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Having trouble finding a Mutual Fund Bond fund? PIMCO CommoditiesPlus Strategy A (PCLAX - Free Report) is a potential starting point. PCLAX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various 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 $100.60 million in assets. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. PCLAX has a 5-year annualized total return of 7.45% 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 27.49%, which places it in the top third during this time-frame.
It is important to note that the product's returns may not reflect all its expenses. Any fees not reflected would lower the returns. Total returns do not reflect the fund's [%] sale charge. If sales charges were included, total returns would have been lower.
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 PCLAX over the past three years is 19.2% compared to the category average of 15%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 24.91% compared to the category average of 15.68%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
PCLAX carries a beta of -1.48, 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 9.05, 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, PCLAX has 94.54% in high quality bonds rated at least 'AA' or higher. The fund has an average quality of AAA, and focuses on high quality securities.
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, PCLAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.19% compared to the category average of 0.83%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, PCLAX is actually more expensive than its peers.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $1,000, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $50.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, even with its comparatively strong performance, worse downside risk, and higher fees, PIMCO CommoditiesPlus Strategy A ( PCLAX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a good potential choice for investors right now.
Your research on the Mutual Fund Bond 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. 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 PCLAX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?
Having trouble finding a Mutual Fund Bond fund? PIMCO CommoditiesPlus Strategy A (PCLAX - Free Report) is a potential starting point. PCLAX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various 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 $100.60 million in assets. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. PCLAX has a 5-year annualized total return of 7.45% 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 27.49%, which places it in the top third during this time-frame.
It is important to note that the product's returns may not reflect all its expenses. Any fees not reflected would lower the returns. Total returns do not reflect the fund's [%] sale charge. If sales charges were included, total returns would have been lower.
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 PCLAX over the past three years is 19.2% compared to the category average of 15%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 24.91% compared to the category average of 15.68%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
PCLAX carries a beta of -1.48, 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 9.05, 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, PCLAX has 94.54% in high quality bonds rated at least 'AA' or higher. The fund has an average quality of AAA, and focuses on high quality securities.
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, PCLAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.19% compared to the category average of 0.83%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, PCLAX is actually more expensive than its peers.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $1,000, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $50.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, even with its comparatively strong performance, worse downside risk, and higher fees, PIMCO CommoditiesPlus Strategy A ( PCLAX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a good potential choice for investors right now.
Your research on the Mutual Fund Bond 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. 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.