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Is PCRAX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?

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If you've been stuck searching for Mutual Fund Bond funds, consider PIMCO Commodity Real Retail Strategy A (PCRAX - Free Report) as a possibility. PCRAX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

PCRAX is a part of the PIMCO Funds family of funds, a company based out of Newport Beach, CA. The PIMCO Commodity Real Retail Strategy A made its debut in June of 2002 and PCRAX has managed to accumulate roughly $348.50 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. A team of investment professionals is the fund's current manager.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 5.63%, 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 14.42%, 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. Over the past three years, PCRAX's standard deviation comes in at 18.69%, compared to the category average of 15.19%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 15.65% compared to the category average of 12.84%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

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, PCRAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.18% compared to the category average of 0.85%. PCRAX is actually more expensive than its peers when you consider factors like cost.

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 Commodity Real Retail Strategy A ( PCRAX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, PIMCO Commodity Real Retail Strategy A ( PCRAX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

This could just be the start of your research on PCRAXin the Mutual Fund Bond 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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