Is PDBZX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?
Diversified Bonds fund seekers should consider taking a look at PGIM Total Return Bond Z (PDBZX). PDBZX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
PDBZX 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
PDBZX finds itself in the PGIM family, based out of Providence, RI. The PGIM Total Return Bond Z made its debut in September of 1996 and PDBZX has managed to accumulate roughly $26.68 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. A team of investment professionals is the fund's current manager.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. PDBZX has a 5-year annualized total return of 0.7%, 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 5.56%, 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. Compared to the category average of 10.12%, the standard deviation of PDBZX over the past three years is 5.91%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 6.71% compared to the category average of 11.77%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Bond Duration
Modified duration is a measure of a specific bond's interest rate sensitivity, and is an excellent way to judge how fixed income securities will respond to a shifting rate environment.
For investors who think interest rates will rise, this is an important factor to consider. PDBZX has a modified duration of 6.07, which suggests that the fund will decline 6.07% for every hundred-basis-point increase in interest rates.
Income
Since income is, of course, a big reason for purchasing a fixed income security, it is always important to consider the fund's average coupon. This metric calculates the fund's average payout in a given year. For example, this fund's average coupon of 4.4% means that a $10,000 investment should result in a yearly payout of $440.
If you are looking for a strong level of current income, a higher coupon is a good choice, though it could pose a reinvestment risk; these risks can occur if rates are lower in the future when compared to the initial purchase date of the bond. Income is only one part of the bond picture, investors also need to consider risk relative to broad benchmarks.
With a beta of 0.96, this fund is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, PDBZX has a positive alpha of 0.62 , 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 66.31% in high quality bonds rated at least "AA" or higher, while 20.67% 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
As competition heats up in the mutual fund market, costs become increasingly important. Compared to its otherwise identical counterpart, a low-cost product will be an outperformer, all other things being equal. Thus, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is vital for investors. In terms of fees, PDBZX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.49% compared to the category average of 0.89%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, PDBZX is actually cheaper than its peers.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $0; each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into consideration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, PGIM Total Return Bond Z ( PDBZX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, better downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a great potential choice for investors right now.
Want even more information about PDBZX? Then go over to Zacks.com and check out our mutual fund comparison tool, and all of the other great features that we have to help you with your mutual fund analysis 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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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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