On the lookout for a Diversified Bonds fund? Starting with PIMCO Commodity Real Retail Strategy A (PCRAX) should not be a possibility at this time. PCRAX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

PCRAX is one of many Diversified Bonds funds to choose from. Diversified Bonds funds give investors exposure to a variety of fixed income types that span across different issuers, maturities, and credit levels. Usually, these funds will have a good amount of exposure to government debt, in addition to modest holdings in the corporate bond market.

History of Fund/Manager

PCRAX finds itself in the PIMCO Funds family, based out of Newport Beach, CA. PIMCO Commodity Real Retail Strategy A debuted in June of 2002. Since then, PCRAX has accumulated assets of about $249.20 million, according to the most recently available information. A team of investment professionals is the fund's current manager.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. PCRAX has a 5-year annualized total return of 7.51% and it sits in the middle third among its category peers. But if you are looking for a shorter time frame, it is also worth looking at its 3-year annualized total return of 3.73%, 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. Over the past three years, PCRAX's standard deviation comes in at 17%, compared to the category average of 14.48%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 18.63% compared to the category average of 15.48%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

This fund has a beta of -1.08, meaning that it is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, PCRAX has a positive alpha of 7.83, 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, PCRAX has 87.55% in high quality bonds rated at least 'AA' or higher. The fund has an average quality of AAA, 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, PCRAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.19% compared to the category average of 0.96%. PCRAX 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 $50.

Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.

Bottom Line

Overall, PIMCO Commodity Real Retail Strategy A ( PCRAX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, PIMCO Commodity Real Retail Strategy A ( PCRAX ) looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.

Don't stop here for your research on Diversified 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 PCRAX to its peers as well for additional information. If you want to check out our stock reports as well, make sure to go to Zacks.com to see all of the great tools we have to offer, including our time-tested Zacks Rank.

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