a position in December 2016 and add to it in January 2017. Our favorable timing here pushed our stake in SMC to a gain of roughly 65% this period. Q: What else was notable Our result reflects an upward fair-value pricing adjustment of 1.33 percentage points. Fair-value pricing is an adjustment process that attempts to best represent the value of the fund's securities as of the close of trading in U.S. markets, accounting for any major changes occurring after the close of foreign markets. Since index performance is not adjusted in a similar manner, this can be a source of performance deviation between the fund and its benchmark in any given time period. The impact of fairvalue adjustments tends to smooth out over the long term. Q: How about detractors Stock picking in information technology, materials and consumer staples weighed on relative performance. At the stock level, a sizable overweighting in KDDI was our biggest detractor. The firm is a provider of landline and cellular telephone service in Japan, with fairly stable earnings growth and a generous dividend yield. Its stock, which is considered somewhat defensive, struggled this period, as investors generally preferred more-aggressive investments. Nevertheless, I maintained a large position here, partly to balance the more-aggressive positions in the fund with something I thought would hold up better if the stock market weakened. Price-comparison website Kakaku was another disappointment. Sales of consumer electronics in Japan slowed the past 12 months, hurting the company's core business. I expect this situation to be temporary. Also, the firm's restaurant-reservation business continued to show healthy growth. Q: What is your outlook as of October 31, Kirk I believe Japanese stocks could have further to run if Japan's economic activity, supported by accommodative monetary and fiscal policy, remains healthy and the improving economic trends outside of Japan continue. Japanese companies seem to be enjoying multiple tailwinds at period end, and it's hard not to be bullish against such a backdrop. 3 For definitions, fund risks and other important information, please see the Definitions and Important section of this Q&A.
LARGEST CONTRIBUTORS VS. BENCHMARK Kirk Neureiter on the challenge facing Japan's banks: "As of October 31, Japanese banks face a longer road to earnings recovery than their global peers, in my view. While the U.S. Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank appear to be headed toward normalization of monetary policy, which includes raising interest rates and eliminating asset purchases, the Bank of Japan remains committed to its goal of 2% inflation, considerably higher than current levels. "To achieve it, the central bank's leadership is pursuing aggressive monetary stimulus in the form of asset purchases and yield-curve control, which prevents the long-term interest rate on Japanese government bonds from rising. Without higher rates on a large asset on their balance sheets, a key source of profit generation for Japanese banks remains depressed. "The Liberal Democratic Party's recent victory in the snap elections means that Prime Minister Abe is likely to continue as the country's leader for the foreseeable future. One of his duties is the nomination of the governor of the Bank of Japan. "The current governor, Haruhiko Kuroda, took over in 2013, and his current term is scheduled to end in April 2018. With the LDP's victory, it is likely that either Governor Kuroda will be renominated or someone who espouses similar policies will be named to lead the bank. "Governor Kuroda and his disciples believe it is essential for Japan to escape from its long-term deflationary spiral, and that stimulative monetary policy is a key tool in that battle. I therefore don't look for the prospects for Japanese banks to change much anytime soon." Holding Sumco Corp. Suzuki Motor Corp. Shimadzu Corp. Market Segment Consumer Discretionary Average Relative Relative Contribution (basis points)* 1.19% 68 1.91% 56 2.46% 50 SMC Corp. Industrials 0.81% 50 SoftBank Corp. * 1 basis point = 0.01%. Telecommunication Services LARGEST DETRACTORS VS. BENCHMARK Holding KDDI Corp. Kakaku.com, Inc. DeNA Co. Ltd. Market Segment Telecommunication Services 2.76% 48 Average Relative Relative Contribution (basis points)* 2.41% -85 1.33% -63 0.76% -52 Olympus Corp. Health Care 1.94% -33 Astellas Pharma, Inc. Health Care 0.46% -31 * 1 basis point = 0.01%. ASSET ALLOCATION Asset Class Six Months Ago International Equities 99.34% 97.72% Developed Markets 99.34% 97.08% Emerging Markets 0.00% 0.64% Tax-Advantaged Domiciles 0.00% 0.00% Domestic Equities 0.00% 0.00% Bonds 0.00% 0.00% Cash & Net Other Assets 0.66% 2.28% Net Other Assets can include fund receivables, fund payables, and offsets to other derivative positions, as well as certain assets that do not fall into any of the portfolio composition categories. Depending on the extent to which the fund invests in derivatives and the number of positions that are held for future settlement, Net Other Assets can be a negative number. "Tax-Advantaged Domiciles" represent countries whose tax policies may be favorable for company incorporation. 4 For definitions, fund risks and other important information, please see the Definitions and Important section of this Q&A.
