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Is Victory Pioneer Core Equity A (PIOTX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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All Cap Value fund seekers should not consider taking a look at Victory Pioneer Core Equity A (PIOTX - Free Report) at this time. PIOTX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 5 (Strong Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
PIOTX is one of many All Cap Value funds to choose from. All Cap Value mutual funds buy stakes in companies in all three valuation categories: small, medium, and large-cap. However, they end up focusing on bigger firms due to percentage of assets. Most importantly, these funds look for key value characteristics, targeting stocks that boast low P/E ratios, high dividend yields, and whose share prices do not reflect their worth.
History of Fund/Manager
Victory is based in Columbus, OH, and is the manager of PIOTX. The Victory Pioneer Core Equity A made its debut in September of 1969 and PIOTX has managed to accumulate roughly $1.88 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Craig Sterling, has been in charge of the fund since May of 2015.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 8.88%, and is in the bottom 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 14.32%, 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. PIOTX's standard deviation over the past three years is 12.25% compared to the category average of 10.79%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 15.3% compared to the category average of 13.14%. This makes the fund more 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. PIOTX has a 5-year beta of 0.97, which means it is likely to be as volatile as the market average. Alpha is an additional metric to take into consideration, since it represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which in this case, is the S&P 500. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -2.58. This means 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, PIOTX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.85% compared to the category average of 0.88%. PIOTX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $2,500, and each subsequent investment should be at least $50.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into consideration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, Victory Pioneer Core Equity A ( PIOTX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Victory Pioneer Core Equity A ( PIOTX ) looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.
For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the All Cap Value, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information. If you are more of a stock investor, make sure to also check out our Zacks Rank, and our full suite of tools we have available for novice and professional investors alike.
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Is Victory Pioneer Core Equity A (PIOTX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
All Cap Value fund seekers should not consider taking a look at Victory Pioneer Core Equity A (PIOTX - Free Report) at this time. PIOTX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 5 (Strong Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
PIOTX is one of many All Cap Value funds to choose from. All Cap Value mutual funds buy stakes in companies in all three valuation categories: small, medium, and large-cap. However, they end up focusing on bigger firms due to percentage of assets. Most importantly, these funds look for key value characteristics, targeting stocks that boast low P/E ratios, high dividend yields, and whose share prices do not reflect their worth.
History of Fund/Manager
Victory is based in Columbus, OH, and is the manager of PIOTX. The Victory Pioneer Core Equity A made its debut in September of 1969 and PIOTX has managed to accumulate roughly $1.88 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Craig Sterling, has been in charge of the fund since May of 2015.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 8.88%, and is in the bottom 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 14.32%, 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. PIOTX's standard deviation over the past three years is 12.25% compared to the category average of 10.79%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 15.3% compared to the category average of 13.14%. This makes the fund more 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. PIOTX has a 5-year beta of 0.97, which means it is likely to be as volatile as the market average. Alpha is an additional metric to take into consideration, since it represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which in this case, is the S&P 500. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -2.58. This means 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, PIOTX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.85% compared to the category average of 0.88%. PIOTX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $2,500, and each subsequent investment should be at least $50.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into consideration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, Victory Pioneer Core Equity A ( PIOTX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Victory Pioneer Core Equity A ( PIOTX ) looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.
For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the All Cap Value, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information. If you are more of a stock investor, make sure to also check out our Zacks Rank, and our full suite of tools we have available for novice and professional investors alike.