Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Is PTIAX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?

Read MoreHide Full Article

Any investors hoping to find a Mutual Fund Bond fund could think about starting with Performance Trust Total Return Bond (PTIAX - Free Report) . PTIAX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

PTIAX finds itself in the Performance family, based out of New York, NY. The Performance Trust Total Return Bond made its debut in August of 2010 and PTIAX has managed to accumulate roughly $4.79 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, G. Plaiss, has been in charge of the fund since August of 2010.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 0.53%, and is in the top third among its category peers. But if you are looking for a shorter time frame, it is also worth looking at its 3-year annualized total return of -2.12%, which places it in the middle 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. PTIAX's standard deviation over the past three years is 6.48% compared to the category average of 13.6%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 5.25% compared to the category average of 11.78%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

This fund has a beta of 0.73, meaning that it is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, PTIAX has a positive alpha of 0.36, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.

Ratings

Investors should also consider a bond's rating, which is a grade ( 'AAA' to 'D' ) given to a bond that indicates its credit quality. With this letter scale in mind, PTIAX has 53.47% in high quality bonds rated at least 'AA' or higher, while 26.31% are of medium quality, with ratings of 'A' to 'BBB'. The fund has an average quality of A, and focuses on high quality securities.

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, PTIAX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.75% compared to the category average of 0.75%. From a cost perspective, PTIAX is actually on par with its peers.

Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $2,500; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $500.

Bottom Line

Overall, Performance Trust Total Return Bond ( PTIAX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, better downside risk, and on par fees, this fund looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

Your research on the Mutual Fund Bond segment doesn't have to stop here. You can check out all the great mutual fund tools we have to offer by going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds to see the additional features we offer as well for additional information. For analysis of the rest of your portfolio, make sure to visit Zacks.com for our full suite of tools which will help you investigate all of your stocks and funds in one place.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


Performance Trust Strategic Bond I (PTIAX) - free report >>

Published in