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Is DLTNX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?

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If you've been stuck searching for Government Mortgage - Intermediate funds, consider DoubleLine Total Return Bond N (DLTNX - Free Report) as a possibility. DLTNX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

DLTNX is one of many Government Mortgage - Intermediate funds to choose from. Government Mortgage - Intermediate funds focus on the mortgage-backed securities (MBS) market. This market takes mortgages, packages them together, and sells off the pooled securities to investors. This particular category focuses on MBS that usually have at least three years to maturity, but less than 10, giving a medium risk and yield profile to funds here.

History of Fund/Manager

Double Line is based in Los Angeles, CA, and is the manager of DLTNX. The DoubleLine Total Return Bond N made its debut in April of 2010 and DLTNX has managed to accumulate roughly $7.02 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. Philip A. Barach is the fund's current manager and has held that role since April of 2010.

Performance

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 2.98%, and it sits in the top third among its category peers. But if you are looking for a shorter time frame, it is also worth looking at its 3-year annualized total return of 1.92%, which places it in the top third during this time-frame.

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 1.9%, compared to the category average of 5.51%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 2.17% compared to the category average of 5.47%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Bond Duration

Modified duration is a measure of a given bond's interest rate sensitivity, and is a metric that's a good way to judge how fixed income securities will respond in a shifting rate environment.

For those that believe interest rates will rise, this is an important factor to consider. DLTNX has a modified duration of 3.8, which suggests that the fund will decline 3.8% for every hundred-basis-point increase in interest rates.

Income

It is important to consider the fund's average coupon because income is often a big reason for purchasing a fixed income security. Average coupon is a look at the average payout by the fund in a given year. For example, this fund's average coupon of 3.5% means that a $10,000 investment should result in a yearly payout of $350.

If you are looking for a strong level of current income, a higher coupon is a good choice, though it could pose a reinvestment risk; these risks can occur if rates are lower in the future when compared to the initial purchase date of the bond.

Because income is only one part of the bond picture, investors should also consider risk relative to broad benchmarks. DLTNX carries a beta of 0.65, meaning that the fund is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. With this in mind, it has a positive alpha of 0.99, 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 73.4% 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

As competition heats up in the mutual fund market, costs become increasingly important. Compared to its otherwise identical counterpart, a low-cost product will be an outperformer, all other things being equal. Thus, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is vital for investors. In terms of fees, DLTNX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.72% compared to the category average of 0.85%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, DLTNX is actually cheaper than its peers.

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.

Bottom Line

Overall, DoubleLine Total Return Bond N ( DLTNX ) 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 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. If you want to check out our stock reports as well, make sure to go to Zacks.com to see all of the great tools we have to offer, including our time-tested Zacks Rank.


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