DoubleLine Portfolio Manager Morris Chen joins Bloomberg’s ETF IQ to discuss his approach to commercial real estate (CRE) credit in a bifurcated market. With the CRE recovery uneven across property types and geographies, Mr. Morris emphasizes that selectivity is everything, with careful bottom-up credit analysis essential to identifying which loans will pay off on time at maturity versus those at risk of extension or impairment.
On data centers, he maintains his skeptical stance from early 2025, arguing that when spreads on data center commercial mortgage-backed securities are comparable to more traditional property types, there is little reason to take on the additional uncertainty. Mr. Morris sees data center exposure as better suited for the equity side of the capital structure and notes that with a full menu of brick-and-mortar lending opportunities available, DoubleLine remains on the sidelines in that space for now – though a meaningful spread reset could change the calculus.
Mr. Chen joined DoubleLine at its inception in 2009. He is a Portfolio Manager leading the CMBS/CRE Debt Investment team and CRE New Investment Review Group, and is responsible for the oversight and management of all CRE Debt related investments at DoubleLine. Mr. Chen is a permanent member of the Fixed Income Asset Allocation and Structured Products Committees providing valued insight into the CMBS sector. He is also an active participant and speaker at CREFC events. Prior to DoubleLine, Mr. Chen was a Vice President at TCW where he was responsible for CMBS credit analysis and trading from 2004-2009. He holds a BS in Business Administration with concentrations in Business Development and Finance from the University of California, Riverside.
