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Is PSLDX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?

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If you have been looking for Mutual Fund Bond fund category, a potential starting could be PIMCO StockPlus Long Duration Institutional (PSLDX - Free Report) . PSLDX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

PIMCO Funds is responsible for PSLDX, and the company is based out of Newport Beach, CA. PIMCO StockPlus Long Duration Institutional made its debut in August of 2007, and since then, PSLDX has accumulated about $720.52 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.

Performance

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. PSLDX has a 5-year annualized total return of 6.21% and is in the top 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 -0.89%, which places it in the bottom third during this time-frame.

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, PSLDX's standard deviation comes in at 29.19%, compared to the category average of 19.9%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 24.63% compared to the category average of 17.47%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

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, PSLDX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.59% compared to the category average of 0.83%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, PSLDX is actually cheaper than its peers.

Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $1 million; each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.

Bottom Line

Overall, PIMCO StockPlus Long Duration Institutional ( PSLDX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.

For additional information on the Mutual Fund Bond area of the mutual fund world, make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds. There, you can see more about the ranking process, and dive even deeper into PSLDX too 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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