MARKET-SEGMENT DIVERSIFICATION Market Segment Six Months Ago Consumer Discretionary 19.08% 19.85% Industrials 18.46% 16.71% 14.85% 14.29% Financials 11.32% 12.37% Health Care 9.37% 9.42% Consumer Staples 8.79% 9.72% Materials 8.47% 7.41% Telecommunication Services 8.31% 7.94% Real Estate 0.68% 0.00% Energy 0.00% 0.00% Utilities 0.00% 0.00% Other 0.00% 0.00% COUNTRY DIVERSIFICATION Country Six Months Ago Japan 98.84% 95.49% 10 LARGEST HOLDINGS Holding SoftBank Corp. Sony Corp. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. Market Segment Telecommunication Services Consumer Discretionary Six Months Ago 5.12% 4.31% 4.07% 3.61% Financials 3.78% 3.82% Hoya Corp. Health Care 3.46% 3.50% ORIX Corp. Financials 3.43% 3.29% KDDI Corp. Shimadzu Corp. Telecommunication Services 3.19% 3.64% 2.74% 2.45% East Japan Railway Co. Industrials 2.70% 2.69% Nidec Corp. Industrials 2.48% 1.93% Suzuki Motor Corp. Consumer Discretionary 2.47% 2.20% 10 Largest Holdings as a % of Net Assets 33.44% 31.99% Total Number of Holdings 86 87 The 10 largest holdings are as of the end of the reporting period, and may not be representative of the fund's current or future investments. Holdings do not include money market investments. 5 For definitions, fund risks and other important information, please see the Definitions and Important section of this Q&A.
FISCAL PERFORMANCE SUMMARY: Periods ending October 31, 2017 6 Month Cumulative YTD 1 3 Annualized 5 10 / LOF 1 Fidelity Japan Fund Gross Expense Ratio: 0.78% 2 15.50% 26.29% 21.13% 9.92% 11.44% 1.26% Tokyo Stock Exchange TOPIX Total Return Index 14.22% 21.72% 19.70% 11.60% 13.11% 3.11% Morningstar Fund Japan Stock 14.65% 20.81% 22.20% 11.61% 14.61% 4.63% % Rank in Morningstar Category (1% = Best) -- -- 53% 58% 84% 91% # of Funds in Morningstar Category -- -- 51 36 25 13 1 Life of Fund (LOF) if performance is less than 10 years. Fund inception date: 09/15/1992. 2 This expense ratio is from the prospectus in effect as of the date shown above and generally is based on amounts incurred during that fiscal year. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate; therefore, you may have a gain or loss when you sell your shares. Current performance may be higher or lower than the performance stated. Performance shown is that of the fund's Retail Class shares (if multiclass). You may own another share class of the fund with a different expense structure and, thus, have different returns. To learn more or to obtain the most recent month-end or other share-class performance, visit fidelity.com/performance, institutional.fidelity.com, or 401k.com. Total returns are historical and include change in share value and reinvestment of dividends and capital gains, if any. Cumulative total returns are reported as of the period indicated. Please see the last page(s) of this Q&A document for most-recent calendarquarter performance. 6 For definitions, fund risks and other important information, please see the Definitions and Important section of this Q&A.
Definitions and Important Unless otherwise disclosed to you, in providing this information, Fidelity is not undertaking to provide impartial investment advice, act as an impartial adviser, or to give advice in a fiduciary capacity. FUND RISKS Stock markets, especially foreign markets, are volatile and can decline significantly in response to adverse issuer, political, regulatory, market, or economic developments. Foreign securities are subject to interest rate, currency exchange rate, economic, and political risks. The risks are particularly significant for funds that focus on a single country or region. reinvested dividends and capital gains, if any, and exclude sales charges. Multiple share classes of a fund have a common portfolio but impose different expense structures. RELATIVE WEIGHTS Relative weights represents the % of fund assets in a particular market segment, asset class or credit quality relative to the benchmark. A positive number represents an overweight, and a negative number is an underweight. The fund's benchmark is listed immediately under the fund name in the Performance Summary. IMPORTANT FUND INFORMATION Relative positioning data presented in this commentary is based on the fund's primary benchmark (index) unless a secondary benchmark is provided to assess performance. Effective 12/18/17, the fund's redemption fee has been removed. INDICES It is not possible to invest directly in an index. All indices represented are unmanaged. All indices include reinvestment of dividends and interest income unless otherwise noted. Tokyo Stock Price Index (TOPIX) is a market-capitalization-weighted index of the common stock of the large companies that make up the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange. MSCI ACWI (All Country World Index) ex USA Index is a marketcapitalization-weighted index designed to measure the investable equity market performance for global investors of large and mid-cap stocks in developed and emerging markets, excluding the United States. MARKET-SEGMENT WEIGHTS Market-segment weights illustrate examples of sectors or industries in which the fund may invest, and may not be representative of the fund's current or future investments. Should not be construed or used as a recommendation for any sector or industry. RANKING INFORMATION 2017 Morningstar, Inc. All rights reserved. The Morningstar information contained