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DoubleLine Capital
DoubleLine Capital
DoubleLine Capital
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DoubleLine Capital ("DoubleLine") is an American investment management firm headquartered in Tampa, Florida. It is known for its focus on investing in the bond market but also invests in other asset classes such as equities and commodities. The firm is majority owned by its employees.

Key Information

Background

[edit]

Jeffrey Gundlach was employed at TCW Group where he managed its Total Return Bond Fund which at the time was one of the top performing funds in the last 10 years that invested in intermediate-term bonds. It produced returns that exceeded those that were managed by Bill Gross. On 4 December 2009, he was fired by TCW and was alleged to be engaged in gross misconduct by plotting to take TCW's clients and trade secrets to establish his own rival firm. It was noted that the relationship between Gundlach and senior members such as Marc Stern and Robert Addison Day had deteriorated before then.[2][3][4][5][6]

In December 2009, shortly after leaving TCW, Gundlach, Philip Barach and 14 senior members of their team set up DoubleLine Capital in Los Angeles, California. The name DoubleLine came from a painting by Piet Mondrian called Double Line. Gundlach and Barach reached out to Howard Marks who was the co-founder of Oaktree Capital Management as well as a former employee of TCW who knew them during their time there. Oaktree Capital Management invested $20 million in DoubleLine for a 20% stake. On 23 December, DoubleLine registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission.[2][3][4][5][6][7]

On 7 January 2010, TCW sued Gundlach with DoubleLine being named as a defendant in the case. TCW alleged that Gundlach and the firm stole its company secrets and clients. 45 out of 65 of Gundlach's old TCW team had joined DoubleLine. Gundlach countersued TCW stating it owed him millions in unpaid compensation. By December 2011, the lawsuit was settled. TWC prevailed on the trade secret case but the jury awarded nothing for the damages. An undisclosed settlement was reached between Gundlach and TCW. Gundlach prevailed on the unpaid compensation case and the jury awarded him and three other former TCW employees $66.7 million in unpaid wages.[2][3][4][5][6]

On 6 April 2010, DoubleLine started accepted investor money and launched its own Total Return Fund which was managed by Gundlach himself. By December that year, the firm had over $7 billion in assets under management.[2][6]

In July 2011, DoubleLine launched its first closed-end fund, the DoubleLine Opportunistic Credit Fund which was managed by Gundlach himself.[8]

By November 2012, DoubleLine was managing $50 billion.[2][9]

In January 2013, DoubleLine established a new division that would manage equity portfolios called DoubleLine Equity LP.[10]

It was reported that after the 2016 United States presidential election, Gundlach who voted for Donald Trump and predicted his victory forwarded an email to DoubleLine employees with an image of Trump smiling in front of a garbage truck carting Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama away. The image angered some of the employees, who felt it blurred the line between politics and business.[11]

In 2019, the firm experienced a number of high level staff departures which was considered uncharacteristic. During this period DoubleLine's performance had dropped however it had over $140 billion in assets under management.[12][13]

In February 2022, DoubleLine moved its headquarters from Los Angeles to Tampa, Florida due to its tax laws.[14]

In April 2022, DoubleLine launched its first two exchange-traded funds (ETF), the DoubleLine Opportunistic Bond ETF and the DoubleLine Shiller CAPE US Equities ETF. Prior to that, DoubleLine served as sub-advisor to ETFs offered by State Street Global Advisors and AdvisorShares.[15]

In April 2023, one year after its ETF debut, DoubleLine moved into the real estate ETF market, launching the DoubleLine Commercial Real Estate ETF and the DoubleLine Mortgage ETF.[16][17]

