If you've been stuck searching for Investment Grade Bond - Intermediate funds, you might want to consider passing on by PIMCO Total Return Institutional (PTTRX) as a possibility. PTTRX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

We note that PTTRX is an Investment Grade Bond - Intermediate option, which is a segment loaded with many different investment options. By targeting bonds that mature in more than three years but less than 15 years, Investment Grade Bond - Intermediate funds are a middle of the curve option. Fixed income instruments at this maturity level usually have medium duration risk, but their yields are respectable, especially in comparison to their short-maturity counterparts. Additionally, a focus on investment grade makes these funds safer, but yields tend to be lower than in the junk bond category.

History of Fund/Manager

PTTRX is a part of the PIMCO Funds family of funds, a company based out of Newport Beach, CA. PIMCO Total Return Institutional made its debut in May of 1987, and since then, PTTRX has accumulated about $33.94 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. 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. PTTRX has a 5-year annualized total return of 0.11% and is in the middle third among its category peers. If you're interested in shorter time frames, do not dismiss looking at the fund's 3 -year annualized total return of 2.54%, 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. PTTRX's standard deviation over the past three years is 7.5% compared to the category average of 13.2%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 6.5% compared to the category average of 13.93%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

This fund has a beta of 1, meaning that it is volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, PTTRX has a positive alpha of 0.9, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.