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Have you been searching for a Mutual Fund Bond fund? You might want to begin with PIMCO CommoditiesPlus Strategy A (PCLAX - Free Report) . PCLAX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
PIMCO Funds is responsible for PCLAX, and the company is based out of Newport Beach, CA. Since PIMCO CommoditiesPlus Strategy A made its debut in June of 2010, PCLAX has garnered more than $128.57 million in assets. A team of investment professionals is the fund's current manager.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. PCLAX has a 5-year annualized total return of 15.41% and is in the top third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 19.71%, which places it in the top 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. The standard deviation of PCLAX over the past three years is 28.75% compared to the category average of 15.59%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 24.4% compared to the category average of 13.83%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
This fund has a beta of -2.35, meaning that it is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, PCLAX has a positive alpha of 17.61, 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 95.34% 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
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, PCLAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.18% compared to the category average of 0.83%. PCLAX is actually more expensive than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
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.
Bottom Line
Overall, PIMCO CommoditiesPlus Strategy A ( PCLAX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, worse downside risk, and higher fees, this fund looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
Want even more information about PCLAX? 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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Is PCLAX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?
Have you been searching for a Mutual Fund Bond fund? You might want to begin with PIMCO CommoditiesPlus Strategy A (PCLAX - Free Report) . PCLAX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
PIMCO Funds is responsible for PCLAX, and the company is based out of Newport Beach, CA. Since PIMCO CommoditiesPlus Strategy A made its debut in June of 2010, PCLAX has garnered more than $128.57 million in assets. A team of investment professionals is the fund's current manager.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. PCLAX has a 5-year annualized total return of 15.41% and is in the top third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 19.71%, which places it in the top 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. The standard deviation of PCLAX over the past three years is 28.75% compared to the category average of 15.59%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 24.4% compared to the category average of 13.83%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
This fund has a beta of -2.35, meaning that it is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, PCLAX has a positive alpha of 17.61, 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 95.34% 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
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, PCLAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.18% compared to the category average of 0.83%. PCLAX is actually more expensive than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
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.
Bottom Line
Overall, PIMCO CommoditiesPlus Strategy A ( PCLAX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, worse downside risk, and higher fees, this fund looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
Want even more information about PCLAX? 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.