Investment funds

[edit]
Fund Vintage Year Capital ($m)
DoubleLine Core Fixed Income N (DLFNX)[18] 2010 $6,600
DoubleLine Total Return Bond I (DBLTX)[19] 2010 $30,200
DoubleLine Emerging Markets Fixed Inc N (DLENX)[20][21] 2010 $455.5
DoubleLine Low Duration Bond I (DBLSX)[22] 2011 $5,700
DoubleLine Floating Rate N (DLFRX)[23] 2013 $183
DoubleLine Flexible Income I (DFLEX)[24] 2014 $1,000
DoubleLine Long Duration Total Ret Bd I (DBLDX)[25] 2014 $63
Doubleline Selective Credit I (DBSCX)[26] 2014 $532
DoubleLine Global Bond N (DLGBX)[27] 2015 $145
DoubleLine Strategic Commodity I (DBCMX)[28] 2015 $141
DoubleLine Infrastructure Income I (BILDX)[29] 2016 $374,400
DoubleLine Infrastructure Income N (BILTX)[30] 2016 $374,400
DoubleLine Emerging Markets Fixed Inc I (DBLEX)[31] 2019 $455,500
DoubleLine Core Fixed Income R6 (DDCFX)[32] 2019 $6,600
DoubleLine Multi-Asset Trend N (DLMOX)[33] 2021 $12.3

References

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DoubleLine Capital

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DoubleLine Capital LP is an independent, employee-owned firm specializing in fixed-income strategies, founded in 2009 by , who serves as its and . The firm focuses on approaches across such as mortgage-backed securities, emerging market debt, and multi-sector bonds, managing approximately $95 billion in as of September 2024. Established in after Gundlach's exit from Trust Company of the West amid disagreements over strategic direction, DoubleLine has prioritized rigorous credit analysis and to pursue superior risk-adjusted returns, distinguishing itself from passive bond indexing amid volatile environments. Gundlach, recognized for prescient market calls including early warnings on subprime mortgage risks, has led the firm to rapid growth, with its funds often outperforming benchmarks in periods of market stress through active duration and sector allocation decisions. While celebrated for its performance track record, DoubleLine has navigated internal disputes and external litigation, including a successful defense against a $500 million securities claim in 2024, underscoring Gundlach's hands-on amid competitive pressures in active fixed-income . The firm's employee-ownership structure aligns incentives toward long-term value creation, fostering a team with an average of over two decades of experience in debt investments.

Founding and Early Development

Origins from TCW Departure

, who had served as chief investment officer at TCW Group Inc. since 2006 and managed its flagship fixed-income funds, was terminated by the firm on December 4, 2009. TCW cited Gundlach's alleged threats to depart with key subordinates and proprietary strategies as the basis for the dismissal, claiming it amounted to a plan to undermine the company. Gundlach denied these accusations, asserting in subsequent legal proceedings that the firing stemmed from earlier internal conflicts, including disputes over compensation and equity ownership dating back to 2001. In the immediate aftermath, Gundlach established DoubleLine Capital LP on December 15, 2009, in , , securing seed capital and operational backing from LP. Roughly 30 professionals from TCW's fixed-income team, including portfolio managers and analysts who had worked closely with Gundlach, resigned to join the new venture, enabling a rapid launch of bond strategies mirroring those at TCW. This exodus contributed to significant client outflows from TCW, with approximately $25 billion in assets redeemed in the following months, many of which subsequently flowed to DoubleLine's emerging funds. The departure precipitated litigation, as TCW filed suit against Gundlach and DoubleLine in January 2010, alleging , misappropriation of trade secrets, and interference with client relationships; Gundlach countersued, seeking damages for wrongful termination and withheld compensation. The dispute, which centered on control over investment approaches and personnel non-compete clauses, was settled confidentially in January 2012, allowing DoubleLine to operate independently without further encumbrances from TCW claims. This acrimonious split underscored DoubleLine's origins as a direct successor to Gundlach's TCW operations, leveraging his established track record in total return bond management to attract institutional and retail investors amid the post-financial crisis recovery.

