Having trouble finding a Allocation Balanced fund? Well, Pioneer Equity Premium Income A (PMARX) would not be a good potential starting point right now. PMARX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 5 (Strong Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
PMARX is one of many Zacks’ Allocation Balanced mutual funds to pick from. Allocation Balanced funds seek to invest in a balance of asset types, like stocks, bonds, and cash, though including precious metals or commodities is not unusual; these funds are mostly categorized by their respective asset allocation. Investors utilize Allocation Balanced funds as a way to get a good start with diversified mutual funds, as well as for core holdings in a portfolio of funds.
Victory is based in Columbus, OH, and is the manager of PMARX. The Pioneer Equity Premium Income A made its debut in May of 2010 and PMARX has managed to accumulate roughly $62.49 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund’s current manager is a team of investment professionals.
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. PMARX has a 5-year annualized total return of 2.94%, and it sits in the bottom 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 3.27%, which places it in the bottom 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 13.72%, the standard deviation of PMARX over the past three years is 12.79%. The fund’s standard deviation over the past 5 years is 13.52% compared to the category average of 13.31%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
With a 5-year beta of 0.71, the fund is likely to be less volatile than the market average. Another factor to consider is alpha, as it reflects a portfolio’s performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark-in this case, the S&P 500. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -8.13. This means that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
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, PMARX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.20% compared to the category average of 1.01%. PMARX is actually more expensive than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $1,000 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $100.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into consideration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Overall, Pioneer Equity Premium Income A ( PMARX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, Pioneer Equity Premium Income A ( PMARX ) looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).