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Is Pioneer Flexible Opportunities A (PMARX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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There are plenty of choices in the Allocation Balanced category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that may not be worth investigating is Pioneer Flexible Opportunities A (PMARX - Free Report) . PMARX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
PMARX is one of many Zacks' Allocation Balanced mutual funds to pick from. Allocation Balanced funds seek to invest in a balance of asset types, like stocks, bonds, and cash, though including precious metals or commodities is not unusual; these funds are mostly categorized by their respective asset allocation. Investors utilize Allocation Balanced funds as a way to get a good start with diversified mutual funds, as well as for core holdings in a portfolio of funds.
History of Fund/Manager
PMARX finds itself in the Amundi US family, based out of Boston, MA. Since Pioneer Flexible Opportunities A made its debut in May of 2010, PMARX has garnered more than $60.57 million in assets. The fund's current manager, Kenneth Taubes, has been in charge of the fund since May of 2010.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. PMARX has a 5-year annualized total return of 3.98% 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 -0.48%, which places it in the bottom 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. Compared to the category average of 0%, the standard deviation of PMARX over the past three years is 13.67%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 15.05% compared to the category average of 55%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should not forget about beta, an important way to measure a mutual fund's risk compared to the market as a whole. PMARX has a 5-year beta of 0.74, which means it is likely to be less volatile than the market average. Another factor to consider is alpha, as it reflects a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark-in this case, the S&P 500. PMARX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -6.93, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
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, PMARX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.20% compared to the category average of 15%. From a cost perspective, PMARX is actually cheaper than its peers.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $1,000; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $100.
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, Pioneer Flexible Opportunities A ( PMARX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.
Don't stop here for your research on Allocation Balanced 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 PMARX to its peers as well 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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Is Pioneer Flexible Opportunities A (PMARX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
There are plenty of choices in the Allocation Balanced category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that may not be worth investigating is Pioneer Flexible Opportunities A (PMARX - Free Report) . PMARX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
PMARX is one of many Zacks' Allocation Balanced mutual funds to pick from. Allocation Balanced funds seek to invest in a balance of asset types, like stocks, bonds, and cash, though including precious metals or commodities is not unusual; these funds are mostly categorized by their respective asset allocation. Investors utilize Allocation Balanced funds as a way to get a good start with diversified mutual funds, as well as for core holdings in a portfolio of funds.
History of Fund/Manager
PMARX finds itself in the Amundi US family, based out of Boston, MA. Since Pioneer Flexible Opportunities A made its debut in May of 2010, PMARX has garnered more than $60.57 million in assets. The fund's current manager, Kenneth Taubes, has been in charge of the fund since May of 2010.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. PMARX has a 5-year annualized total return of 3.98% 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 -0.48%, which places it in the bottom 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. Compared to the category average of 0%, the standard deviation of PMARX over the past three years is 13.67%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 15.05% compared to the category average of 55%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should not forget about beta, an important way to measure a mutual fund's risk compared to the market as a whole. PMARX has a 5-year beta of 0.74, which means it is likely to be less volatile than the market average. Another factor to consider is alpha, as it reflects a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark-in this case, the S&P 500. PMARX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -6.93, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
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, PMARX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.20% compared to the category average of 15%. From a cost perspective, PMARX is actually cheaper than its peers.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $1,000; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $100.
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, Pioneer Flexible Opportunities A ( PMARX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.
Don't stop here for your research on Allocation Balanced 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 PMARX to its peers as well 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.