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Any investors hoping to find a Diversified Bonds fund could think about starting with PIMCO Income Institutional (PIMIX - Free Report) . PIMIX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
The world of Diversified Bonds funds is an area filled with options, such as PIMIX. Investors looking for exposure to a variety of fixed income types that stretch across issuers, maturities, and credit levels will find a good fit with Diversified Bonds funds. Typically, these funds have a solid amount of exposure to government debt, as well as modest holdings in the corporate bond market.
History of Fund/Manager
PIMCO Funds is based in Newport Beach, CA, and is the manager of PIMIX. PIMCO Income Institutional debuted in April of 2007. Since then, PIMIX has accumulated assets of about $73.13 billion, according to the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 6.01%, and is in the top 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 4.8%, which places it in the middle 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 5.74%, compared to the category average of 13.8%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 4.6% compared to the category average of 11.64%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
With a beta of 0.32, this fund is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, PIMIX has a positive alpha of 3.9, 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, PIMIX has 24.14% in high quality bonds rated at least 'AA' or higher, while 37.14% are of medium quality, with ratings of 'A' to 'BBB'. The fund's junk bond component-bonds rated 'BB' or below-is at 35.04%, giving PIMIX an average quality of BBB. This means that it focuses on medium quality securities.
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 0.51% compared to the category average of 0.86%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, PIMIX is actually cheaper than its peers.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $1 million and that each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.
Bottom Line
Overall, PIMCO Income Institutional ( PIMIX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, better downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
Your research on the Diversified Bonds 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. Zacks provides a full suite of tools to help you analyze your portfolio - both funds and stocks - in the most efficient way possible.
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Is PIMIX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?
Any investors hoping to find a Diversified Bonds fund could think about starting with PIMCO Income Institutional (PIMIX - Free Report) . PIMIX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
The world of Diversified Bonds funds is an area filled with options, such as PIMIX. Investors looking for exposure to a variety of fixed income types that stretch across issuers, maturities, and credit levels will find a good fit with Diversified Bonds funds. Typically, these funds have a solid amount of exposure to government debt, as well as modest holdings in the corporate bond market.
History of Fund/Manager
PIMCO Funds is based in Newport Beach, CA, and is the manager of PIMIX. PIMCO Income Institutional debuted in April of 2007. Since then, PIMIX has accumulated assets of about $73.13 billion, according to the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 6.01%, and is in the top 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 4.8%, which places it in the middle 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 5.74%, compared to the category average of 13.8%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 4.6% compared to the category average of 11.64%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
With a beta of 0.32, this fund is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, PIMIX has a positive alpha of 3.9, 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, PIMIX has 24.14% in high quality bonds rated at least 'AA' or higher, while 37.14% are of medium quality, with ratings of 'A' to 'BBB'. The fund's junk bond component-bonds rated 'BB' or below-is at 35.04%, giving PIMIX an average quality of BBB. This means that it focuses on medium quality securities.
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 0.51% compared to the category average of 0.86%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, PIMIX is actually cheaper than its peers.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $1 million and that each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.
Bottom Line
Overall, PIMCO Income Institutional ( PIMIX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, better downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
Your research on the Diversified Bonds 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. Zacks provides a full suite of tools to help you analyze your portfolio - both funds and stocks - in the most efficient way possible.