Is DLSNX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?
Any investors hoping to find a Mortgage - Bonds: Misc fund could think about starting with DoubleLine Low Duration Bond N (DLSNX). DLSNX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
History of Fund/Manager
Double Line is based in Los Angeles, CA, and is the manager of DLSNX. DoubleLine Low Duration Bond N debuted in September of 2011. Since then, DLSNX has accumulated assets of about $939.45 million, according to the most recently available information. A team of investment professionals is the fund's current manager.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. DLSNX has a 5-year annualized total return of 2.96%, and it sits in the top third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 5.25%, which places it in the top 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, DLSNX's standard deviation comes in at 2.21%, compared to the category average of 7.94%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 2.07% compared to the category average of 9.27%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Bond Duration
Modified duration is a measure of a specific bond's interest rate sensitivity, and is an excellent way to judge how fixed income securities will respond to a shifting rate environment.
If you believe interest rates will rise, this is an important factor to look at. DLSNX has a modified duration of 1.69, which suggests that the fund will decline 1.69% for every hundred-basis-point increase in interest rates.
Income
Since income is, of course, a big reason for purchasing a fixed income security, it is always important to consider the fund's average coupon. This metric calculates the fund's average payout in a given year. For example, this fund's average coupon of 3.92% means that a $10,000 investment should result in a yearly payout of $392.
For those seeking a strong level of current income, a higher coupon is typically good news. However, it could pose a reinvestment risk if rates are lower in the future when compared to the initial purchase date of the bond. Since income is just one part of the bond picture, investors need to consider risk relative to broad benchmarks.
With a beta of 0.35, this fund is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, DLSNX has a negative alpha of -0.27 , 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, DLSNX has 73.8% in high quality bonds rated at least "AA" or higher, while 22.96% are of medium quality, with ratings of "A" to "BBB". 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, DLSNX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.70% compared to the category average of 0.81%. DLSNX 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 consideration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, DoubleLine Low Duration Bond N ( DLSNX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, better downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
This could just be the start of your research on DLSNX in the Mortgage - Bonds: Misc category. Consider going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information about this fund, and all the others that we rank as well for additional information. Zacks provides a full suite of tools to help you analyze your portfolio - both funds and stocks - in the most efficient way possible.
7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days
Just released: Experts distill 7 elite stocks from the current list of 220 Zacks Rank #1 Strong Buys. They deem these tickers "Most Likely for Early Price Pops."
Since 1988, the full list has beaten the market more than 2X over with an average gain of +23.9% per year. So be sure to give these hand picked 7 your immediate attention.
See them now >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
Get Your Free (DLSNX): Fund Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
Source Zacks-com
