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Is Plumb Balanced (PLBBX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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Having trouble finding an Allocation Balanced fund? Plumb Balanced (PLBBX - Free Report) is a possible starting point. PLBBX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
PLBBX is one of many Zacks' Allocation Balanced mutual funds to pick from. Allocation Balanced funds seek to invest in a balance of asset types, like stocks, bonds, and cash, though including precious metals or commodities is not unusual; these funds are mostly categorized by their respective asset allocation. Investors utilize Allocation Balanced funds as a way to get a good start with diversified mutual funds, as well as for core holdings in a portfolio of funds.
History of Fund/Manager
Plumb is based in Madison, WI, and is the manager of PLBBX. Plumb Balanced debuted in May of 2007. Since then, PLBBX has accumulated assets of about $45.27 million, according to the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Thomas G. Plumb, has been in charge of the fund since May of 2007.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. PLBBX has a 5-year annualized total return of 8.31% 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 4.75%, 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. The standard deviation of PLBBX over the past three years is 15.74% compared to the category average of 13.25%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 15.59% compared to the category average of 13.98%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
The fund has a 5-year beta of 0.8, so investors should note that it is hypothetically less volatile than the market at large. 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 -3.68. 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, PLBBX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.29% compared to the category average of 0.88%. From a cost perspective, PLBBX is actually more expensive than its peers.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,500, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $50.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, even with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, Plumb Balanced ( PLBBX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
Your research on the Allocation Balanced 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. 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 Plumb Balanced (PLBBX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Having trouble finding an Allocation Balanced fund? Plumb Balanced (PLBBX - Free Report) is a possible starting point. PLBBX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
PLBBX is one of many Zacks' Allocation Balanced mutual funds to pick from. Allocation Balanced funds seek to invest in a balance of asset types, like stocks, bonds, and cash, though including precious metals or commodities is not unusual; these funds are mostly categorized by their respective asset allocation. Investors utilize Allocation Balanced funds as a way to get a good start with diversified mutual funds, as well as for core holdings in a portfolio of funds.
History of Fund/Manager
Plumb is based in Madison, WI, and is the manager of PLBBX. Plumb Balanced debuted in May of 2007. Since then, PLBBX has accumulated assets of about $45.27 million, according to the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Thomas G. Plumb, has been in charge of the fund since May of 2007.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. PLBBX has a 5-year annualized total return of 8.31% 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 4.75%, 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. The standard deviation of PLBBX over the past three years is 15.74% compared to the category average of 13.25%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 15.59% compared to the category average of 13.98%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
The fund has a 5-year beta of 0.8, so investors should note that it is hypothetically less volatile than the market at large. 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 -3.68. 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, PLBBX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.29% compared to the category average of 0.88%. From a cost perspective, PLBBX is actually more expensive than its peers.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,500, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $50.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, even with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, Plumb Balanced ( PLBBX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
Your research on the Allocation Balanced 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. 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.