Establishment in 2009 and Initial Growth

DoubleLine Capital was founded in December 2009 by , who departed of the West (TCW) amid disagreements over the firm's direction after building its fixed-income business for 24 years. Gundlach, accompanied by approximately 45 professionals from TCW, established the Los Angeles-based firm with an initial focus on active fixed-income management, emphasizing security selection, sector allocation, and risk-adjusted returns. The venture began without initial , facing immediate challenges including a contentious from TCW that threatened its viability. In April 2010, DoubleLine began accepting investor capital and launched its flagship DoubleLine Total Return , personally managed by Gundlach, which replicated and extended strategies from his prior TCW funds known for strong performance amid the post-financial crisis recovery. The fund quickly drew inflows, attracting $10 billion within 16 months by August 2011, setting a record for the fastest-growing bond at the time, fueled by Gundlach's reputation as a leading bond and the team's average 23 years of collective experience. The firm's assets under management expanded rapidly in its early years, reaching $34 billion by May 2012 and surpassing $50 billion by November 2012, driven by institutional and retail investor interest in DoubleLine's opportunistic fixed-income approach amid low interest rates and economic uncertainty. This growth reflected the portability of Gundlach's investment track record and client relationships from TCW, despite legal hurdles, positioning DoubleLine as one of the quickest-rising asset managers in the sector.

Leadership and Governance

Role of Jeffrey Gundlach as CEO-CIO

founded DoubleLine Capital in December 2009 and has served as its (CEO) and (CIO) since inception. His departure from , where he held the CIO position until his dismissal earlier that month, prompted the launch, as Gundlach sought an environment prioritizing asset management excellence over conflicting institutional priorities; he recruited 45 colleagues to join him, with initial backing from . As CEO, Gundlach directs the firm's overall operations, governance, and culture, fostering a structure with approximately 79% employee ownership as of January 2023 to align incentives with long-term performance and risk discipline. He has emphasized prudent decision-making, embedding a philosophy symbolized by the firm's name: avoiding speculative risks comparable to a driver staying within the double lines on a treacherous road, thereby prioritizing capital preservation alongside return generation. In his CIO capacity, Gundlach shapes DoubleLine's core fixed-income strategies, overseeing portfolio construction across global sectors with a focus on active risk-adjusted outperformance through bottom-up security selection and macroeconomic foresight. His influence extends to tactical adjustments, such as navigating cycles and dislocations, drawing from prior successes like early identification of mortgage market vulnerabilities pre-2008. Under his , the firm has expanded product offerings while maintaining a conservative approach to leverage and duration risks. Gundlach's dual role enables integrated oversight, where executive decisions reinforce investment discipline; he regularly disseminates market insights via firm commentaries and media appearances, informing both internal tactics and client positioning on topics like policy and economic data reliability. This hands-on involvement has earned him accolades, including Barron's 2011 designation as "The New Bond King," reflecting his impact on DoubleLine's growth from startup to a multi-billion-dollar manager.

Organizational Structure and Employee Ownership

DoubleLine Capital is structured as an independent , with operations centered in . The firm is led by in dual roles as (CEO) and (CIO), providing centralized strategic oversight for investment decisions and firm direction. An Executive Committee, comprising senior leaders, manages day-to-day operations, sets organizational priorities, and ensures alignment across portfolio management, risk, and distribution functions. Ownership is distributed through limited partnership interests in DoubleLine Management, emphasizing employee alignment with long-term performance. As detailed in the firm's Form ADV filing dated November 6, 2024, approximately 79% of these interests are owned by DoubleLine group employees, fostering accountability and retention among investment professionals. An additional 20% is held by a single individual, presumed to be founder based on his foundational role, while the remaining 1% belongs to non-employee affiliates. This majority-employee ownership model, established since the firm's inception, supports a stable, incentive-driven culture without external institutional control beyond initial minority investments that have since diluted. The partnership structure avoids public market pressures, allowing focus on risk-adjusted returns over short-term metrics, as articulated in firm disclosures. Employee ownership stakes are typically vested through performance and tenure, reinforcing Gundlach's philosophy of merit-based continuity in fixed-income expertise. This setup has contributed to low key-person risk, with an average team tenure exceeding two decades as of 2024.

