With the Federal Reserve still vexing investors, getting an assist with fixed income investments the form of a solid management team is a strategy to consider in the current environment.
For example, the SPDR DoubleLine Total Return Tactical ETF (NYSEArca: TOTL) has been a popular active bond play for ETF investors. TOTL is an actively managed ETF backed by bond guru Jeff Gundlach and is also seen as an ETF adaptation of the flagship DoubleLine Total Return Fund (DLTNX).
TOTL provides a higher yield and lower duration than the benchmark Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index, with a smaller standard deviation. Additionally, the active ETF has a greatly diminished exposure to U.S. Treasuries while over-weighting agency MBS, non-agency debt, emerging market bonds, bank loans and high-yield, among others.
Bond investors who still want to hold onto fixed-income assets in a rising interest rate environment ahead may consider actively managed strategies that are able to quickly modify holdings to adjust to a changing environment.