TCW Total Return Bond Fund

At-A-Glance

Ticker Symbol
Daily NAV
Overall Morningstar RatingTM (I) Class: More Info
Morningstar DisclaimerI Share; Out of 877 funds in the Intermediate-Term Bond categoryThe Overall Morningstar Rating™ is based on risk adjusted returns, derived from a weighted average of the Fund 3-, 5-, and 10-year (if applicable) Morningstar Rating metrics. Please see full Morningstar disclosure at the bottom of this page.
4 star rating

Investment Team

  • Tad Rivelle
  • Scott Austin, CFA
  • Harrison S. Choi
  • Mitch A. Flack

MORNINGSTAR ANALYST RATINGTM

  

TCW Total Return Bond Fund
I and N Share, Rated 08/17/2018

TCW Total Return Bond Fund

Best U.S. Mortgage Fund, 2018
10-Year Period

From Thomson Reuters Lipper Awards, © 2018. Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved Used by permission and protected by Copyright Laws of the United States. The printing, copying, redistribution, or retransmission of this Content without e xpress written permission is prohibited.

Form N-PX

Proxy Voting Documents

Account Application - TCW Funds

Fund Name Daily NAV1 Daily1 MTD1 YTD1 3-mo2
Annualized Performance2
1-yr		 3-yr 5-yr 10-yr3 Since Inc3
Expense Ratio
Net		 Gross
TCW Total Return Bond Fund I
[Inception Date: 06/17/1993] 		$9.69 -0.10% -0.10% 0.62% 3.49% 2.97% 1.66% 2.36% 6.04% 6.22% 0.49% 0.61%
TCW Total Return Bond Fund N
[Inception Date: 02/26/1999] 		$9.99 0.00% -0.10% 0.69% 3.45% 2.61% 1.38% 2.06% 5.72% 5.65% 0.79% 0.88%
Bloomberg Barclays Aggregate Index - - - - 3.53% 2.25% 1.95% 2.44% 3.68% 5.13% - -
Bloomberg Barclays Aggregate Index - - - - 3.53% 2.25% 1.95% 2.44% 3.68% 4.68% - -
1 as of 02/15/19 (updated daily)
2 Performance as of 01/31/2019 (updated monthly)
3 Returns include the performance of the predecessor limited partnership for periods
before the Fund’s registration became effective. The predecessor limited partnership
was not registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (“1940 Act”) and
therefore was not subject to certain investment restrictions imposed by the 1940 Act.
If the limited partnership had been registered under the 1940 Act, its performance
may have been adversely affected.

Click here for detailed Quarterly/Monthly Performance 

Investment Objective

The Fund seeks to maximize current income and achieve above average total return consistent with prudent investment management over a full market cycle.

Investment Approach

Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests at least 80% of the value of its net assets, plus any borrowing for investment purposes, in debt securities. The Fund invests primarily in mortgage-backed securities. At least 50% of the Fund’s net assets will be invested in mortgage-backed securities of any maturity or type guaranteed by, or secured by collateral that is guaranteed by, the U.S. Government, its agencies, instrumentalities or its sponsored corporations; or privately issued mortgage-backed securities rated at the time of investment Aa3 or higher by Moody’s, or AA- or higher by S&P, or the equivalent by any other nationally recognized statistical rating organization; other obligations of the U.S. Government, its agencies, instrumentalities or sponsored corporations; and money market instruments. The Fund may invest in privately issued mortgage-backed securities rated below investment grade which are commonly known as junk bonds. In managing the Fund’s investments, the Portfolio Managers seek to construct a portfolio with a weighted average duration of no more than eight years.

The Fund may invest, without limitation, in derivative investments such as options, futures and swap agreements.

Performance Returns

as of 01/31/2019 (updated monthly)

Sector Value (%)

  Portfolio
Mortgage Backed 75.88
Government 19.53
Asset Backed 2.40
Cash and Equivalents 2.22
Credit 0.00
Other -0.03
as of 1/31/2019 (updated monthly)

Legal Disclosures


The source for all charts and tables above is TCW
GLOSSARY OF TERMS

Asset Backed Security (ABS) – A debt obligation that represents claims to the cash flows from a pool of loans, leases or receivables against assets other than real estate and mortgage-backed securities, such as credit card debt, student loans, car loans, aircraft leases, etc.