Investment Strategies

Fixed-Income Core Philosophy

DoubleLine Capital's fixed-income investment philosophy centers on delivering superior risk-adjusted returns through rigorous , prioritizing principal preservation over chasing incremental yield that could compromise capital. The firm emphasizes constructing portfolios with asymmetric, positively skewed risk-reward profiles, focusing on rather than benchmark-relative performance. This approach integrates top-down macroeconomic assessments with bottom-up security selection to identify optimal reward-to-risk opportunities across fixed-income sectors, while avoiding speculative rate predictions in favor of scenario-resilient positioning. At the core of this philosophy is the Asset Allocation (FIAA) process, which blends tactical adjustments to asset class exposures with specialized bottom-up research. Led by CEO and Chief Investment Officer , the FIAA Committee convenes monthly with senior portfolio managers to evaluate sector fundamentals, relative valuations, and economic outlooks, determining over- or underweights in areas such as mortgage-backed securities, corporate credit, and emerging markets debt. Duration and credit quality targets are set accordingly to mitigate downside risks, drawing on the team's deep expertise in fixed-income markets. In practice, this manifests in strategies like the Core Fixed Income Fund, where active is deemed paramount for risk mitigation and total return enhancement, investing at least 80% of assets in a diversified mix of government bonds, agency and non-agency mortgage-backed securities, and global instruments. Sector specialists conduct intensive relative value analysis to select securities, ensuring portfolios balance current income generation with capital appreciation potential amid varying and environments. This disciplined framework, rooted in Gundlach's emphasis on avoiding unnecessary risks, has underpinned DoubleLine's fixed-income mandates since the firm's in 2009.

Expansion into Multi-Asset Classes

DoubleLine Capital initiated its expansion into multi-asset strategies shortly after its founding, launching the DoubleLine Multi-Asset Growth Fund on December 20, 2010, as its first offering to invest across both equities and fixed income. This fund, managed by Jeffrey Sherman, sought long-term capital appreciation through active allocation among various asset classes, market sectors, and individual securities, marking a deliberate diversification from the firm's core fixed-income focus. The strategy represented an early effort to broaden investor access to blended portfolios, seeded initially with internal capital. Subsequent developments included the introduction of systematic multi-asset approaches, such as the DoubleLine Multi-Asset Trend Fund, which opened to investors on February 26, 2021. This fund employed trend-following models to capture momentum in four broad —equities, fixed income, commodities, and currencies—aiming to provide downside protection and upside participation through dynamic positioning. DoubleLine positioned it as an extension of its quantitative capabilities, with portfolio managers leveraging proprietary signals for allocation decisions. By 2017, internal promotions and strategic pushes under CEO underscored ongoing commitments to evolve beyond fixed-income niches, incorporating equity elements into multi-asset frameworks. The firm's multi-asset offerings have included equity-tilted vehicles, such as strategies informed by the Shiller CAPE ratio for U.S. equities, reflecting a of opportunistic cross-asset to enhance returns and manage volatility. However, some funds faced challenges, with the Multi-Asset Growth Fund liquidated in October 2023 and the Multi-Asset Trend Fund scheduled for closure in February 2025 due to low . Despite these outcomes, the expansion demonstrated DoubleLine's intent to offer diversified solutions, blending its fixed-income expertise with broader asset class exposure for institutional and retail investors.