herein: (1) is proprietary to Morningstar and/or its content providers; (2) may not be copied or redistributed; and (3) is not warranted to be accurate, complete or timely. Neither Morningstar nor its content providers are responsible for any damages or losses arising from any use of this information. Fidelity does not review the Morningstar data and, for mutual fund performance, you should check the fund's current prospectus for the most up-to-date information concerning applicable loads, fees and expenses. % Rank in Morningstar Category is the fund's total-return percentile rank relative to all funds that have the same Morningstar Category. The highest (or most favorable) percentile rank is 1 and the lowest (or least favorable) percentile rank is 100. The top-performing fund in a category will always receive a rank of 1%. % Rank in Morningstar Category is based on total returns which include 7
Manager Facts Kirk Neureiter is a portfolio manager at Fidelity Management & Research Company (FMR Co.), the investment advisor for Fidelity's family of mutual funds. Fidelity Investments is a leading provider of investment management, retirement planning, portfolio guidance, brokerage, benefits outsourcing and other financial products and services to more than 20 million individuals, institutions and financial intermediaries. In this role, he is primarily responsible for managing Fidelity Japan Fund and he also serves as the president of Fidelity Management & Research Company's office in Japan. Prior to assuming his current role in 2014, Mr. Neureiter worked as a research analyst at FMR Co. from 2008 to 2014, where he was primarily responsible for identifying investment opportunities within the top 500 names by market cap for all Fidelity group companies. His previous positions with Fidelity include that of portfolio manager at Fidelity International (Japan) Limited from 2003 to 2008, director of Japan research from 2000 to 2003, associate director of research from 1999 to 2000, research analyst from 1997 to 2000, and research associate for Fidelity Investments Japan starting in 1994. Before joining Fidelity, Mr. Neureiter worked for Sony Corporation in the consumer products planning and administration group in Tokyo. He has been in the financial industry since 1994. Mr. Neureiter earned his bachelor of arts degree from the College of Wooster. 8 For definitions, fund risks and other important information, please see the Definitions and Important section of this Q&A.
PERFORMANCE SUMMARY: Quarter ending March 31, 2018 1 3 Annualized 5 10 / LOF 1 Fidelity Japan Fund Gross Expense Ratio: 0.82% 2 24.55% 10.83% 8.59% 3.60% 1 Life of Fund (LOF) if performance is less than 10 years. Fund inception date: 09/15/1992. 2 This expense ratio is from the prospectus in effect as of the date shown above and generally is based on amounts incurred during that fiscal year. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate; therefore, you may have a gain or loss when you sell your shares. Current performance may be higher or lower than the performance stated. Performance shown is that of the fund's Retail Class shares (if multiclass). You may own another share class of the fund with a different expense structure and, thus, have different returns. To learn more or to obtain the most recent month-end or other share-class performance, visit fidelity.com/performance, institutional.fidelity.com, or 401k.com. Total returns are historical and include change in share value and reinvestment of dividends and capital gains, if any. Cumulative total returns are reported as of the period indicated. Before investing in any mutual fund, please carefully consider the investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses. For this and other information, call or write Fidelity for a free prospectus or, if available, a summary prospectus. Read it carefully before you invest. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Views expressed are through the end of the period stated and do not necessarily represent the views of Fidelity. Views are subject to change at any time based upon market or other conditions and Fidelity disclaims any responsibility to update such views. These views may not be relied on as investment advice and, because investment decisions for a Fidelity fund are based on numerous factors, may not be relied on as an indication of trading intent on behalf of any Fidelity fund. The securities mentioned are not necessarily holdings invested in by the portfolio manager(s) or FMR LLC. References to specific company securities should not be construed as recommendations or investment advice. included on this page is as of the most recent calendar quarter. S&P 500 is a registered service mark of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC. Other third-party marks appearing herein are the property of their respective owners. All other marks appearing herein are registered or unregistered trademarks or service marks of FMR LLC or an affiliated company. Fidelity Brokerage Services LLC, Member NYSE, SIPC., 900 Salem Street, Smithfield, RI 02917. Fidelity Investments Institutional Services Company, Inc., 500 Salem Street, Smithfield, RI 02917. 2018 FMR LLC. All rights reserved. Not NCUA or NCUSIF insured. May lose value. No credit union guarantee. 726190.7.0 Diversification does not ensure a profit or guarantee against a loss.