Description

The investment seeks income and long-term growth of capital. The fund invests in a portfolio of equity, fixed-income and money market securities that is actively managed to capitalize on opportunities created by perceived misvaluation. It will invest 45% to 70% of its total assets in equity and equity-related securities. Under normal circumstances, 30% to 55% of the fund's total assets are invested in fixed income securities. It may invest up to 15% of its total assets in equity-related securities of small companies.

Statistics (YTD)

What do these metrics mean? [Read More] [Hide]

TotalReturn:

'Total return, when measuring performance, is the actual rate of return of an investment or a pool of investments over a given evaluation period. Total return includes interest, capital gains, dividends and distributions realized over a given period of time. Total return accounts for two categories of return: income including interest paid by fixed-income investments, distributions or dividends and capital appreciation, representing the change in the market price of an asset.'

Which means for our asset as example:
  • The total return, or performance over 5 years of PGIM Balanced Fund Class A is 23.3%, which is lower, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (67.8%) in the same period.
  • Compared with SPY (44.5%) in the period of the last 3 years, the total return, or performance of 17.5% is lower, thus worse.

CAGR:

'The compound annual growth rate (CAGR) is a useful measure of growth over multiple time periods. It can be thought of as the growth rate that gets you from the initial investment value to the ending investment value if you assume that the investment has been compounding over the time period.'

Applying this definition to our asset in some examples:
  • The compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) over 5 years of PGIM Balanced Fund Class A is 4.3%, which is smaller, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (10.9%) in the same period.
  • Looking at annual return (CAGR) in of 5.5% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to SPY (13.1%).

Volatility:

'Volatility is a statistical measure of the dispersion of returns for a given security or market index. Volatility can either be measured by using the standard deviation or variance between returns from that same security or market index. Commonly, the higher the volatility, the riskier the security. In the securities markets, volatility is often associated with big swings in either direction. For example, when the stock market rises and falls more than one percent over a sustained period of time, it is called a 'volatile' market.'

Using this definition on our asset we see for example:
  • Looking at the historical 30 days volatility of 12.7% in the last 5 years of PGIM Balanced Fund Class A, we see it is relatively lower, thus better in comparison to the benchmark SPY (21.4%)
  • Compared with SPY (18.8%) in the period of the last 3 years, the 30 days standard deviation of 11.4% is smaller, thus better.

DownVol:

'The downside volatility is similar to the volatility, or standard deviation, but only takes losing/negative periods into account.'

Using this definition on our asset we see for example:
  • The downside deviation over 5 years of PGIM Balanced Fund Class A is 9.4%, which is smaller, thus better compared to the benchmark SPY (15.4%) in the same period.
  • During the last 3 years, the downside volatility is 8.2%, which is lower, thus better than the value of 13.3% from the benchmark.

Sharpe:

'The Sharpe ratio was developed by Nobel laureate William F. Sharpe, and is used to help investors understand the return of an investment compared to its risk. The ratio is the average return earned in excess of the risk-free rate per unit of volatility or total risk. Subtracting the risk-free rate from the mean return allows an investor to better isolate the profits associated with risk-taking activities. One intuition of this calculation is that a portfolio engaging in 'zero risk' investments, such as the purchase of U.S. Treasury bills (for which the expected return is the risk-free rate), has a Sharpe ratio of exactly zero. Generally, the greater the value of the Sharpe ratio, the more attractive the risk-adjusted return.'

Which means for our asset as example:
  • The risk / return profile (Sharpe) over 5 years of PGIM Balanced Fund Class A is 0.14, which is lower, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (0.39) in the same period.
  • Looking at risk / return profile (Sharpe) in of 0.27 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively smaller, thus worse in comparison to SPY (0.56).

Sortino:

'The Sortino ratio improves upon the Sharpe ratio by isolating downside volatility from total volatility by dividing excess return by the downside deviation. The Sortino ratio is a variation of the Sharpe ratio that differentiates harmful volatility from total overall volatility by using the asset's standard deviation of negative asset returns, called downside deviation. The Sortino ratio takes the asset's return and subtracts the risk-free rate, and then divides that amount by the asset's downside deviation. The ratio was named after Frank A. Sortino.'