Key Funds and Products

Total Return and Bond Funds

The DoubleLine Total Return Bond Fund, launched on April 6, 2010, serves as the firm's flagship , seeking to maximize total return through investments in fixed-income securities. The fund allocates at least 80% of its net assets to debt securities, with more than 50% typically directed toward mortgage-backed securities (MBS), including both agency-guaranteed and non-agency varieties, alongside U.S. Treasuries and other structured products. This strategy emphasizes active portfolio management, bottom-up security selection to identify undervalued assets, and sector rotation based on relative value assessments, aiming to outperform the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index while managing and credit risks. As of September 30, 2025, the fund's Class I shares (DBLTX) reported a year-to-date return of 6.64%, surpassing the benchmark's 6.13%, with one-year returns at 3.69% compared to the index's 2.88%. Historical calendar-year performance includes 3.08% in 2024, 5.33% in 2023, and -12.56% in 2022, reflecting sensitivity to rising interest rates during the latter period but resilience in income generation from securitized holdings. The fund's focus on MBS has historically provided enhanced yields relative to Treasuries, though it introduces extension risk in non-agency tranches where prepayment and default dynamics are analyzed via proprietary models. Share classes include institutional (minimum $100,000), N shares for retail investors, and others with varying expense ratios around 0.50% for Class I. Complementing the core Total Return Bond Fund, DoubleLine offers specialized bond funds tailored to duration, geography, and risk profiles. The Long Duration Total Return Bond Fund, inception December 15, 2014, extends maturity exposure for investors seeking higher sensitivity to declines, targeting long-term total return through extended-duration MBS and Treasuries, with year-to-date returns of 5.88% as of September 30, 2025. The Low Duration Bond Fund prioritizes capital preservation with shorter maturities (typically under three years), investing in agency MBS, corporate credits, and floating-rate notes to mitigate rate volatility. Other offerings include the Global Bond Fund for diversified international exposure and the Core Fixed Income Fund, which tracks closer to the U.S. Aggregate Index with opportunistic tilts. These funds collectively embody DoubleLine's fixed-income philosophy of exploiting inefficiencies in securitized and credit markets over passive indexing.

Institutional and Alternative Vehicles

DoubleLine Capital LP manages customized separate accounts for institutional investors, encompassing strategies primarily in fixed-income assets with discretion over client allocations. As of September 2024, separate account totaled approximately $17.4 billion, representing a significant portion of the firm's overall institutional offerings alongside mutual funds and subadvisory mandates. These vehicles enable tailored risk-adjusted approaches, often incorporating core bond, opportunistic , and multi-sector fixed-income portfolios to meet specific institutional guidelines such as duration targets or sector restrictions. DoubleLine also provides collective investment trusts (CITs) for plans, facilitating low-cost access to its fixed-income expertise for defined contribution participants. In the alternative investments space, DoubleLine Alternatives LP, a SEC-registered affiliated with the firm, oversees specialized for institutional clients, including the DoubleLine Shiller Enhanced CAPE®, an equity employing cyclically adjusted price-to-earnings ratios for sector rotation, and the DoubleLine Strategic Commodity Fund, which pursues -linked returns through futures and related instruments. These alternatives emphasize objectives and diversification beyond traditional bonds, with the fund targeting inflation-hedging via systematic trend-following. Complementing these, DoubleLine collaborates on closed-end funds like the RiverNorth/DoubleLine Strategic Opportunity Fund (OPP), a multi-manager launched in that opportunistically allocates to fixed-income securities, distressed , and other alternatives for enhanced yield potential. Such structures provide institutional access to illiquid or tactical opportunities not available in standard mutual funds, though they carry higher fees and liquidity risks inherent to alternative formats.

Performance and Market Insights

Historical Returns and Benchmarks

The DoubleLine Total Return Bond Fund, the firm's flagship offering launched on April 6, 2010, has delivered an annualized return of 4.00% since inception through September 30, 2025, outperforming its primary benchmark, the , which returned 2.61% over the same period. This long-term edge stems from active security selection, particularly in mortgage-backed securities and other fixed-income sectors, though the fund's performance has closely mirrored the benchmark in recent shorter periods amid volatile environments. Over the trailing 10 years ended September 30, 2025, the fund's Class I shares (DBLTX) achieved an annualized return of 1.85%, nearly identical to the benchmark's 1.84%, reflecting challenges from prolonged low yields followed by sharp rate hikes in 2022. Calendar-year returns illustrate variability: 3.08% in 2024, 5.33% in 2023, -12.56% in 2022 (versus the benchmark's approximate -13.01%), 0.24% in 2021, and 4.12% in 2020. Shorter-term metrics as of the same date show slight outperformance, with 1-year returns of 3.69% (benchmark: 2.88%), 3-year annualized at 4.97% (benchmark: 4.93%), and 5-year at 0.38% (benchmark: -0.45%). Year-to-date through September 30, 2025, returns stood at 6.64% (benchmark: 6.13%).
Period (Annualized, %)DBLTX ReturnBloomberg US Aggregate Bond Index
Since Inception (4/6/2010)4.002.61
10-Year1.851.84
5-Year0.38-0.45
3-Year4.974.93
1-Year3.692.88
YTD (as of 9/30/2025)6.646.13
The DoubleLine Core Fixed Income Fund (DBLFX), a more conservative core-plus strategy, has similarly tracked the benchmark closely, with a 10-year annualized return of 2.25% versus 1.84% through September 30, 2025, and since-inception returns of 3.66% against 2.47%. These results highlight DoubleLine's focus yielding modest alpha through tactical duration management and sector allocation, though broader market forces like policy have dominated returns since the post-2008 low-yield era. Performance across classes varies slightly due to expense ratios, ranging from 0.43% for R6 shares to 0.75% for N shares, but institutional Class I data is representative for benchmarking. All figures represent past performance and do not predict future results, as fixed-income returns are sensitive to shifts and spreads.