Mortgage-Backed Securities  (MBS) – A type of asset-backed security that is secured by a mortgage or collection of mortgages. These securities must also be grouped in one of the top two ratings as determined by a accredited credit rating agency, and usually pay periodic payments that are similar to coupon payments. Furthermore, the mortgage must have originated from a regulated and authorized financial institution.

About Performance
The performance data presented represents past performance and is no guarantee of future results. Total returns include reinvestment of dividends and distributions. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data presented. Performance data current to the most recent month end is available on the product detail page for each Fund. Investment returns and principal value will fluctuate with market conditions. The value of an investment in the Fund, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than its original purchase cost.
Net and Gross Expense Ratio
Annual fund operating expenses as stated in the Prospectus dated February 28, 2018.
* Effective February 28, 2018, the Advisor has contractually agreed to cap the expenses (excluding interest and acquired fund fees and expenses, if any) of the I share class of the Fund at 0.49% and the N share class of the Fund at 0.79% until March 1, 2019.
Objective
There can be no assurance that the objectives and/or trends will come to pass or be maintained.
Portfolio Characteristics & Holdings
Portfolio characteristics and holdings are subject to change at any time. It should not be assumed that an investment in the securities listed was or will be profitable.

Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index – A market capitalization-weighted index of investment-grade, fixed-rate debt issues, including government, corporate, asset-backed and mortgage-backed securities, with maturities of at least one year.


The index is not available for direct investment; therefore its performance does not reflect a reduction for fees or expenses incurred in managing a portfolio. The securities in the index may be substantially different from those in the Fund.


Morningstar Analyst Rating Disclosure: The Morningstar Analyst Rating is not a credit or risk rating. It is a subjective evaluation performed by the mutual fund analysts of Morningstar, Inc. Morningstar evaluates funds based on five key pillars, which are process, performance, people, parent, and price. Morningstar’s analysts use this five pillar evaluation to identify funds they believe are more likely to outperform over the long term on a risk-adjusted basis. Analysts consider quantitative and qualitative factors in their research, and the weighting of each pillar may vary. The Analyst Rating ultimately reflects the analyst’s overall assessment and is overseen by Morningstar’s Analyst Rating Committee. The approach serves not as a formula but as a framework to ensure consistency across Morningstar’s global coverage universe. The Analyst Rating scale ranges from Gold to Negative, with Gold being the highest rating and Negative being the lowest rating. A fund with a “Gold” rating distinguishes itself across the five pillars and has garnered the analysts’ highest level of conviction. A fund with a ‘Silver’ rating has notable advantages across several, but perhaps not all, of the five pillars-strengths that give the analysts a high level of conviction. A “Bronze”-rated fund has advantages that outweigh the disadvantages across the five pillars, with sufficient level of analyst conviction to warrant a positive rating. A fund with a ‘Neutral’ rating isn’t seriously flawed across the five pillars, nor does it distinguish itself very positively. A “Negative” rated fund is flawed in at least one if not more pillars and is considered an inferior offering to its peers. Analyst Ratings are reevaluated at least every 14 months. The Morningstar Analyst Rating should not be used as the sole basis in evaluating a mutual fund. Morningstar Analyst Ratings involve unknown risks and uncertainties which may cause Morningstar’s expectations not to occur or to differ significantly from what we expected.

Morningstar Rating Disclosure: The Morningstar RatingTM for funds, or “star rating”, is calculated for managed products (including mutual funds, variable annuity and variable life subaccounts, exchange-traded funds, closed-end funds, and separate accounts) with at least a three-year history. Exchange-traded funds and open-ended mutual funds are considered a single population for comparative purposes. It is calculated based on a Morningstar Risk-Adjusted Return measure that accounts for variation in a managed product’s monthly excess performance, placing more emphasis on downward variations and rewarding consistent performance. The top 10% of products in each product category receive 5 stars, the next 22.5% receive 4 stars, the next 35% receive 3 stars, the next 22.5% receive 2 stars, and the bottom 10% receive 1 star. The Overall Morningstar Rating for a managed product is derived from a weighted average of the performance figures associated with its three-, five-, and 10-year (if applicable) Morningstar Rating metrics. The weights are: 100% three-year rating for 36-59 months of total returns, 60% five-year rating/40% three-year rating for 60-119 months of total returns, and 50% 10-year rating/30% five-year rating/20% three-year rating for 120 or more months of total returns. While the 10-year overall star rating formula seems to give the most weight to the 10-year period, the most recent three-year period actually has the greatest impact because it is included in all three rating periods.

