TCW Core Plus Fixed Income Strategy

Marketable Securities Division

A strategy that invests in domestic and international fixed income sectors. Its goal is to outperform the aggregate bond market over full market cycles.

At-A-Glance

AUM or Committed to Management

$98.4 Billion (as of 09/30/18)
Investment Vehicles and Minimums Separate Account $75 Million
MW Total Return Bond Fund
  $3 million (I Class)
  $5,000 (M Class)
  $2,500 (N Class)
  $25 million (P Class)

Investment Team

  • Tad Rivelle
  • Laird R. Landmann
  • Stephen M. Kane, CFA
  • Bryan T. Whalen, CFA
  • Jerry Cudzil
  • Jamie Farnham
  • Mitch A. Flack
  • Scott Austin, CFA
  • Bret R. Barker
  • Harrison S. Choi
Strategy Information
Product Name 1-mo 3-mo YTD
Annualized Performance
1-yr 		3-yr 5-yr Since Inception
[08/01/1996]
TCW (Gross) -0.59% 0.14% -0.99% -0.51% 1.81% 2.65% 6.43%
TCW (Net) -0.62% 0.04% -1.28% -0.90% 1.40% 2.27% 6.12%
Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index -0.64% 0.02% -1.60% -1.22% 1.31% 2.16% 5.06%
as of 09/30/2018 (updated quarterly)

Click Here for detailed Performance Disclosures 

Investment Objective

The investment objective is to seek to outperform the broad bond market by applying specialized management expertise to and allocating capital among U.S. government, corporate, CMBS/ABS, mortgage-backed, high yield and bank debt securities. In addition, exposure to international and emerging markets fixed income assets are opportunistically incorporated into portfolio positioning.

Investment Philosophy

Exploits sector allocation as a key approach to risk management, blending top-down sector allocation with bottom-up fundamental research and securities selection by the sector specialists. This approach distinguishes the strategy from investment funds that rely on high-beta, indexing or closet-indexing strategies. The strategy allocates across these sectors: U.S. Governments, Investment-Grade Corporate, Mortgage-Backed, Asset-Backed, High-Yield Corporate, International, and Emerging Markets. This ability to allocate beyond the universe of domestic U.S. debt issuance has helped to limit risk and fuel higher risk-adjusted returns.

Performance Returns

as of 09/30/2018 (^ Annualized Performance updated quarterly)

Legal Disclosures


The source for all charts and tables above is TCW
Objective Disclosure

There can be no assurance that this strategy will be able to achieve its objectives.

Index Disclosure

The index or indices cited herein are unmanaged groups of securities often taken as representative of those segments of the overall market and assume no reduction for fees and expenses in measuring returns. The securities in the index or indices may be substantially different from those in the strategy.

About Portfolio Values and 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.

About Performance
Performance for any period not ending on a calendar quarter end is subject to adjustment at quarter end for accounts that are not present for the entire quarter. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

This material is for general information purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any security. Any issuers or securities noted in this document are provided as illustrations or examples only, for the limited purpose of analyzing general market or economic conditions and may not form the basis for an investment decision, nor are they intended to serve as investment advice. Any such issuers or securities are under periodic review by the portfolio management group and are subject to change without notice. TCW makes no representation as to whether any security or issuer mentioned in this document is now in any TCW portfolio. TCW, its officers, directors, employees or clients may have positions in securities or investments mentioned in this publication, which are subject to change without notice. Any information and statistical data contained herein derived from third party sources are believed to be reliable, but TCW does not represent that they are accurate, and they should not be relied on as such or be the basis for an investment decision.

An investment in the strategy described herein has risks, including the risk of losing some or all of the invested capital. An investor should carefully consider the risks and suitability of an investment strategy based on their own investment objectives and financial position. There is no assurance that the investment objectives and/or trends will come to pass or be maintained. The information contained herein may include preliminary information and/or “forward-looking statements.” Due to numerous factors, actual events may differ substantially from those presented herein. TCW assumes no duty to update any forward-looking statements or opinions in this document. This material comprises the assets under management of The TCW Group, Inc. and its subsidiaries, including TCW Investment Management Company LLC, TCW Asset Management Company LLC, and Metropolitan West Asset Management, LLC. Any opinions expressed herein are current only as of the time made and are subject to change without notice. The investment processes described herein are illustrative only and are subject to change. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. © 2018 TCW

Investment Team

  • Photo: Tad Rivelle
    Tad Rivelle
    Group Managing Director

    Tad Rivelle is Chief Investment Officer, Fixed Income, overseeing more than $180 billion in fixed income assets, including over $100 billion of fixed income mutual fund as-sets 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 Manag-er 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: Laird R. Landmann
    Laird R. Landmann
    Group Managing Director

