Unconstrained bond funds generally fall into a broad category of fixed income strategies that defy the neat categorization investors have come to expect from the investment fund landscape. Morningstar defines the unconstrained category as funds that use both tactical duration management and more-concentrated sector allocations relative to traditional bond strategies. Unconstrained funds tend to gain popularity among fixed income investors in environments that can prove challenging for traditional bond sectors, such as during periods of rising interest rates as well as low-yielding interest rate environments. These strategies can potentially offer benefits to investors on a standalone basis and within the context of a broader fixed income allocation. The benefits might include better relative performance in a rising interest rate environment, reduced correlation to existing fixed income holdings and an ability to derive return from credit premiums. Unconstrained bond strategies can complement traditional core fixed income strategies benchmarked against the Bloomberg Barclays US Aggregate Bond Index (the “Agg”) in a well-diversified portfolio, potentially providing a higher level of income and improving risk-adjusted returns across various interest rate environments and stages of an economic cycle. There are, however, potential pitfalls involved in unconstrained bond investing that investors should evaluate carefully.
Mr. Gundlach is CEO of DoubleLine. In 2011, he appeared on the cover of Barron's as "The New Bond King." In 2013, Institutional Investor named him "Money Manager of the Year." In 2012, 2015 and 2016, he was named one of "The Fifty Most Influential" in Bloomberg Markets. In 2017, he was inducted into the FIASI Fixed Income Hall of Fame. Mr. Gundlach is a summa cum laude graduate of Dartmouth College, with degrees in Mathematics and Philosophy.
As DoubleLine’s Deputy Chief Investment Officer, Jeffrey Sherman oversees and administers DoubleLine’s Investment Management sub-committee coordinating and implementing policies and processes across the investment teams. He also serves as lead portfolio manager for multi-sector and derivative-based strategies. Mr. Sherman is a member of DoubleLine’s Executive Management and Fixed Income Asset Allocation Committees. He can be heard regularly on his podcast “The Sherman Show” (Twitter @ShermanShowPod, ShermanShow@Doubleline.com) where he interviews distinguished guests, giving listeners insight into DoubleLine’s current views. In 2018, Money Management Executive named Jeffrey Sherman as one of “10 Fund Managers to Watch” in its yearly special report. Prior to joining DoubleLine in 2009, Mr. Sherman was a Senior Vice President at TCW where he worked as a portfolio manager and quantitative analyst focused on fixed income and real-asset portfolios. He was a statistics and mathematics instructor at both the University of the Pacific and Florida State University. Mr. Sherman taught Quantitative Methods for Level I candidates in the CFA LA/USC Review Program for many years. He holds a B.S. in Applied Mathematics from the University of the Pacific and an M.S. in Financial Engineering from the Claremont Graduate University. Mr. Sherman is a CFA® charterholder.
