Yahoo Finance Is DLTNX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?
On the lookout for a Mutual Fund Bond fund? Starting with DoubleLine Total Return Bond N (DLTNX) should not be a possibility at this time. DLTNX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
Double Line is responsible for DLTNX, and the company is based out of Los Angeles, CA. The DoubleLine Total Return Bond N made its debut in April of 2010 and DLTNX has managed to accumulate roughly $4.97 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. DLTNX has a 5-year annualized total return of -0.36% and is in the bottom third among its category peers. If you're interested in shorter time frames, do not dismiss looking at the fund's 3 -year annualized total return of -3.78%, 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. Compared to the category average of 11.61%, the standard deviation of DLTNX over the past three years is 5.12%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 4.83% compared to the category average of 12.21%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
With a beta of 0.89, this fund is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, DLTNX has a negative alpha of -1.08, 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
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, DLTNX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.74% compared to the category average of 0.77%. DLTNX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,000 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $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 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. For analysis of the rest of your portfolio, make sure to visit Zacks.com for our full suite of tools which will help you investigate all of your stocks and funds in one place.
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