Yahoo Finance Is PIFZX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?
If you've been stuck searching for Mutual Fund Bond funds, consider PGIM Short-Term Corporate Bond Z (PIFZX) as a possibility. PIFZX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
PIFZX finds itself in the PGIM family, based out of Providence, RI. PGIM Short-Term Corporate Bond Z made its debut in December of 1996, and since then, PIFZX has accumulated about $5.82 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 2.04%, 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 -0.62%, 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 12.86%, the standard deviation of PIFZX over the past three years is 3.51%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 4.23% compared to the category average of 13.51%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
With a beta of 0.42, this fund is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, PIFZX has a positive alpha of 0.78, 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, PIFZX has 27.86% in high quality bonds rated at least 'AA' or higher, while 68.9% are of medium quality, with ratings of 'A' to 'BBB'. The fund has an average quality of A, and 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, PIFZX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.47% compared to the category average of 0.91%. From a cost perspective, PIFZX is actually cheaper than its peers.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $0, investors should also note that there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, PGIM Short-Term Corporate Bond Z ( PIFZX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, better downside risk, and lower fees, PGIM Short-Term Corporate Bond Z ( PIFZX ) looks like a good potential 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. Want to learn even more? We have a full suite of tools on stocks that you can use to find the best choices for your portfolio too, no matter what kind of investor you are.
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