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Having trouble finding a Mutual Fund Bond fund? Principal Preferred Securities A (PPSAX - Free Report) is a possible starting point. PPSAX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
Principal Financial Group is based in Des Moines, IA, and is the manager of PPSAX. The Principal Preferred Securities A made its debut in October of 2005 and PPSAX has managed to accumulate roughly $849.83 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 2.84%, and is in the bottom third among its category peers. If you're interested in shorter time frames, do not dismiss looking at the fund's 3-year annualized total return of 2.39%, which places it in the bottom 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. Over the past three years, PPSAX's standard deviation comes in at 9.46%, compared to the category average of 14.42%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 7.66% compared to the category average of 12.69%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
PPSAX carries a beta of 0.48, meaning that the fund is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. With this in mind, it has a positive alpha of 1.91, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.
Expenses
Costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing, and particularly as competition heats up in this market. And all things being equal, a lower cost product will outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, so taking a closer look at these metrics is key for investors. In terms of fees, PPSAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.03% compared to the category average of 0.77%. From a cost perspective, PPSAX is actually more expensive 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, Principal Preferred Securities A ( PPSAX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, better downside risk, and higher fees, this fund looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
Want even more information about PPSAX? 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. If you want to check out our stock reports as well, make sure to go to Zacks.com to see all of the great tools we have to offer, including our time-tested Zacks Rank.
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Is PPSAX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?
Having trouble finding a Mutual Fund Bond fund? Principal Preferred Securities A (PPSAX - Free Report) is a possible starting point. PPSAX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
Principal Financial Group is based in Des Moines, IA, and is the manager of PPSAX. The Principal Preferred Securities A made its debut in October of 2005 and PPSAX has managed to accumulate roughly $849.83 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 2.84%, and is in the bottom third among its category peers. If you're interested in shorter time frames, do not dismiss looking at the fund's 3-year annualized total return of 2.39%, which places it in the bottom 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. Over the past three years, PPSAX's standard deviation comes in at 9.46%, compared to the category average of 14.42%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 7.66% compared to the category average of 12.69%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
PPSAX carries a beta of 0.48, meaning that the fund is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. With this in mind, it has a positive alpha of 1.91, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.
Expenses
Costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing, and particularly as competition heats up in this market. And all things being equal, a lower cost product will outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, so taking a closer look at these metrics is key for investors. In terms of fees, PPSAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.03% compared to the category average of 0.77%. From a cost perspective, PPSAX is actually more expensive 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, Principal Preferred Securities A ( PPSAX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, better downside risk, and higher fees, this fund looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
Want even more information about PPSAX? 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. If you want to check out our stock reports as well, make sure to go to Zacks.com to see all of the great tools we have to offer, including our time-tested Zacks Rank.