ETF Evaluator:
TCW Senior Loan ETF ()
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(as of Aug 26)
Best Performing in Bank Loan Over the Last Year
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| 5.3% | PGIM Floating Rate Income ETF (PFRL) |
| 5.3% | Virtus Seix Senior Loan ETF (SEIX) |
| 5.0% | Pacer Aristotle Pac Ast Fl Rt Hi Inc ETF (FLRT) |
| 4.7% | T. Rowe Price Floating Rate ETF (TFLR) |
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ETF Details
TCW Senior Loan ETF Overview
TCW Senior Loan ETF (SLNZ) is an actively managed Taxable Bond Bank Loan exchange-traded fund (ETF). TCW launched the ETF in 2013.
The investment seeks current income, with a secondary objective of long-term capital appreciation.
The fund will invest at least 80% of the value of its net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in senior secured floating rate investments and in investments that are the economic equivalent of senior secured floating rate loans. Under normal circumstances, a substantial portion of the fund’s portfolio consists of leveraged loans rated below investment grade or unrated.
About TCW Senior Loan ETF (SLNZ)
There are 5 members of the management team with an average tenure of 6.21 years: Drew Sweeney (2020), Steven Purdy (2021), Ken Toshima (2022), Jerry Cudzil (2013) and Brian Gelfand (2023). Management tenure is more important for actively managed ETFs than passive index ETFs.
The ETF has 2 primary benchmarks: Bloomberg US Universal TR USD index with a weighting of 100% and Morningstar LSTA US LL TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. TCW Senior Loan ETF has 309 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 16.2% of the ETF’s assets. The ETF meets the SEC requirement of being classified as a diversified fund. The ETF is not considered to have an ESG focus with its investment selection and management.
TCW Senior Loan ETF is part of the Fixed Income global asset class and is within the Taxable Bond ETF group. TCW Senior Loan ETF has 13.3% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 0.1% There is 0.0% allocated to foreign stock, and 0.0% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 88.7% (75.4% domestic bond, 13.3% foreign bond and 0.1% convertible bond). TCW Senior Loan ETF has 11.1% of the portfolio in cash.
Assets Under Management
The fund has $222 million in total assets, which is below the $1 billion average for the Bank Loan category. Normally, lower assets under management translates to higher average expense ratios, and greater total assets are desired. However, for some investment categories, such as small-cap investing, it may be difficult for the manager to fully employ the desired active strategy if assets grow too large or too quickly.
SLNZ Performance and Fees
The expense ratio measures how much of a fund’s assets are used for administrative expenses and operating expenses, including adviser fees and fees for the transfer agent and custodial services. The TCW Senior Loan ETF expense ratio is above average compared to funds in the Bank Loan category. TCW Senior Loan ETF has an expense ratio of 0.65%, which is 12% higher than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a D. While it is difficult to predict returns, it is known that high annual expense ratios reduce your rate of return, and excessive fees are difficult to overcome. Active management normally comes with higher expense ratios than passive index management. Certain investment categories such as small company and foreign also normally have higher expense ratios. It is best to compare fund expense ratios against the category averages for meaningful assessments.
High portfolio turnover can translate to higher expenses and lower aftertax returns. TCW Senior Loan ETF has a portfolio turnover rate of 47%, which indicates that it holds its assets around / 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 92% for the Bank Loan category.
Recently, in the month of July 2026, TCW Senior Loan ETF returned 0.7%, which earned it a grade of C, as the Bank Loan category had an average return of 0.6%. The letter grades of A, B, C, D and F are based upon relative rankings within the investment category. A grade of A, for example, would indicate that the return is in the highest 20% for that time period compared to all ETFs in that category.
TCW Senior Loan ETF has a trailing yield of 7.47%, which is above the 7.35% category average.
The fund normally distributes its income monthly and its capital gains annually.
It’s natural to seek the best-performing investments, but you must consider the relationship between risk and return and the impact of costs and taxes on your realized returns.
TCW Senior Loan ETF Grades
Year to date, the ETF has returned 2.5%, 0.6 percentage points better than the category, which translates into a grade of A. The fund has returned 4.3% over the past year (grade of C), 7.1% over the past three years (grade of C) and 5.5% per year over the past five years (grade of B) and 4.7% per year over the past 10 years (grade of B).
