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On the lookout for a Mutual Fund Bond fund? Starting with Pioneer Floating Rate A (FLARX - Free Report) should not be a possibility at this time. FLARX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
FLARX finds itself in the Amundi US family, based out of Boston, MA. Pioneer Floating Rate A debuted in February of 2007. Since then, FLARX has accumulated assets of about $70.66 million, according to the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Jonathan Sharkey, has been in charge of the fund since February of 2007.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 2.67%, and it sits in the middle third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 3.81%, 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 11.09%, the standard deviation of FLARX over the past three years is 4.18%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 6.8% compared to the category average of 12.54%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
FLARX carries a beta of -0.12, meaning that the fund is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. With this in mind, it has a positive alpha of 1.48, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.
Expenses
As competition heats up in the mutual fund market, costs become increasingly important. Compared to its otherwise identical counterpart, a low-cost product will be an outperformer, all other things being equal. Thus, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is vital for investors. In terms of fees, FLARX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.05% compared to the category average of 0.99%. FLARX is actually more expensive than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $1,000, and each subsequent investment should 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, Pioneer Floating Rate A ( FLARX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, better downside risk, and higher fees, Pioneer Floating Rate A ( FLARX ) 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 Mutual Fund Bond, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information. For analysis of the rest of your portfolio, make sure to visit Zacks.com for our full suite of tools which will help you investigate all of your stocks and funds in one place.
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Is FLARX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?
On the lookout for a Mutual Fund Bond fund? Starting with Pioneer Floating Rate A (FLARX - Free Report) should not be a possibility at this time. FLARX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
FLARX finds itself in the Amundi US family, based out of Boston, MA. Pioneer Floating Rate A debuted in February of 2007. Since then, FLARX has accumulated assets of about $70.66 million, according to the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Jonathan Sharkey, has been in charge of the fund since February of 2007.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 2.67%, and it sits in the middle third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 3.81%, 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 11.09%, the standard deviation of FLARX over the past three years is 4.18%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 6.8% compared to the category average of 12.54%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
FLARX carries a beta of -0.12, meaning that the fund is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. With this in mind, it has a positive alpha of 1.48, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.
Expenses
As competition heats up in the mutual fund market, costs become increasingly important. Compared to its otherwise identical counterpart, a low-cost product will be an outperformer, all other things being equal. Thus, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is vital for investors. In terms of fees, FLARX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.05% compared to the category average of 0.99%. FLARX is actually more expensive than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $1,000, and each subsequent investment should 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, Pioneer Floating Rate A ( FLARX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, better downside risk, and higher fees, Pioneer Floating Rate A ( FLARX ) 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 Mutual Fund Bond, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information. For analysis of the rest of your portfolio, make sure to visit Zacks.com for our full suite of tools which will help you investigate all of your stocks and funds in one place.