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There are plenty of choices in the Muni - Bonds category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that might be worth investigating is PIMCO High Yield Municipals Bond A (PYMAX - Free Report) . PYMAX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
PYMAX is one of many Muni - Bonds funds to choose from. Muni - Bonds funds invest in debt securities issued by states and local municipalities, which are typically used to pay for infrastructure construction, schools, and other government functions. These securities can be backed by taxes (revenue bonds), but others are known as " general obligation " and are not necessarily backed by a defined source. These bonds are especially attractive because of their inherent tax benefits.
History of Fund/Manager
PYMAX is a part of the PIMCO Funds family of funds, a company based out of Newport Beach, CA. The PIMCO High Yield Municipals Bond A made its debut in August of 2006 and PYMAX has managed to accumulate roughly $977.36 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. David Hammer is the fund's current manager and has held that role since August of 2015.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 1.97%, 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 -1.01%, which places it in the top 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. Over the past three years, PYMAX's standard deviation comes in at 8.82%, compared to the category average of 12.87%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 8.51% compared to the category average of 13.59%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
This fund has a beta of 0.99, meaning that it is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, PYMAX has a positive alpha of 1.04, 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, PYMAX has 29.06% in high quality bonds rated at least 'AA' or higher, while 35.52% are of medium quality, with ratings of 'A' to 'BBB'. The fund's junk bond component-bonds rated 'BB' or below-is at 34.78%, giving PYMAX an average quality of A. This means that it focuses on high quality securities.
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, PYMAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.85% compared to the category average of 0.93%. PYMAX is actually cheaper 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.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, PIMCO High Yield Municipals Bond A ( PYMAX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, better downside risk, and lower fees, PIMCO High Yield Municipals Bond A ( PYMAX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
Don't stop here for your research on Muni - Bonds 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 PYMAX to its peers 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 PYMAX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?
There are plenty of choices in the Muni - Bonds category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that might be worth investigating is PIMCO High Yield Municipals Bond A (PYMAX - Free Report) . PYMAX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
PYMAX is one of many Muni - Bonds funds to choose from. Muni - Bonds funds invest in debt securities issued by states and local municipalities, which are typically used to pay for infrastructure construction, schools, and other government functions. These securities can be backed by taxes (revenue bonds), but others are known as " general obligation " and are not necessarily backed by a defined source. These bonds are especially attractive because of their inherent tax benefits.
History of Fund/Manager
PYMAX is a part of the PIMCO Funds family of funds, a company based out of Newport Beach, CA. The PIMCO High Yield Municipals Bond A made its debut in August of 2006 and PYMAX has managed to accumulate roughly $977.36 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. David Hammer is the fund's current manager and has held that role since August of 2015.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 1.97%, 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 -1.01%, which places it in the top 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. Over the past three years, PYMAX's standard deviation comes in at 8.82%, compared to the category average of 12.87%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 8.51% compared to the category average of 13.59%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
This fund has a beta of 0.99, meaning that it is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, PYMAX has a positive alpha of 1.04, 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, PYMAX has 29.06% in high quality bonds rated at least 'AA' or higher, while 35.52% are of medium quality, with ratings of 'A' to 'BBB'. The fund's junk bond component-bonds rated 'BB' or below-is at 34.78%, giving PYMAX an average quality of A. This means that it focuses on high quality securities.
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, PYMAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.85% compared to the category average of 0.93%. PYMAX is actually cheaper 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.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, PIMCO High Yield Municipals Bond A ( PYMAX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, better downside risk, and lower fees, PIMCO High Yield Municipals Bond A ( PYMAX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
Don't stop here for your research on Muni - Bonds 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 PYMAX to its peers 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.