DoubleLine 'TOTL' exchange-traded fund posts inflows in July

By Jennifer Ablan

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The SPDR DoubleLine Total Return Tactical ETF posted roughly $100 million of inflows in July, gaining more ground over the Pimco Total Return Active Exchange-Traded Fund in total assets under management, according to Morningstar data on Wednesday.

The Pimco Total Return Active ETF, an actively managed intermediate-term ETF intended to mimic the strategy of Pimco's flagship mutual fund and once run by Pimco co-founder Bill Gross, posted net outflows of $5.4 million in July, leaving its assets under management at $2.59 billion.

By comparison, the SPDR DoubleLine Total Return Tactical ETF, also known as TOTL, led by Jeffrey Gundlach, Philip Barach and Jeffrey Sherman, ended July with $2.76 billion in assets under management.

Todd Rosenbluth, director of ETF and mutual fund research at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said TOTL has modestly outperformed BOND this year and has benefited from DoubleLine's strong active management and State Street Global Advisors' strong distribution resources.

But both BOND, which is up 4.34 percent so far this year, and TOTL, which is up 4.63 percent, are underperforming the benchmark Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond index, which is posting returns of 5.54 percent, Rosenbluth noted.

"In the case of TOTL or the DoubleLine Total Return Bond Fund, mortgage exposure has not been helping as it did in the past. Consistent outperformance of an index is hard to achieve as well," Rosenbluth said.

Rosenbluth was referring to the $61.3 billion DoubleLine Total Return Fund, which has a much lower duration than the Treasury-heavy Barclays Aggregate, so it has not benefited as much as many other funds this year from the rally in Treasuries. Additionally, corporate bonds have been strong relative performers this year, and DoubleLine Total Return holds no corporate debt.

The DoubleLine Total Return Fund has been a standout long-term performer. The fund has posted three-year returns of 4.45 percent, surpassing 82 percent of its peers, and five-year returns of 4.96 percent, surpassing 96 percent of its peer category, according to Morningstar, ended July 31.

Pimco declined to comment.

That said, the DoubleLine and Pimco ETFs are "anomalies in the ETF market that is dominated by index-based offerings," Rosenbluth said.

DoubleLine’s largest equities mutual fund, the $1.2 billion DoubleLine Shiller Enhanced CAPE fund, had a net inflow of $117.07 million in July, its largest ever. The fund produces its returns from an actively managed fixed-income portfolio and a rules-based exposure to the U.S. stock market.

(Reporting by Jennifer Ablan; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli)

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