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On the lookout for a Mutual Fund Bond fund? Starting with Pioneer Floating Rate A (FLARX - Free Report) should not be a possibility at this time. FLARX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
FLARX is a part of the Amundi US family of funds, a company based out of Boston, MA. Pioneer Floating Rate A debuted in February of 2007. Since then, FLARX has accumulated assets of about $83.82 million, according to the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Jonathan Sharkey, has been in charge of the fund since February of 2007.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 1.48%, and it sits in the middle 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 0.51%, 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. FLARX's standard deviation over the past three years is 8.25% compared to the category average of 13.84%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 6.59% compared to the category average of 11.97%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
FLARX carries a beta of -0.17, 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 0.89, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.
Expenses
Costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing, and particularly as competition heats up in this market. And all things being equal, a lower cost product will outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, so taking a closer look at these metrics is key for investors. In terms of fees, FLARX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.05% compared to the category average of 0.68%. So, FLARX 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, Pioneer Floating Rate A ( FLARX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, better downside risk, and higher fees, Pioneer Floating Rate A ( FLARX ) looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.
This could just be the start of your research on FLARXin 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. 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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Is FLARX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?
On the lookout for a Mutual Fund Bond fund? Starting with Pioneer Floating Rate A (FLARX - Free Report) should not be a possibility at this time. FLARX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
FLARX is a part of the Amundi US family of funds, a company based out of Boston, MA. Pioneer Floating Rate A debuted in February of 2007. Since then, FLARX has accumulated assets of about $83.82 million, according to the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Jonathan Sharkey, has been in charge of the fund since February of 2007.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 1.48%, and it sits in the middle 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 0.51%, 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. FLARX's standard deviation over the past three years is 8.25% compared to the category average of 13.84%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 6.59% compared to the category average of 11.97%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
FLARX carries a beta of -0.17, 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 0.89, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.
Expenses
Costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing, and particularly as competition heats up in this market. And all things being equal, a lower cost product will outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, so taking a closer look at these metrics is key for investors. In terms of fees, FLARX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.05% compared to the category average of 0.68%. So, FLARX 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, Pioneer Floating Rate A ( FLARX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, better downside risk, and higher fees, Pioneer Floating Rate A ( FLARX ) looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.
This could just be the start of your research on FLARXin 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. 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.