Applying this definition to our asset in some examples:
  • Looking at the excess return divided by the downside deviation of 0.19 in the last 5 years of PGIM Balanced Fund Class A, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (0.55)
  • Looking at ratio of annual return and downside deviation in of 0.37 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to SPY (0.79).

Ulcer:

'The Ulcer Index is a technical indicator that measures downside risk, in terms of both the depth and duration of price declines. The index increases in value as the price moves farther away from a recent high and falls as the price rises to new highs. The indicator is usually calculated over a 14-day period, with the Ulcer Index showing the percentage drawdown a trader can expect from the high over that period. The greater the value of the Ulcer Index, the longer it takes for a stock to get back to the former high.'

Using this definition on our asset we see for example:
  • Looking at the Downside risk index of 8.03 in the last 5 years of PGIM Balanced Fund Class A, we see it is relatively lower, thus better in comparison to the benchmark SPY (9.46 )
  • Looking at Ulcer Ratio in of 8.99 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus better in comparison to SPY (10 ).

MaxDD:

'Maximum drawdown measures the loss in any losing period during a fund’s investment record. It is defined as the percent retrenchment from a fund’s peak value to the fund’s valley value. The drawdown is in effect from the time the fund’s retrenchment begins until a new fund high is reached. The maximum drawdown encompasses both the period from the fund’s peak to the fund’s valley (length), and the time from the fund’s valley to a new fund high (recovery). It measures the largest percentage drawdown that has occurred in any fund’s data record.'

Applying this definition to our asset in some examples:
  • The maximum reduction from previous high over 5 years of PGIM Balanced Fund Class A is -26.5 days, which is higher, thus better compared to the benchmark SPY (-33.7 days) in the same period.
  • Looking at maximum DrawDown in of -21.3 days in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively greater, thus better in comparison to SPY (-24.5 days).

MaxDuration:

'The Maximum Drawdown Duration is an extension of the Maximum Drawdown. However, this metric does not explain the drawdown in dollars or percentages, rather in days, weeks, or months. It is the length of time the account was in the Max Drawdown. A Max Drawdown measures a retrenchment from when an equity curve reaches a new high. It’s the maximum an account lost during that retrenchment. This method is applied because a valley can’t be measured until a new high occurs. Once the new high is reached, the percentage change from the old high to the bottom of the largest trough is recorded.'

Using this definition on our asset we see for example:
  • The maximum days under water over 5 years of PGIM Balanced Fund Class A is 351 days, which is smaller, thus better compared to the benchmark SPY (352 days) in the same period.
  • Compared with SPY (352 days) in the period of the last 3 years, the maximum time in days below previous high water mark of 351 days is lower, thus better.

AveDuration:

'The Average Drawdown Duration is an extension of the Maximum Drawdown. However, this metric does not explain the drawdown in dollars or percentages, rather in days, weeks, or months. The Avg Drawdown Duration is the average amount of time an investment has seen between peaks (equity highs), or in other terms the average of time under water of all drawdowns. So in contrast to the Maximum duration it does not measure only one drawdown event but calculates the average of all.'

Applying this definition to our asset in some examples:
  • Compared with the benchmark SPY (78 days) in the period of the last 5 years, the average days under water of 80 days of PGIM Balanced Fund Class A is higher, thus worse.
  • Compared with SPY (102 days) in the period of the last 3 years, the average days under water of 99 days is lower, thus better.

Performance (YTD)

Historical returns have been extended using synthetic data.

Allocations ()

Allocations

Returns (%)

  • Note that yearly returns do not equal the sum of monthly returns due to compounding.
  • Performance results of PGIM Balanced Fund Class A are hypothetical, do not account for slippage, fees or taxes, and are based on backtesting, which has many inherent limitations, some of which are described in our Terms of Use.