Have you been searching for a Mutual Fund Bond fund? You might want to begin with PIMCO Total Return Institutional (PTTRX). PTTRX has 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 based in Newport Beach, CA, and is the manager of PTTRX. PIMCO Total Return Institutional made its debut in May of 1987, and since then, PTTRX has accumulated about $57.16 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 3.66%, 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 5.77%, which places it in the middle 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. PTTRX's standard deviation over the past three years is 3.5% compared to the category average of 13.36%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 3.31% compared to the category average of 11.09%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

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, PTTRX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.46% compared to the category average of 0.79%. So, PTTRX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.

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

This could just be the start of your research on PTTRXin the Mutual Fund Bond category. Consider going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information about this fund, and all the others that we rank 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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