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Is PIMCO Allocation Asset A (PASAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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There are plenty of choices in the Mutual Fund Equity Report category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that might be worth investigating is PIMCO Allocation Asset A (PASAX - Free Report) . PASAX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various 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 PASAX. PIMCO Allocation Asset A made its debut in July of 2002, and since then, PASAX has accumulated about $697.80 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. Robert Arnott is the fund's current manager and has held that role since April of 2003.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. PASAX has a 5-year annualized total return of 2.94% and is in the middle 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 3.06%, which places it in the middle 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 PASAX over the past three years is 13.62% compared to the category average of 16.62%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 11.18% compared to the category average of 14.57%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With a 5-year beta of 0.51, the fund is likely to be less volatile than the market average. Because alpha represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which is the S&P 500 in this case, one should pay attention to this metric as well. PASAX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -2.56, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
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, PASAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.56% compared to the category average of 0.86%. From a cost perspective, PASAX is actually cheaper than its peers.
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 Allocation Asset A ( PASAX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
Don't stop here for your research on Mutual Fund Equity Report 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 PASAX to its peers as well for additional information. And don't forget, Zacks has all of your needs covered on the equity side too! Make sure to check out Zacks.com for more information on our screening capabilities, Rank, and all our articles as well.
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Is PIMCO Allocation Asset A (PASAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
There are plenty of choices in the Mutual Fund Equity Report category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that might be worth investigating is PIMCO Allocation Asset A (PASAX - Free Report) . PASAX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various 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 PASAX. PIMCO Allocation Asset A made its debut in July of 2002, and since then, PASAX has accumulated about $697.80 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. Robert Arnott is the fund's current manager and has held that role since April of 2003.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. PASAX has a 5-year annualized total return of 2.94% and is in the middle 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 3.06%, which places it in the middle 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 PASAX over the past three years is 13.62% compared to the category average of 16.62%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 11.18% compared to the category average of 14.57%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With a 5-year beta of 0.51, the fund is likely to be less volatile than the market average. Because alpha represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which is the S&P 500 in this case, one should pay attention to this metric as well. PASAX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -2.56, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
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, PASAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.56% compared to the category average of 0.86%. From a cost perspective, PASAX is actually cheaper than its peers.
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 Allocation Asset A ( PASAX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
Don't stop here for your research on Mutual Fund Equity Report 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 PASAX to its peers as well for additional information. And don't forget, Zacks has all of your needs covered on the equity side too! Make sure to check out Zacks.com for more information on our screening capabilities, Rank, and all our articles as well.