Gundlach's Predictions and Economic Commentary

Jeffrey Gundlach, as DoubleLine Capital's CEO and CIO, has delivered annual economic outlooks through presentations such as "Just Markets," where he analyzes macroeconomic trends, market valuations, and policy impacts. In the January 16, 2025, edition titled "Man Leaving a Bus: What Does It Mean?," Gundlach examined societal shifts and their implications for investment strategies, emphasizing caution amid evolving economic signals. His commentaries often highlight fixed-income perspectives, drawing on dynamics like yield curves and credit spreads to forecast broader risks. In March 2025, Gundlach elevated his recession probability estimate to 50-60% for the year, citing an inverted 2-year to 10-year Treasury persisting since mid-2022, downward revisions to labor exceeding 900,000 jobs, and weakening consumer indicators. He argued that traditional signals, while altered by post-pandemic distortions, still pointed to heightened downside risks, with U.S. likely underperforming international equities due to dollar weakening. Gundlach anticipated limited rate cuts, projecting no more than two in 2025, as persistent inflation pressures—forecast at around 3% by year-end—constrained aggressive easing. By mid-2025, Gundlach expressed skepticism toward official reliability, noting revisions and discrepancies that undermined confidence in metrics like figures. In , he critiqued the Fed's policy dilemma, warning against overeasing that could exacerbate amid sticky price levels, while favoring emerging-market bonds in local currencies for yield opportunities in a "very unusual" global environment. In September 2025 interviews, Gundlach warned of "disturbing" resurgence driven by tariffs and supply constraints, alongside an "anti-dollar" trend eroding the currency's reserve status, recommending up to 25% portfolio allocations to —which he projected could reach $4,000 per before year-end—as a . He outlined 12 predictions encompassing subdued sentiment, rising unemployment, stagnant housing, and steepening, while advising avoidance of overvalued U.S. . These views positioned DoubleLine defensively, prioritizing selection over duration in .

TCW Lawsuit and Resolution

In December 2009, , then chief investment officer at Inc., was terminated by the firm on December 4, amid reports of internal disputes over compensation and equity dilution. Gundlach founded LP on December 18, 2009, launching it with a focus on fixed-income strategies similar to those he managed at TCW. TCW subsequently filed a lawsuit against Gundlach, , and several former TCW employees on January 7, 2010, in , alleging breach of duty, , theft of trade secrets, and to misappropriate confidential client data, portfolio models, and proprietary research to benefit DoubleLine. TCW sought damages exceeding $300 million, claiming Gundlach and his team engaged in a premeditated plan to solicit TCW clients and transfer , including downloading thousands of files containing trade secrets prior to his departure. Gundlach countersued TCW, asserting wrongful termination without cause, , and failure to pay owed wages and bonuses, while denying the theft allegations and arguing that TCW's actions were motivated by greed to retain his performance fees amid negotiations over his equity stake. Some of TCW's claims against DoubleLine Funds Trust were dismissed early in 2011 for lack of evidence tying the entity directly to the alleged misconduct. The case proceeded to in July 2011, lasting several weeks and revealing tensions over TCW's changes, including a 2009 deal with that Gundlach opposed for diluting employee stakes. In September 2011, a jury awarded Gundlach and three former TCW executives $66.7 million in damages for unpaid wages and bonuses, finding TCW liable on those counts, but rejected most of TCW's misappropriation claims or awarded minimal damages where liability was found. On December 29, 2011, TCW, Gundlach, and DoubleLine announced a confidential settlement resolving all outstanding claims, with both parties stating it allowed them to move forward without further litigation. The agreement's terms were not disclosed, though analysts noted it likely involved compromises given the mixed outcomes, enabling DoubleLine's rapid asset growth from seed capital to over $10 billion within a year post-settlement.