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SLNZ Trailing NAV Total Returns Data as of 7/31/26
| Last Month |
Last Quarter |
Ann'l. 1Yr |
Ann'l. 3Yr |
Ann'l. 5Yr |
Ann'l. 10Yr |
|
| SLNZ Return (NAV) | 0.7% | 1.9% | 4.3% | 7.1% | 5.5% | 4.7% |
| SLNZ Return (Price) | 0.8% | 1.8% | 4.4% | 7.1% | 5.4% | 4.7% |
| NAV +/- Price Return | -0.120% | 0.061% | -0.121% | 0.018% | 0.011% | 0.005% |
| Bank Loan Avg | 0.6% | 1.1% | 4.0% | 7.1% | 5.4% | 4.5% |
| SLNZ Grade (NAV) | C | A | C | C | B | B |
| +/- Category (NAV) | 0.0% | 0.7% | 0.3% | 0.1% | 0.0% | 0.2% |
| SLNZ Tax-Cost Ratio | na | na | 3.0% | 3.1% | 2.8% | 2.2% |
SLNZ Annual NAV Total ReturnsData as of 7/31/26
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
| SLNZ Return (NAV) | 2.5% | 5.3% | 9.1% | 12.2% | -2.6% | 3.5% | 3.3% | 7.5% | 0.5% | 3.6% | 6.2% |
| SLNZ Return (Price) | 2.5% | 5.2% | 9.1% | 12.2% | -2.6% | 3.5% | 3.3% | 7.5% | 0.5% | 3.6% | 6.2% |
| NAV +/- Price Ret | -0.002% | -0.013% | 0.002% | 0.000% | 0.000% | 0.000% | 0.000% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Bank Loan Avg | 1.9% | 5.7% | 8.7% | 12.7% | -2.3% | 4.0% | 2.6% | 8.7% | -0.4% | 2.8% | 7.6% |
| SLNZ Grade (NAV) | A | D | B | D | D | D | A | F | A | B | F |
| +/- Category | 0.6% | -0.4% | 0.4% | -0.6% | -0.2% | -0.5% | 0.7% | -1.2% | 0.9% | 0.8% | -1.4% |
| Risk Measures | |
| Beta: | 0.02 |
| R-Squared: | 1% |
| Standard Deviation: | 1.5% |
| Category Risk Index: | 0.72 |
| Category Risk Rating: | Low |
| Total Risk Index: | 0.12 |
| Total Risk Rating: | Low |
| Portfolio Characteristics | |
| Yield: | 7.5% |
| Total Assets: | $ 223 Mil |
| Share Class Assets: | $ 223 Mil |
| Turnover: | 47.0% |
| Expense Ratio: | 0.65% |
| Index Fund: | No |
| Index Tracked: | Bloomberg US Universal TR USD |
| Index Weighting: | 100% |
| Leveraged: | No |
| Socially Responsible Fund: | No |
| Capital Gains Distribution Frequency: | Annually |
| Income Distribution Frequency: | Monthly |
Management Team
| Number of Managers: 5 | |||
| Longest Tenure: 13.1 years | |||
| Average Tenure: 6.2 years | |||
| Managers (Year): Cudzil Jerry (2013), Sweeney Drew (2020), Purdy Steven (2021), Toshima Ken (2022), Gelfand Brian (2023) | |||
Portfolio Composition (as of 7/31/26)
| # of Holdings: | 309 |
| % in Top 10 Holdings: | 16.2% |
| Fund is Non-Diversified: | No |
| % in Foreign Issues: | 13.3% |
Portfolio Allocation |
|
| Domestic Stock: | 0.1% |
| Foreign Stock: | 0.0% |
| Preferred Stock: | 0.0% |
| Domestic Bond: | 75.4% |
| Foreign Bond: | 13.3% |
| Convertible Bond: | 0.1% |
| Other: | 0.0% |
| Cash: | 11.1% |
Purchase Information
| Legal Structure: | Open Ended Investment Company |
| Fund Family: | TCW |
| Phone Number: | 866-364-1383 |
| Website: | |
| Inception Date: | June 28, 2013 |
Expenses and Fees
| Expense Ratio (%): | 0.65% (Rating: Above Avg) |
| Category Average Expense Ratio (%): | 0.58% |
