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Is PIMIX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?

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Looking for a Diversified Bonds fund? You may want to consider PIMCO Income Institutional (PIMIX - Free Report) as a possible option. PIMIX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

We classify PIMIX in the Diversified Bonds category, an area that is rife with potential choices. Diversified Bonds funds offer exposure to a wide variety of fixed income types, stretching across various issuers, credit levels, and maturities. Generally speaking, bond funds here will have sizable exposure to government debt, as well as modest holdings in the corporate bond market too.

History of Fund/Manager

PIMCO Funds is based in Newport Beach, CA, and is the manager of PIMIX. PIMCO Income Institutional made its debut in April of 2007, and since then, PIMIX has accumulated about $56.06 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by Daniel J. Ivascyn who has been in charge of the fund since April of 2007.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 5.48%, and it sits 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 5.02%, 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. Over the past three years, PIMIX's standard deviation comes in at 2.26%, compared to the category average of 7.78%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 2.54% compared to the category average of 7.61%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

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, PIMIX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.48% compared to the category average of 0.91%. So, PIMIX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.

This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $1 million, while there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.

Bottom Line

Overall, PIMCO Income Institutional has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, better downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.

Want even more information about PIMIX? 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. 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.


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