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Is PIGIX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?

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Mutual Fund Bond fund seekers should not consider taking a look at PIMCO Investment Grade Corporate Institutional (PIGIX - Free Report) at this time. PIGIX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 5 (Strong Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

PIMCO Funds is responsible for PIGIX, and the company is based out of Newport Beach, CA. PIMCO Investment Grade Corporate Institutional debuted in March of 2000. Since then, PIGIX has accumulated assets of about $4.94 billion, according to the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 0.3%, and is in the bottom 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 -5.35%, which places it in the middle 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 PIGIX over the past three years is 7.84% compared to the category average of 13.46%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 8.31% compared to the category average of 14.08%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

With a beta of 0.97, this fund is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, PIGIX has a positive alpha of 0.95, 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, PIGIX has 32% in high quality bonds rated at least 'AA' or higher, while 61% are of medium quality, with ratings of 'A' to 'BBB'. The fund has an average quality of A, 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, PIGIX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.50% compared to the category average of 0.91%. From a cost perspective, PIGIX is actually cheaper than its peers.

Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $1 million; each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.

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 weak performance, better downside risk, and lower fees, PIMCO Investment Grade Corporate Institutional ( PIGIX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.

Want even more information about PIGIX? Then go over to Zacks.com and check out our mutual fund comparison tool, and all of the other great features that we have to help you with your mutual fund analysis for additional information. Want to learn even more? We have a full suite of tools on stocks that you can use to find the best choices for your portfolio too, no matter what kind of investor you are.


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