Diversified Bonds fund seekers should consider taking a look at PIMCO CommoditiesPlus Strategy A (PCLAX). PCLAX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

The world of Diversified Bonds funds is an area filled with options, such as PCLAX. Investors looking for exposure to a variety of fixed income types that stretch across issuers, maturities, and credit levels will find a good fit with Diversified Bonds funds. Typically, these funds have a solid amount of exposure to government debt, as well as modest holdings in the corporate bond market.

History of Fund/Manager

PIMCO Funds is based in Newport Beach, CA, and is the manager of PCLAX. The PIMCO CommoditiesPlus Strategy A made its debut in June of 2010 and PCLAX has managed to accumulate roughly $126.32 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. A team of investment professionals is the fund's current manager.

Performance

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 12.43%, 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 12.96%, 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. Over the past three years, PCLAX's standard deviation comes in at 16.45%, compared to the category average of 14.55%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 23.7% compared to the category average of 15.6%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

With a beta of -1.61, this fund is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, PCLAX has a positive alpha of 12.89, 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, PCLAX has 94.55% in high quality bonds rated at least 'AA' or higher. The fund has an average quality of AAA, and focuses on high quality securities.