Bond Guru Gundlach Launches Actively-Traded Bond ETF

MarketsMuse update profiling the debut of bond guru and DoubleLine Capital’s founder Jeff Gundlach’s first foray into the ETF space is courtesy of ETF.com.The SPDR DoubleLine Total Return Tactical ETF (TOTL) is launching today (Tuesday, Feb. 24).

The $TOTL exchange-traded fund invests in just about every type of debt security, including investment-grade and junk debt—both sovereign and corporate—from issuers around the globe. The portfolio management team is led by none other than Gundlach himself, and will be advised by State Street, according to the prospectus. TOTL costs a net of 55 basis points in expense ratio, or $55 per $10,000 invested.

Gundlach, founder of Los Angeles-based DoubleLine Capital, is one of the most well-known fixed-income investors in the market today, but until now an absent presence in the quickly growing ETF market.

Partnership With SSgA

Last summer, he joined forces with State Street Global Advisors to bring to market an actively managed bond ETF that would go head-to-head with the Pimco Total Return ETF (BOND | B), which at the time was still managed by Bill Gross. Gross has since left Pimco to join Janus.

Replicating BOND’s success will be no small feat, considering that BOND gathered its first $1 billion in assets in less than three months after launch, and grew to become one of the biggest active bond ETFs in the market. BOND’s success was part Gross himself, part a solid track record of outperformance. TOTL has a powerhouse name behind it, but performance only time will tell. 

The launch comes at a time when fixed income investors are reinventing their approaches to income, thinking more tactically as they canvass every corner of debt markets in search for yields.

High Hopes For Active Bond ETFs

Many have said that a fixed-income investor today needs to be tactical to survive, and active management is one way to do it. State Street’s ETF head Jim Ross himself has told ETF.com recently there’s opportunity in the active management space, particularly in fixed income.

For the full story from ETF.com, please click here 

 

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