Is PDBZX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?

If you have been looking for Diversified Bonds fund category, a potential starting could be PGIM Total Return Bond Z (PDBZX). PDBZX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

The world of Diversified Bonds funds is an area filled with options, such as PDBZX. Investors looking for exposure to a variety of fixed income types that stretch across issuers, maturities, and credit levels will find a good fit with Diversified Bonds funds. Typically, these funds have a solid amount of exposure to government debt, as well as modest holdings in the corporate bond market.

History of Fund/Manager

PGIM is based in Providence, RI, and is the manager of PDBZX. Since PGIM Total Return Bond Z made its debut in September of 1996, PDBZX has garnered more than $24.45 billion in assets. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.

Performance

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of -0.03%, and is 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 2.1%, which places it in the middle 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. PDBZX's standard deviation over the past three years is 7.49% compared to the category average of 12.83%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 6.78% compared to the category average of 12.45%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

With a beta of 0.92, this fund is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, PDBZX has a positive alpha of 1.12, 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, PDBZX has 65.19% in high quality bonds rated at least 'AA' or higher, while 22.64% are of medium quality, with ratings of 'A' to 'BBB'. The fund has an average quality of AA, 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, PDBZX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.49% compared to the category average of 0.91%. So, PDBZX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.

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 Total Return Bond Z ( PDBZX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, better downside risk, and lower fees, PGIM Total Return Bond Z ( PDBZX ) looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.

For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the Diversified Bonds, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information. If you are more of a stock investor, make sure to also check out our Zacks Rank, and our full suite of tools we have available for novice and professional investors alike.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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