The total number of Intermediate-Term Bond Funds for the 3-, 5-, and 10-year time periods were 877, 768, and 562, respectively. The MetWest Total Return Bond Fund I Share received a rating of 3 stars for the 3- and 5-year periods, and 5 stars for the 10-year period. The TCW Total Return Bond Fund I Share received a rating of 2 stars for the 3-year period, 3 stars for the and 5-year period, and 5 stars for the 10-year period.
A Word About Risk

It is important to note that the Fund is not guaranteed by the U.S. Government. Fixed income investments entail interest rate risk, the risk of issuer default, issuer credit risk, and price volatility risk. Funds investing in bonds can lose their value as interest rates rise and an investor can lose principal.

Mortgage-backed and other asset-backed securities often involve risks that are different from or more acute than risks associated with other types of debt instruments. MBS related to floating rate loans may exhibit greater price volatility than a fixed rate obligation of similar credit quality. With respect to non-agency MBS, there are no direct or indirect government or agency guarantees of payments in pools created by non-governmental issuers. Non-agency MBS are also not subject to the same underwriting requirements for the underlying mortgages that are applicable to those mortgage-related securities that have a government or government-sponsored entity guarantee.
Obtain a Prospectus

You should consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses of a mutual fund carefully before investing. A Fund’s Prospectus and Summary Prospectus contain this and other information about the Fund. To receive a Prospectus, please call 800-386-3829 or you may download the PDF TCW Funds Prospectus. Please read it carefully.


The TCW Funds are distributed by TCW Funds Distributors LLC

Investment Team

  • Photo: Tad Rivelle
    Tad Rivelle
    Group Managing Director

    Tad Rivelle is Chief Investment Officer, Fixed Income, overseeing nearly $160 billion in fixed income assets, including nearly $85 billion of fixed income mutual fund assets under the TCW Funds and MetWest Funds brands. Prior to joining TCW, Tad served as Chief Investment Officer for MetWest, an independent institutional investment manager that he cofounded. The MetWest investment team has been recognized for a number of performance related awards, including Morningstar’s Fixed Income Manager of the Year. Mr. Rivelle was also the co-director of fixed income at Hotchkis & Wiley and a portfolio manager at PIMCO. Tad holds a BS in Physics from Yale University, an MS in Applied Mathematics from University of Southern California, and an MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management.

  • Photo: Scott Austin, CFA
    Scott Austin, CFA
    Managing Director

    Mr. Austin is a Specialist Portfolio Manager in the Fixed Income group and co-heads the Securitized Products Division. Mr. Austin joined TCW in 2009 during the acquisition of Metropolitan West Asset Management LLC (MetWest). Since joining MetWest in 2006, he has traded a variety of mortgage-backed, asset-backed, and commercial mortgage-backed securities. He was previously an associate director for UBS in the fixed income sales department. While at UBS, he provided institutional sales coverage for investors in ABS, MBS, and CMBS products. Mr. Austin earned a BA in Economics from Yale University. He is a CFA charterholder.

  • Photo: Harrison S. Choi
    Harrison S. Choi
    Managing Director

    Mr. Choi is a Specialist Portfolio Manager in the Fixed Income group and co-heads the Securitized Products Division. Mr. Choi joined TCW in 2009 during the acquisition of Metropolitan West Asset Management LLC (MetWest). Since joining MetWest in January 2007, he has traded a variety of non-agency mortgage-backed securities. He was previously a Director at Sparta Group LLC where he traded fixed income relative value and macro strategies within the interest rate derivatives market. Prior to that, he worked on alternative investment strategies at Western Asset Management Company (WAMCO). Mr. Choi holds a BS in Physiological Sciences from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

  • Photo: Mitch A. Flack
    Mitch A. Flack
    Managing Director

    Mr. Flack has been with TCW since 2009 as a Specialist Portfolio Manager in the Fixed Income group where he Co-heads the Securitized Products division. Previously with Metropolitan West Asset Management LLC (MetWest), Mr. Flack served as a Partner and Co-head of MetWest’s Structured Products division. Prior to joining MetWest in 2001, he was a Managing Director at Bear Stearns & Co. He was also with Bankers Trust, where he marketed derivative products to financial institutions after he served as Senior Vice President and Chief Investment Officer at Southern California Savings. He began his career with Weyerhaeuser Mortgage Company. Mr. Flack holds a BA in Business Economics from the University of California, Santa Barbara and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

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