Is PTSHX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?
Investment Grade Bond - Short fund seekers may want to consider taking a look at PIMCO Short Term Institutional (PTSHX). PTSHX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
PTSHX is part of the Investment Grade Bond - Short category, a segment that boasts an array of other possible selections. Investment Grade Bond - Short funds target the short end of the curve by focusing on bonds that mature in less than two years. Fixed income instruments with this maturity level typically have low duration risk and pay out small yields, at least in comparison to their longer-dated peers. Also, these funds tend to be safer because of their focus on investment grade, but yields will be lower than could be found in the junk bond category.
History of Fund/Manager
PTSHX finds itself in the PIMCO Funds family, based out of Newport Beach, CA. The PIMCO Short Term Institutional made its debut in October of 1987 and PTSHX has managed to accumulate roughly $7.17 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. PTSHX has a 5-year annualized total return of 3.57%, and it sits 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 5.63%, 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. PTSHX's standard deviation over the past three years is 1.87% compared to the category average of 9.41%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 1.58% compared to the category average of 11%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Bond Duration
Modified duration is a measure of a given bond's interest rate sensitivity, so when judging how fixed income securities will respond in a shifting rate environment, it is an excellent figure to look at.
For those that believe interest rates will rise, this is an important factor to consider. PTSHX has a modified duration of .22, which suggests that the fund will decline 0.22% for every hundred-basis-point increase in interest rates.
PTSHX carries a beta of 0.16, meaning that the fund is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. With this in mind, it has a negative alpha of -0.41, 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, PTSHX has 61.7% in high quality bonds rated at least "AA" or higher, while 35.3% 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, PTSHX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.45% compared to the category average of 0.85%. From a cost perspective, PTSHX is actually cheaper than its peers.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $1.00 million, while there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into consideration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, PIMCO Short Term Institutional ( PTSHX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, better downside risk, and lower fees, PIMCO Short Term Institutional ( PTSHX ) looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
Your research on the Investment Grade Bond - Short segment doesn't have to stop here. You can check out all the great mutual fund tools we have to offer by going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds to see the additional features we offer as well 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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