There are plenty of choices in the Government Mortgage - Intermediate category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that may not be worth investigating is DoubleLine Total Return Bond I (DBLTX). DBLTX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 5 (Strong Sell), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
We classify DBLTX 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
DBLTX is a part of the Double Line family of funds, a company based out of Los Angeles, CA. Since DoubleLine Total Return Bond I made its debut in April of 2010, DBLTX has garnered more than $43.91 billion in assets. The fund is currently managed by Jeffrey E. Gundlach who has been in charge of the fund since April of 2010.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 2.87%, and is in the middle 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 3.22%, which places it in the bottom 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. DBLTX's standard deviation over the past three years is 3.37% compared to the category average of 8.28%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 2.9% compared to the category average of 7.58%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
This fund has a beta of 0.84, meaning that it is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, DBLTX has a negative alpha of -0.24, 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, DBLTX has 67.73% 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, DBLTX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.49% compared to the category average of 0.79%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, DBLTX is actually cheaper than its peers.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $100,000; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $100.
Bottom Line
Overall, DoubleLine Total Return Bond I ( DBLTX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, DoubleLine Total Return Bond I ( DBLTX ) looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.
Don't stop here for your research on Government Mortgage - Intermediate funds. We also have plenty more on our site in order to help you find the best possible fund for your portfolio. Make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for more information about the world of funds, and feel free to compare DBLTX to its peers as well for additional information. If you are more of a stock investor, make sure to also check out our Zacks Rank, and our full suite of tools we have available for novice and professional investors alike.
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