Fund Evaluator:
PIMCO RAE Fundamental Advantage PLUS A (PTFAX)Best Performing in Equity Market Neutral Over the Last Year
| 12.5% | Bridgeway Global Opportunities Fund N (BRGOX) |
| 4.4% | Fidelity Advisor Equity Market Neutral Z (FEMWX) |
Fund Details
PIMCO RAE Fundamental Advantage PLUS A Overview
PIMCO RAE Fundamental Advantage PLUS A (PTFAX) is an actively managed Alternative Equity Market Neutral fund. PIMCO launched the fund in 2008.
The investment seeks maximum total return, consistent with prudent investment management. The fund seeks to achieve its investment objective under normal circumstances by obtaining long exposure to a portfolio of stocks and short exposure to the S&P 500 Index ("S&P 500"), and complementing this equity market neutral exposure with absolute return bond alpha strategy. It may invest up to 25% of its total assets in securities and instruments that are economically tied to emerging market countries. The fund may also invest up to 10% of its total assets in preferred securities.
About PIMCO RAE Fundamental Advantage PLUS A (PTFAX)
There are 6 members of the management team with an average tenure of 5.94 years: Robert Arnott (2014), Jing Yang (2018), Daniel Hyman (2025), Bryan Tsu (2018), Jim Masturzo (2025), Marc Seidner (2021). Management tenure is more important for actively managed funds than passive index funds.
The fund has 2 primary benchmarks: S&P 500 (TR) (1970) index with a weighting of 100% and ICE BofA SOFR Overnight Bid TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. PIMCO RAE Fundamental Advantage PLUS A has 1283 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 259.7% of the fund’s assets. The fund meets the SEC requirement of being classified as a diversified fund. The fund is not considered to have an ESG focus with its investment selection and management.
PIMCO RAE Fundamental Advantage PLUS A is part of the Alternative Strategies global asset class and is within the Alternative fund group. PIMCO RAE Fundamental Advantage PLUS A has 46.9% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 0.9%. There is 0.0% allocated to foreign stock, and 0.0% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 128.0% (81.1% domestic bond, 46.9% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). PIMCO RAE Fundamental Advantage PLUS A has -28.9% of the portfolio in cash.
Assets Under Management
The fund has $4 million in total assets, which is below the $666 million average for the Equity Market Neutral category. Normally, lower assets under management translates to higher average expense ratios, and greater total assets are desired. However, for some investment categories, such as small-cap investing, it may be difficult for the manager to fully employ the desired active strategy if assets grow too large or too quickly.
PTFAX Performance and Fees
The expense ratio measures how much of a fund’s assets are used for administrative expenses and operating expenses, including adviser fees and fees for the transfer agent and custodial services. The PIMCO RAE Fundamental Advantage PLUS A expense ratio is high compared to funds in the Equity Market Neutral category. PIMCO RAE Fundamental Advantage PLUS A has an expense ratio of 1.50%, which is 24% lower than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a B. While it is difficult to predict returns, it is known that high annual expense ratios reduce your rate of return, and excessive fees are difficult to overcome. Active management normally comes with higher expense ratios than passive index management. Certain investment categories such as small company and foreign also normally have higher expense ratios. It is best to compare fund expense ratios against the category averages for meaningful assessments.
High portfolio turnover can translate to higher expenses and lower aftertax returns. PIMCO RAE Fundamental Advantage PLUS A has a portfolio turnover rate of 867%, indicating that holds its assets around 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 144% for the Equity Market Neutral category.
Recently, in the month of August 2026, PIMCO RAE Fundamental Advantage PLUS A returned 0.8%, which earned it a grade of B, as the Equity Market Neutral category had an average return of -0.0%. The letter grades of A, B, C, D and F are based upon relative rankings within the investment category. A grade of A, for example, would indicate that the return is in the highest 20% for that time period compared to all funds in that category.
PIMCO RAE Fundamental Advantage PLUS A has a trailing yield of 6.14%, which is above the 2.51% category average. The fund normally distributes its income quarterly and its capital gains annually.
It’s natural to seek the best-performing investments, but you must consider the relationship between risk and return and the impact of costs and taxes on your realized returns.
