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There are plenty of choices in the Mutual Fund Bond category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that might be worth investigating is PIMCO CommoditiesPlus Strategy A (PCLAX - Free Report) . PCLAX has 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
PIMCO Funds is based in Newport Beach, CA, and is the manager of PCLAX. Since PIMCO CommoditiesPlus Strategy A made its debut in June of 2010, PCLAX has garnered more than $88.46 million in assets. The fund is currently managed by Nicholas Johnson who has been in charge of the fund since June of 2010.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 8.28%, 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 15.58%, 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. PCLAX's standard deviation over the past three years is 28.21% compared to the category average of 15.37%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 23.49% compared to the category average of 12.98%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
PCLAX carries a beta of -1.19, 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 12.95, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.
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, PCLAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.19% compared to the category average of 0.85%. From a cost perspective, PCLAX is actually more expensive than its peers.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $1,000, and each subsequent investment should be at least $50.
Bottom Line
Overall, PIMCO CommoditiesPlus Strategy A ( PCLAX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, worse downside risk, and higher fees, this fund looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
Don't stop here for your research on Mutual Fund Bond funds. We also have plenty more on our site in order to help you find the best possible fund for your portfolio. Make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for more information about the world of funds, and feel free to compare PCLAX to its peers as well for additional information. For analysis of the rest of your portfolio, make sure to visit Zacks.com for our full suite of tools which will help you investigate all of your stocks and funds in one place.
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Is PCLAX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?
There are plenty of choices in the Mutual Fund Bond category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that might be worth investigating is PIMCO CommoditiesPlus Strategy A (PCLAX - Free Report) . PCLAX has 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
PIMCO Funds is based in Newport Beach, CA, and is the manager of PCLAX. Since PIMCO CommoditiesPlus Strategy A made its debut in June of 2010, PCLAX has garnered more than $88.46 million in assets. The fund is currently managed by Nicholas Johnson who has been in charge of the fund since June of 2010.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 8.28%, 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 15.58%, 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. PCLAX's standard deviation over the past three years is 28.21% compared to the category average of 15.37%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 23.49% compared to the category average of 12.98%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
PCLAX carries a beta of -1.19, 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 12.95, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.
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, PCLAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.19% compared to the category average of 0.85%. From a cost perspective, PCLAX is actually more expensive than its peers.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $1,000, and each subsequent investment should be at least $50.
Bottom Line
Overall, PIMCO CommoditiesPlus Strategy A ( PCLAX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, worse downside risk, and higher fees, this fund looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
Don't stop here for your research on Mutual Fund Bond funds. We also have plenty more on our site in order to help you find the best possible fund for your portfolio. Make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for more information about the world of funds, and feel free to compare PCLAX to its peers as well for additional information. For analysis of the rest of your portfolio, make sure to visit Zacks.com for our full suite of tools which will help you investigate all of your stocks and funds in one place.