If investors are looking at the Mutual Fund Bond fund category, Principal Spectrum Preferred and Capital Securities Income A (PPSAX - Free Report) could be a potential option. PPSAX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
Principal Financial Group is based in Des Moines, IA, and is the manager of PPSAX. Principal Spectrum Preferred and Capital Securities Income A made its debut in October of 2005, and since then, PPSAX has accumulated about $749.37 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. A team of investment professionals is the fund's current manager.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 0.68%, and is in the bottom third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of -1.8%, which places it in the bottom 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. PPSAX's standard deviation over the past three years is 10.41% compared to the category average of 16.32%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 8.42% compared to the category average of 14.22%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
This fund has a beta of 0.34, meaning that it is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, PPSAX has a positive alpha of 1.28, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.
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, PPSAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.03% compared to the category average of 0.77%. So, PPSAX is actually more expensive than its peers from a cost perspective.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $1,000, and each subsequent investment should be at least $100.
Bottom Line
Overall, Principal Spectrum Preferred and Capital Securities Income A ( PPSAX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, better downside risk, and higher fees, this fund looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
For additional information on the Mutual Fund Bond 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 PPSAX too 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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If investors are looking at the Mutual Fund Bond fund category, Principal Spectrum Preferred and Capital Securities Income A (PPSAX - Free Report) could be a potential option. PPSAX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
Principal Financial Group is based in Des Moines, IA, and is the manager of PPSAX. Principal Spectrum Preferred and Capital Securities Income A made its debut in October of 2005, and since then, PPSAX has accumulated about $749.37 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. A team of investment professionals is the fund's current manager.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 0.68%, and is in the bottom third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of -1.8%, which places it in the bottom 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. PPSAX's standard deviation over the past three years is 10.41% compared to the category average of 16.32%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 8.42% compared to the category average of 14.22%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
This fund has a beta of 0.34, meaning that it is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, PPSAX has a positive alpha of 1.28, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.
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, PPSAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.03% compared to the category average of 0.77%. So, PPSAX is actually more expensive than its peers from a cost perspective.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $1,000, and each subsequent investment should be at least $100.
Bottom Line
Overall, Principal Spectrum Preferred and Capital Securities Income A ( PPSAX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, better downside risk, and higher fees, this fund looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
For additional information on the Mutual Fund Bond 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 PPSAX too 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.
4 Oil Stocks with Massive Upsides
Global demand for oil is through the roof... and oil producers are struggling to keep up. So even though oil prices are well off their recent highs, you can expect big profits from the companies that supply the world with "black gold."
Zacks Investment Research has just released an urgent special report to help you bank on this trend.
In Oil Market on Fire, you'll discover 4 unexpected oil and gas stocks positioned for big gains in the coming weeks and months. You don't want to miss these recommendations.
Download your free report now to see them.
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