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Having trouble finding a Diversified Bonds fund? PIMCO Income A (PONAX - Free Report) is a potential starting point. PONAX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
We classify PONAX 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
PONAX is a part of the PIMCO Funds family of funds, a company based out of Newport Beach, CA. PIMCO Income A debuted in April of 2007. Since then, PONAX has accumulated assets of about $17.35 billion, according to the most recently available information. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. PONAX has a 5-year annualized total return of 5.11% and it sits 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 5.07%, 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. The standard deviation of PONAX over the past three years is 5.72% compared to the category average of 13.76%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 4.54% compared to the category average of 11.39%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
This fund has a beta of 0.35, meaning that it is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, PONAX has a positive alpha of 3.34, 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, PONAX has 21.55% in high quality bonds rated at least 'AA' or higher, while 30.31% are of medium quality, with ratings of 'A' to 'BBB'. The fund's junk bond component-bonds rated 'BB' or below-is at 40.27%, giving PONAX an average quality of BBB. This means that it focuses on medium quality securities.
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, PONAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.90% compared to the category average of 0.86%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, PONAX is actually more expensive than its peers.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $1,000 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $50.
Bottom Line
Overall, PIMCO Income A ( PONAX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, better downside risk, and higher fees, PIMCO Income A ( PONAX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
This could just be the start of your research on PONAXin the Diversified Bonds category. Consider going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information about this fund, and all the others that we rank as well for additional information. And don't forget, Zacks has all of your needs covered on the equity side too! Make sure to check out Zacks.com for more information on our screening capabilities, Rank, and all our articles as well.
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Is PONAX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?
Having trouble finding a Diversified Bonds fund? PIMCO Income A (PONAX - Free Report) is a potential starting point. PONAX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
We classify PONAX 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
PONAX is a part of the PIMCO Funds family of funds, a company based out of Newport Beach, CA. PIMCO Income A debuted in April of 2007. Since then, PONAX has accumulated assets of about $17.35 billion, according to the most recently available information. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. PONAX has a 5-year annualized total return of 5.11% and it sits 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 5.07%, 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. The standard deviation of PONAX over the past three years is 5.72% compared to the category average of 13.76%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 4.54% compared to the category average of 11.39%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
This fund has a beta of 0.35, meaning that it is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, PONAX has a positive alpha of 3.34, 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, PONAX has 21.55% in high quality bonds rated at least 'AA' or higher, while 30.31% are of medium quality, with ratings of 'A' to 'BBB'. The fund's junk bond component-bonds rated 'BB' or below-is at 40.27%, giving PONAX an average quality of BBB. This means that it focuses on medium quality securities.
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, PONAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.90% compared to the category average of 0.86%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, PONAX is actually more expensive than its peers.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $1,000 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $50.
Bottom Line
Overall, PIMCO Income A ( PONAX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, better downside risk, and higher fees, PIMCO Income A ( PONAX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
This could just be the start of your research on PONAXin the Diversified Bonds category. Consider going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information about this fund, and all the others that we rank as well for additional information. And don't forget, Zacks has all of your needs covered on the equity side too! Make sure to check out Zacks.com for more information on our screening capabilities, Rank, and all our articles as well.