Partner Disputes and Rating Agency Conflicts

In 2014, , founder of DoubleLine Capital, announced a plan to expand the firm's partnership units by 20% annually through new awards aimed at retaining and attracting portfolio managers and other key talent. This initiative, intended to align incentives with performance, later sparked disputes with former partners who alleged that the dilution of their equity stakes breached duties and the limited partnership agreement. The claimants, including executives such as Philip Barach, argued that the unit issuances undervalued their interests and favored Gundlach's control, leading to under the firm's agreement stipulating private resolution over court proceedings. The arbitration panel, in a ruling favoring DoubleLine, determined that a conflict-of-interest in the documents modified the of , thereby validating the dilution practices. Testimony from expert Edward Rock supported this interpretation, emphasizing that the explicitly permitted such actions to incentivize talent amid competitive pressures in . In July 2023, the former partners sought to vacate the award in Delaware Chancery , accusing DoubleLine of diluting shares akin to tactics Gundlach had criticized elsewhere, but the firm countersued for legal fees and upheld the panel's decision. By January 2024, the court confirmed the arbitration award, denying all claims against DoubleLine and Gundlach after finding insufficient evidence to overturn the panel's reasoning on contract interpretation and modifications. The resolution reinforced DoubleLine's internal structure, which prioritizes equity incentives for performance, though it highlighted tensions in scaling a founder-led firm managing over $90 billion in assets without public equity markets. DoubleLine has not faced major public legal conflicts with credit rating agencies such as Moody's, S&P, or Fitch, despite Gundlach's longstanding public critiques of their methodologies, particularly in assessing corporate and junk bond risks during economic cycles. The firm routinely relies on agency ratings for portfolio quality disclosures, mapping them to S&P conventions even when sourced from others, while noting limitations in unrated securities. Gundlach has argued that rating agencies often lag market realities, as evidenced by discrepancies in bond versus agency assessments, but these views represent analytical disagreements rather than formalized disputes.

Recent Developments and Outlook

AUM Growth and 2020s Market Positioning

DoubleLine Capital's assets under management peaked above $150 billion by 2019, reflecting strong inflows during the low-interest-rate environment of the 2010s. However, the onset of rising inflation and interest rates in the early 2020s triggered significant outflows, with the flagship Total Return Bond Fund alone experiencing approximately $18 billion in redemptions since January 2020 amid weak performance in 2019 and 2020. Overall firm AUM contracted to roughly $90 billion by August 2025, as reported in regulatory filings, stabilizing after the initial post-pandemic volatility but failing to regain prior highs due to competitive pressures in active fixed-income management. In market positioning during the 2020s, DoubleLine emphasized active fixed-income strategies with shorter durations and opportunistic credit allocations to navigate the Federal Reserve's rate-hiking cycle from 2022 onward, prioritizing yield enhancement over long-duration exposure vulnerable to price declines. The firm diversified beyond traditional mutual funds by launching exchange-traded funds, such as the Opportunistic Core Bond in recent years, targeting diversified active bond exposure for retail and institutional investors amid heightened rate uncertainty. This approach, rooted in rigorous security selection and sector rotation, aimed to deliver superior risk-adjusted returns in a regime of persistent fiscal deficits and potential policy shifts, while branching into multi-asset and equity-linked offerings to broaden appeal.

