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If you have been looking for Mutual Fund Bond funds, it would not be wise to start your search with PIMCO Investment Grade Corporate Institutional (PIGIX - Free Report) . PIGIX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on nine 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 PIGIX. Since PIMCO Investment Grade Corporate Institutional made its debut in March of 2000, PIGIX has garnered more than $6.03 billion in assets. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. PIGIX has a 5-year annualized total return of -0.83% and it sits 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 -5.19%, which places it in the bottom 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. PIGIX's standard deviation over the past three years is 9.12% compared to the category average of 15.2%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 7.55% compared to the category average of 13.31%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
This fund has a beta of 0.96, meaning that it is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, PIGIX has a positive alpha of 0.31, 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 24.74% in high quality bonds rated at least 'AA' or higher, while 65.53% 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
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, PIGIX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.50% compared to the category average of 0.83%. So, PIGIX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $1 million and that each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.
Bottom Line
Overall, PIMCO Investment Grade Corporate Institutional ( PIGIX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, better downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a somewhat weak 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. 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 PIGIX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?
If you have been looking for Mutual Fund Bond funds, it would not be wise to start your search with PIMCO Investment Grade Corporate Institutional (PIGIX - Free Report) . PIGIX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on nine 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 PIGIX. Since PIMCO Investment Grade Corporate Institutional made its debut in March of 2000, PIGIX has garnered more than $6.03 billion in assets. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. PIGIX has a 5-year annualized total return of -0.83% and it sits 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 -5.19%, which places it in the bottom 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. PIGIX's standard deviation over the past three years is 9.12% compared to the category average of 15.2%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 7.55% compared to the category average of 13.31%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
This fund has a beta of 0.96, meaning that it is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, PIGIX has a positive alpha of 0.31, 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 24.74% in high quality bonds rated at least 'AA' or higher, while 65.53% 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
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, PIGIX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.50% compared to the category average of 0.83%. So, PIGIX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $1 million and that each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.
Bottom Line
Overall, PIMCO Investment Grade Corporate Institutional ( PIGIX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, better downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a somewhat weak 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. 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.