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If investors are looking at the Diversified Bonds fund category, PIMCO Income C (PONCX - Free Report) could be a potential option. PONCX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
We classify PONCX 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 PONCX. The PIMCO Income C made its debut in April of 2007 and PONCX has managed to accumulate roughly $9.01 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 4.03%, and is in the top 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 3.75%, 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. PONCX's standard deviation over the past three years is 1.95% compared to the category average of 8.26%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 2.2% compared to the category average of 8.6%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
PONCX carries a beta of 0.17, 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 2.6, 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, PONCX has 63% in high quality bonds rated at least 'AA' or higher. The fund has an average quality of AA, 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, PONCX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.65% compared to the category average of 0.89%. From a cost perspective, PONCX 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 $50.
Bottom Line
Overall, PIMCO Income C ( PONCX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, better downside risk, and higher fees, this fund looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
For additional information on the Diversified Bonds area of the mutual fund world, make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds. There, you can see more about the ranking process, and dive even deeper into PONCX too for additional information. Want to learn even more? We have a full suite of tools on stocks that you can use to find the best choices for your portfolio too, no matter what kind of investor you are.
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Is PONCX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?
If investors are looking at the Diversified Bonds fund category, PIMCO Income C (PONCX - Free Report) could be a potential option. PONCX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
We classify PONCX 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 PONCX. The PIMCO Income C made its debut in April of 2007 and PONCX has managed to accumulate roughly $9.01 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 4.03%, and is in the top 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 3.75%, 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. PONCX's standard deviation over the past three years is 1.95% compared to the category average of 8.26%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 2.2% compared to the category average of 8.6%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
PONCX carries a beta of 0.17, 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 2.6, 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, PONCX has 63% in high quality bonds rated at least 'AA' or higher. The fund has an average quality of AA, 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, PONCX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.65% compared to the category average of 0.89%. From a cost perspective, PONCX 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 $50.
Bottom Line
Overall, PIMCO Income C ( PONCX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, better downside risk, and higher fees, this fund looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
For additional information on the Diversified Bonds area of the mutual fund world, make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds. There, you can see more about the ranking process, and dive even deeper into PONCX too for additional information. Want to learn even more? We have a full suite of tools on stocks that you can use to find the best choices for your portfolio too, no matter what kind of investor you are.