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Is Pioneer Core Equity Fund A (PIOTX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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There are plenty of choices in the All Cap Value category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that may not be worth investigating is Pioneer Core Equity Fund A (PIOTX - Free Report) . PIOTX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

PIOTX is one of many All Cap Value funds to choose from. All Cap Value mutual funds buy stakes in companies in all three valuation categories: small, medium, and large-cap. However, they end up focusing on bigger firms due to percentage of assets. Most importantly, these funds look for key value characteristics, targeting stocks that boast low P/E ratios, high dividend yields, and whose share prices do not reflect their worth.

History of Fund/Manager

PIOTX finds itself in the Pioneer Invstestments family, based out of Boston, MA. Pioneer Core Equity Fund A debuted in September of 1969. Since then, PIOTX has accumulated assets of about $1.78 billion, according to the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Craig Sterling who has been in charge of the fund since May of 2015.

Performance

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 13.16%, and is in the top third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 12.23%, which places it in the top third during this time-frame.

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. PIOTX's standard deviation over the past three years is 18.85% compared to the category average of 15.44%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 15.49% compared to the category average of 13.09%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

The fund has a 5-year beta of 1, so investors should note that it is hypothetically as volatile as the market at large. Alpha is an additional metric to take into consideration, since it represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which in this case, is the S&P 500. PIOTX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -0.68, which means managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Holdings

Investigating the equity holdings of a mutual fund is also a valuable exercise. This can show us how the manager is applying their stated methodology, as well as if there are any inherent biases in their approach. For this particular fund, the focus is primarily on equities that are traded in the United States.

This fund is currently holding about 90.28% stock in stocks, with an average market capitalization of $258.63 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

  1. Technology
  2. Finance
  3. Industrial Cyclical
Turnover is 100%, which means, on average, the fund makes more traders than comparable funds in a given year.

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, PIOTX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.91% compared to the category average of 1.05%. From a cost perspective, PIOTX is actually cheaper than its peers.

This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $1,000, and each subsequent investment should be at least $100.

Bottom Line

Overall, Pioneer Core Equity Fund A ( PIOTX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.

Want even more information about PIOTX? Then go over to Zacks.com and check out our mutual fund comparison tool, and all of the other great features that we have to help you with your mutual fund analysis for additional information. And don't forget, Zacks has all of your needs covered on the equity side too! Make sure to check out Zacks.com for more information on our screening capabilities, Rank, and all our articles as well.


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