All Cap Value fund seekers may want to consider taking a look at Pioneer Core Equity Fund A (PIOTX Quick QuotePIOTX - Free Report) . PIOTX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

We classify PIOTX in the All Cap Value category, an area rife with potential choices. Like the name suggests, MUTUAL FUNDS invest in small, medium, and large-cap companies, though they end up focusing on bigger firms due to percentage of assets. 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

Pioneer Invstestments is based in Canton, MA, and is the manager of PIOTX. Pioneer Core Equity Fund A made its debut in September of 1969, and since then, PIOTX has accumulated about $1.61 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. Craig Sterling is the fund's current manager and has held that role since May of 2015.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. PIOTX has a 5-year annualized total return of 9.18% 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 14.03%, 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, PIOTX's standard deviation comes in at 12.73%, compared to the category average of 11%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 12.73% compared to the category average of 10.82%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

Investors cannot discount the risks to this segment though, as it is always important to remember the downside for any potential investment. In PIOTX's case, the fund lost 59.15% in the most recent bear market and underperformed its peer group by 11%. This might suggest that the fund is a worse choice than its peers during a bear market.

Investors should not forget about beta, an important way to measure a mutual fund's risk compared to the market as a whole. PIOTX has a 5-year beta of 1.04, which means it is likely to be more volatile than the market average. 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 -1.94, 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 mostly on equities that are traded in the United States.

Currently, this mutual fund is holding 83.6% stock in stocks, with an average market capitalization of $220.82 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

1. Finance
2. Technology
3. Retail Trade

Expenses

For investors, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is key, since costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing. Competition is heating up in this space, and a lower cost product will likely outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, all things being equal. In terms of fees, PIOTX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.90% compared to the category average of 1.17%. From a cost perspective, PIOTX is actually cheaper 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.

Bottom Line

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

For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the All Cap Value, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information. If you are more of a stock investor, make sure to also check out our Zacks Rank, and our full suite of tools we have available for novice and professional investors alike.