Yahoo Finance Is DLTNX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?
Government Mortgage - Intermediate fund seekers should not consider taking a look at DoubleLine Total Return Bond N (DLTNX) at this time. DLTNX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 5 (Strong Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
We classify DLTNX in the Government Mortgage - Intermediate category, an area full of potential choices. Government Mortgage - Intermediate funds focus on the mortgage-backed securities (MBS) market, which packages mortgages together and then sells off the pooled securities as a MBS. Honing in on MBS'that have at least three years to maturity but less than 10, this fund category presents a medium risk and yield profile.
History of Fund/Manager
Double Line is responsible for DLTNX, and the company is based out of Los Angeles, CA. DoubleLine Total Return Bond N made its debut in April of 2010, and since then, DLTNX has accumulated about $4.33 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. 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 -0.24%, and is in the bottom third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of -3.05%, which places it in the middle 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, DLTNX's standard deviation comes in at 6.41%, compared to the category average of 11.9%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 5.65% compared to the category average of 12.36%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
With a beta of 0.95, this fund is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, DLTNX has a negative alpha of -1, 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, DLTNX has 68.79% in high quality bonds rated at least 'AA' or higher. The fund has an average quality of AA, and focuses on high quality securities.
Expenses
For investors, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is key, since costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing. Competition is heating up in this space, and a lower cost product will likely outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, all things being equal. In terms of fees, DLTNX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.75% compared to the category average of 0.85%. DLTNX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $2,000, and each subsequent investment should be at least $100.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, even with its comparatively weak performance, better downside risk, and lower fees, DoubleLine Total Return Bond N ( DLTNX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.
For additional information on the Government Mortgage - Intermediate area of the mutual fund world, make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds. There, you can see more about the ranking process, and dive even deeper into DLTNX too for additional information. And don't forget, Zacks has all of your needs covered on the equity side too! Make sure to check out Zacks.com for more information on our screening capabilities, Rank, and all our articles as well.
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