PIMCO RAE Fundamental Advantage PLUS A Grades
Year to date, the fund has returned 16.4%, 11.7 percentage points better than the category, which translates into a grade of A. The fund has returned 20.4% over the past year (grade of A), 7.4% over the past three years (grade of C) and 4.6% per year over the past five years (grade of D) and 1.3% per year over the past 10 years (grade of F).
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PTFAX Trailing NAV Total Returns Data as of 8/31/26
| Last Month |
Last Quarter |
Ann'l. 1Yr |
Ann'l. 3Yr |
Ann'l. 5Yr |
Ann'l. 10Yr |
|
| PTFAX Return (NAV) | 0.8% | 7.8% | 20.4% | 7.4% | 4.6% | 1.3% |
| PTFAX Grade | B | A | A | C | D | F |
| +/- Category | 0.8% | 5.0% | 11.6% | -2.5% | -3.7% | -3.7% |
| Equity Market Neutral Avg | -0.0% | 2.7% | 8.8% | 9.9% | 8.3% | 5.0% |
| PTFAX Tax Cost Ratio | na | na | 2.5% | 1.8% | 1.9% | 1.0% |
PTFAX Annual NAV Total ReturnsData as of 8/31/26
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
| PTFAX Return (NAV) | 16.4% | 7.9% | -6.0% | -2.1% | 12.4% | -1.5% | -10.1% | -1.5% | -2.3% | -1.1% | 7.5% |
| PTFAX Grade | A | C | F | F | A | F | D | D | D | F | A |
| +/- Category | 11.7% | -2.6% | -15.8% | -10.4% | 7.9% | -8.3% | -8.5% | -3.3% | -1.9% | -6.8% | 6.9% |
| Equity Market Neutral Avg | 4.6% | 10.5% | 9.8% | 8.3% | 4.5% | 6.9% | -1.6% | 1.7% | -0.4% | 5.7% | 0.6% |
| Risk Measures | |
| Standard Deviation: | 8.4% |
| Total Risk Index: | 0.69 - Below Average |
| Category Risk Index: | 1.52 - High |
| Category Risk Grade: | F (91% Rank) |
| Beta: | -0.11 |
| R-Squared: | 2% |
| Leveraged Fund: | No |
| Inverse Fund: | No |
| Portfolio Characteristics | |
| Equity Investment Style: | na |
| Bond Investment Style: | High Quality Limited Sensitivity |
| Yield: | 6.1% |
| Dividend Distribution: | Quarterly |
| Cap Gains Distribution: | Annually |
| Total Assets: | $456 Mil |
| Fund Total Assets: | $ 5 Mil |
| Share Class Type: | A |
| Portfolio Turnover: | 867% |
Management Team
| Number of Managers: 6 | |||
| Longest Tenure: 11.9 years | |||
| Average Tenure: 5.9 years | |||
| Managers (Year): Arnott Robert (2014), Yang Jing (2018), Tsu Bryan (2018), Seidner Marc (2021), Hyman Daniel (2025), Masturzo Jim (2025) | |||
Portfolio Composition (as of 3/31/26)
| # of Holdings: | 1283 |
| % in Top 10 Holdings: | 259.7% |
| Fund is Non-Diversified: | No |
| % in Foreign Issues: | 46.9% |
Portfolio Allocation |
|
| Domestic Stock: | 0.9% |
| Foreign Stock: | 0.0% |
| Preferred Stock: | 0.0% |
| Domestic Bond: | 81.1% |
| Foreign Bond: | 46.9% |
| Convertible Bond: | 0.0% |
| Other: | 0.0% |
| Cash: | -28.9% |
Purchase Information
| Fund Family: | PIMCO |
| Phone Number: | 888-877-4626 |
| Website: | www.pimco.com |
| Status: | Open |
| Inception Date: | July 31, 2008 |
| Min. Initial Purchase: | $1,000 |
| Min. Initial IRA Purchase: | $ 0 |
| True No-Load: | No |
| Front Load Maximum: | 3.75% |
| Deferred Charge Maximum: | 0.00% |
| Redemption Charge Maximum: | 0.00% |
| 12b-1 Fee: | 0.25% |
Expenses and Fees | |
| Expense Ratio (%): | 1.50% ( Rating : High ) |
| Category Average Expense Ratio (%): | 1.98% |
| Share Class: | PIMCO RAE Fundamental AdvantagePLUS Inst |
| Min. Subsequent Purchase: | $ 50 |
| Min. Subsequent IRA Purchase: | $ 0 |