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Is Pioneer Flexible Opportunities A (PMARX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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Looking for an Allocation Balanced fund? You may want to consider Pioneer Flexible Opportunities A (PMARX - Free Report) as a possible option. PMARX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
The world of Zacks' Allocation Balanced funds is an area filled with options, such as PMARX. These funds like to invest in a variety of asset types, finding a balance between stocks, bonds, cash, and sometimes even precious metals and commodities; they are mostly categorized by their respective asset allocation. For investors, Allocation Balanced funds can provide an entry point into diversified mutual funds, and present core holding options for a portfolio of funds.
History of Fund/Manager
Amundi US is responsible for PMARX, and the company is based out of Boston, MA. Pioneer Flexible Opportunities A debuted in May of 2010. Since then, PMARX has accumulated assets of about $62.64 million, according to the most recently available information. Kenneth Taubes is the fund's current manager and has held that role since May of 2010.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 2.58%, and it sits in the bottom 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 -0.85%, which places it in the bottom third during this time-frame.
It is important to note that the product's returns may not reflect all its expenses. Any fees not reflected would lower the returns. Total returns do not reflect the fund's [%] sale charge. If sales charges were included, total returns would have been lower.
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. PMARX's standard deviation over the past three years is 13.51% compared to the category average of 13.88%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 15.09% compared to the category average of 14.72%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With a 5-year beta of 0.75, the fund is likely to be less volatile than the market average. Because alpha represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which is the S&P 500 in this case, one should pay attention to this metric as well. PMARX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -7.78, which means managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
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, PMARX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.20% compared to the category average of 1.06%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, PMARX is actually more expensive than its peers.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $1,000; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $100.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, even with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, Pioneer Flexible Opportunities A ( PMARX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
Your research on the Allocation Balanced 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. 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 Pioneer Flexible Opportunities A (PMARX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Looking for an Allocation Balanced fund? You may want to consider Pioneer Flexible Opportunities A (PMARX - Free Report) as a possible option. PMARX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
The world of Zacks' Allocation Balanced funds is an area filled with options, such as PMARX. These funds like to invest in a variety of asset types, finding a balance between stocks, bonds, cash, and sometimes even precious metals and commodities; they are mostly categorized by their respective asset allocation. For investors, Allocation Balanced funds can provide an entry point into diversified mutual funds, and present core holding options for a portfolio of funds.
History of Fund/Manager
Amundi US is responsible for PMARX, and the company is based out of Boston, MA. Pioneer Flexible Opportunities A debuted in May of 2010. Since then, PMARX has accumulated assets of about $62.64 million, according to the most recently available information. Kenneth Taubes is the fund's current manager and has held that role since May of 2010.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 2.58%, and it sits in the bottom 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 -0.85%, which places it in the bottom third during this time-frame.
It is important to note that the product's returns may not reflect all its expenses. Any fees not reflected would lower the returns. Total returns do not reflect the fund's [%] sale charge. If sales charges were included, total returns would have been lower.
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. PMARX's standard deviation over the past three years is 13.51% compared to the category average of 13.88%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 15.09% compared to the category average of 14.72%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With a 5-year beta of 0.75, the fund is likely to be less volatile than the market average. Because alpha represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which is the S&P 500 in this case, one should pay attention to this metric as well. PMARX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -7.78, which means managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
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, PMARX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.20% compared to the category average of 1.06%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, PMARX is actually more expensive than its peers.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $1,000; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $100.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, even with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, Pioneer Flexible Opportunities A ( PMARX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
Your research on the Allocation Balanced 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. 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.