2025 Economic Views on Debt and Recession Risks

In early 2025, Jeffrey Gundlach, CEO of DoubleLine Capital, elevated his assessment of U.S. recession risks to a 50-60% probability occurring in the coming quarters, citing persistent indicators such as the inverted yield curve between two-year and ten-year Treasuries, weakening consumer sentiment, and slowing economic momentum despite Federal Reserve rate cuts. This view contrasted with DoubleLine's March Fixed Income Outlook, which maintained a base case of no recession, projecting 1.7% GDP growth amid stubborn inflation at 2.7% and expecting only 50 basis points of Fed rate reductions. Gundlach argued that U.S. stocks would underperform globally in a downturn, with the dollar likely depreciating, as evidenced by early 2025 market reversals including post-election stock losses and falling Treasury yields. On U.S. debt, Gundlach warned in June 2025 of an impending "reckoning" for , describing the nation's burden and expenses as "untenable" and poised to drive investors away from dollar-based assets toward alternatives like , , and non-U.S. equities. This prompted DoubleLine to shift positioning for the first time in years, reducing U.S. dollar exposure in favor of foreign currencies amid projections of escalating deficits under expansions. Gundlach highlighted structural market shifts and unsustainable fiscal trajectories, noting that rising service costs—potentially amplified by recessionary pressures—could exacerbate maturity walls in corporate and sovereign profiles through 2027-2028. DoubleLine's broader 2025 commentary, including its Prime discussions, flagged related vulnerabilities like bear-steepening curves and potential bubbles, underscoring 's role in amplifying economic fragility without endorsing recession as inevitable.

References

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  23. https://www.cnbc.com/video/2025/08/04/doublelines-jeffrey-gundlach-economic-data-is-becoming-much-less-reliable.html
  24. https://doubleline.com/about-us/executives-and-teams/
  25. https://doubleline.com/wp-content/uploads/DoubleLine-Capital-Form-ADV-Part-2A_2024-11-06.pdf
  26. https://doubleline.com/wp-content/uploads/Jonathan-Kingery_DoubleLine-Chief-Distribution-Officer_9-29-2025.pdf
  27. https://doubleline.com/fiaa/
  28. https://doubleline.com/funds/core-fixed-income-fund/
  29. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/doubleline-opens-the-doubleline-multi-asset-growth-fund-via-load-and-no-load-share-classes-116236779.html
  30. https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/DMLIX/
  31. https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/DMLAX/
  32. https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/DBMOX/
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  35. https://www.mutualfundobserver.com/discuss/discussion/63153/doubleline-multi-asst-trend-fund-will-be-liquidated
  36. https://doubleline.com/funds/total-return-bond-fund/
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  38. https://doubleline.com/mutual-fund-performance/
  39. https://doubleline.com/funds/long-duration-total-return-bond-fund/
  40. https://doubleline.com/funds/low-duration-bond-fund/
  41. https://doubleline.com/retirement/
  42. https://doubleline.com/wp-content/uploads/DoubleLine-Alternatives-Form-ADV-Part-2A_11-6-2024.pdf
  43. https://doubleline.com/disclosure/alternatives-investment-adviser-language/
  44. https://www.rivernorth.com/investments/opp/
  45. https://doubleline.com/wp-content/uploads/All-Funds-Performance-Handout.pdf
  46. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BkN2fYA3Vw
  47. https://doubleline.com/markets-insights/
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  49. https://www.advisorperspectives.com/commentaries/2025/03/13/gundlach-u-s-stocks-will-underperform-in-recession-as-odds-reach-60
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  51. https://www.cnbc.com/2025/06/10/gundlach-says-to-buy-international-stocks-on-dollars-secular-decline.html
  52. https://doubleline.com/markets-insights/jeffrey-gundlach-breaks-down-the-feds-dilemma-and-his-market-outlook/
  53. https://www.marketwatch.com/story/why-gundlach-says-its-a-very-unusual-market-and-what-bonds-he-likes-now-d35caab1
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  55. https://www.cnbc.com/2025/09/17/doublelines-jeffrey-gundlach-believes-holding-a-2gold-hitting-4000-before-year-end-says-a-25percent-weighting-is-not-excessive.html
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  66. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-07-18/gundlach-tangles-with-ex-partners-on-value-of-doubleline-stakes
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