    Mr. Landmann is a Generalist Portfolio Manager in the Fixed Income Group. He joined TCW in 2009 during the acquisition of Metropolitan West Asset Management LLC (MetWest). Mr. Landmann currently serves on the boards of the TCW and Metropolitan West Mutual Funds. Mr. Landmann currently co-manages many of TCW and MetWest’s mutual funds, including the MetWest Total Return Bond Fund, the MetWest High Yield Bond Fund and the TCW Core Fixed Income Fund, and leads the fixed income group’s risk management efforts. He is a leader of the MetWest investment team that was recognized as Morningstar’s Fixed Income Manager of the Year for 2005 and has been nominated for the award eight times. Prior to founding MetWest in 1996, Mr. Landmann was a principal and the co-director of fixed income at Hotchkis and Wiley. He also served as a portfolio manager and vice president at PIMCO. Mr. Landmann holds an AB in Economics from Dartmouth College and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

  • Photo: Stephen M. Kane, CFA
    Stephen M. Kane, CFA
    Group Managing Director

    Mr. Kane is a Generalist Portfolio Manager in the Fixed Income group. He joined TCW in 2009 during the acquisition of Metropolitan West Asset Management LLC (MetWest). At MetWest, Mr. Kane was responsible for leading MetWest’s AlphaTrak, Ultra Short and Liability Driven Investment (LDI) products, and he co-manages many of the firm’s mutual funds. Under his co-leadership, the MetWest investment team was recognized as Morningstar’s Fixed Income Manager of the Year for 2005. Prior to establishing MetWest, he was a fixed income portfolio manager at Hotchkis and Wiley. He also served as a Vice President at PIMCO. Mr. Kane earned a BS in Business from the University of California, Berkeley and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He is a CFA charterholder.

  • Photo: Bryan T. Whalen, CFA
    Bryan T. Whalen, CFA
    Group Managing Director

    Mr. Whalen is a Generalist Portfolio Manager in the Fixed Income group. Mr. Whalen joined TCW in 2009 during the acquisition of Metropolitan West Asset Management LLC (MetWest) as co-head of the Securitized Products division. Prior to joining TCW, Mr. Whalen was a Partner and Co-head of MetWest’s Securitized Products division. Prior to joining MetWest in 2004, he was a Director in the Fixed Income department at Credit Suisse First Boston in New York. Previously, he was a Vice President at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette. Mr. Whalen earned a BA in Economics from Yale University. He is a CFA charterholder.

  • Photo: Jerry Cudzil
    Jerry Cudzil
    Managing Director

    Mr. Cudzil is a Specialist Portfolio Manager and head of Credit Trading. He oversees the Fixed Income group’s trading of investment grade corporate bonds, high yield bonds, leveraged loans and credit derivatives. Prior to joining TCW in 2012, Mr. Cudzil was a High Yield Bond Trader for Morgan Stanley and Deutsche Bank, specializing in project finance, aviation, and energy securities. He was previously a Portfolio Manager for Dimaio Ahmad Capital, managing the multi-strategy credit fund and aviation fund and leading the firm’s risk management team. Mr. Cudzil began his career as a Corporate Bond Trader for Prudential Securities and has also traded investment grade and high yield debt for Credit Suisse and Goldman Sachs. Mr. Cudzil earned a BA in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania.

  • Photo: Jamie Farnham
    Jamie Farnham
    Managing Director

    Mr. Farnham joined TCW in 2009 as the Director of Credit Research and a Specialist Portfolio Manager in the Fixed Income group. Previously with Metropolitan West Asset Management LLC (MetWest), Mr. Farnham served as a Portfolio Manager where he led a team of credit analysts and oversaw the firm’s proprietary credit research process within the corporate, high yield, and leveraged loan markets. Prior to that, he was a Private Equity Investor at Primus Capital after working as an Investment Banker at Merrill Lynch in New York, focusing on new issue origination of equity and fixed income securities, as well as mergers and acquisitions. Mr. Farnham holds an AB in Economics from Princeton University and an MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management.

  • 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.

  • 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: Bret R. Barker
    Bret R. Barker
    Managing Director

    Mr. Barker is a Specialist Portfolio Manager – Treasuries in the Fixed Income group. Mr. Barker joined TCW in 2009 during the acquisition of Metropolitan West Asset Man-agement LLC (MetWest). He is responsible for the portfolio management of Treasuries, TIPS, agencies, money market instruments, and derivatives. In conjunction with the generalist portfolio managers, he implements decisions on duration and yield curve positioning across all MetWest and several TCW products. Prior to joining MetWest in 1997, he worked at Coast Asset Management in their futures and options department. Mr. Barker earned a BBA in Business with a minor in classical studies from Loyola Marymount University.

  • 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).

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