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Is PHYZX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?

If you've been stuck searching for Mutual Fund Bond funds, consider PGIM High Yield Z (PHYZX) as a possibility. PHYZX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

PHYZX finds itself in the PGIM family, based out of Providence, RI. The PGIM High Yield Z made its debut in March of 1996 and PHYZX has managed to accumulate roughly $12.85 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. PHYZX has a 5-year annualized total return of 4.02% and it sits in the top third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 3.15%, which places it in the top third during this time-frame.

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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 13.83%, the standard deviation of PHYZX over the past three years is 9.96%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 8.14% compared to the category average of 12.18%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

This fund has a beta of 0.42, meaning that it is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, PHYZX has a positive alpha of 3.13, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.

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, PHYZX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.50% compared to the category average of 0.98%. From a cost perspective, PHYZX is actually cheaper than its peers.

Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $0; each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.

Bottom Line

Overall, PGIM High Yield Z ( PHYZX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the Mutual Fund Bond, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information. Want to learn even more? We have a full suite of tools on stocks that you can use to find the best choices for your portfolio too, no matter what kind of investor you are.


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