Bonds

A Bond Fund with A Bold Reputation

(Note: Fourth in a series of the biggest actively managed ETFs)

The SPDR DoubleLine Total Return Tactical ETF (TOTL) is an actively managed bond fund with a strong reputation and a broad scope of investment options subject to the decisions of DoubleLine Capital.

It can broaden its focus to include or not include international investments in general, as well as specific countries. This relatively open take on exchange-traded fund (ETF) management is relatively uncommon and may be interesting for bond investors.

Naturally, as a bond fund, the ETF’s price is fairly stable. Indeed, the March market volatility did not affect this fund nearly as much as it did the broader market, and it is up 0.98% year to date. TOTL manages over $3 billion in net assets.

It pays out a 3.21% yield and has an expense ratio of 0.55%, which is not the lowest in the field by any means but could be considered fair in light of the fund’s active management.

Currently, the fund is heavily allocated to U.S. Treasury bonds and other U.S. government-based holdings, with some smaller positions in domestic corporate debt.

If you’re looking for a stable bond fund with a bold reputation and an expert active hand to add to your portfolio, the SPDR DoubleLine Total Return Tactical ETF (TOTL) could provide the payouts you seek.

As always, I am happy to answer any of your questions about ETFs, so do not hesitate to send me an email. You just may see your question answered in a future ETF Talk.

Jim Woods

Jim Woods is a 20-plus-year veteran of the markets with varied experience as a broker, hedge fund trader, financial writer, author and newsletter editor. Jim is the editor of Intelligence Report, Investing Edge, the Bullseye Stock Trader, and The Deep Woods (formerly the Weekly ETF Report). His books include co-authoring, “Billion Dollar Green: Profit from the Eco Revolution,” and “The Wealth Shield: How to Invest and Protect Your Money from Another Stock Market Crash, Financial Crisis or Global Economic Collapse.” He’s also ghostwritten many books and articles, as well as edited content for some of the investment industry’s biggest luminaries. His articles have appeared on many leading financial websites, including StockInvestor.com, InvestorPlace.com, Main Street Investor, MarketWatch, Street Authority, Human Events and many others. Jim formerly worked with Investor’s Business Daily founder William J. O’Neil, helping to author training courses in the CANSLIM stock-picking methodology. The independent firm TipRanks rates Jim the No. 3 financial blogger in the world (out of more than 6,000). TipRanks calculates that, since 2012, he's made 361 successful recommendations out of 499 total, earning a success rate of 72% and a +15.3% average return per recommendation. He is known in professional and personal circles as “The Renaissance Man,” because his expertise includes such varied fields as composing and performing music; Western horsemanship, combat marksmanship, martial arts, auto racing and bodybuilding. Jim holds a BA in philosophy from the University of California, Los Angeles, and is a former U.S. Army paratrooper. A self-described “radical for capitalism,” he celebrates the virtue of making money from his Southern California horse ranch.