Fund Evaluator:
DoubleLine Flexible Income I (DFLEX)
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Best Performing in Multisector Bond Over the Last Year
| 7.1% | Morningstar Multisector Bond (MSTMX) |
| 6.0% | Fidelity Advisor Strategic Income Z (FIWDX) |
| 5.4% | Russell Inv Opportunistic Credit Y (RGCYX) |
| 5.4% | Russell Inv Opportunistic Credit M (RGOTX) |
| 5.2% | Payden Managed Income SI (PKBIX) |
Fund Details
DoubleLine Flexible Income I Overview
DoubleLine Flexible Income I (DFLEX) is an actively managed Taxable Bond Multisector Bond fund. DoubleLine launched the fund in 2014.
The investment seeks long-term total return while striving to generate current income. The fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by active asset allocation among market sectors in the fixed income universe. These sectors may include, for example, U.S. government securities, corporate debt securities, mortgage- and other asset-backed securities, foreign debt securities, including emerging market debt securities, loans, and high yield debt securities. It may invest in securities of any credit quality. The fund may invest without limit in securities rated below investment grade or unrated securities judged by the adviser to be of comparable quality.
About DoubleLine Flexible Income I (DFLEX)
There are 2 members of the management team with an average tenure of 11.11 years: Jeffrey Sherman (2016), Jeffrey Gundlach (2014). Management tenure is more important for actively managed funds than passive index funds.
The fund has 2 primary benchmarks: Bloomberg US Agg Bond TR USD index with a weighting of 100% and ICE BofA SOFR Overnight Rate TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. DoubleLine Flexible Income I has 1229 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 20.8% of the fund’s assets. The fund meets the SEC requirement of being classified as a diversified fund. The fund is not considered to have an ESG focus with its investment selection and management.
DoubleLine Flexible Income I is part of the Fixed Income global asset class and is within the Taxable Bond fund group. DoubleLine Flexible Income I has 18.4% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 0.0%. 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 89.1% (70.8% domestic bond, 18.4% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). DoubleLine Flexible Income I has 10.9% of the portfolio in cash.
Assets Under Management
The fund has $1 billion in total assets, which is above the $1 billion average for the Multisector Bond 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.
DFLEX 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 DoubleLine Flexible Income I expense ratio is average compared to funds in the Multisector Bond category. DoubleLine Flexible Income I has an expense ratio of 0.59%, which is 37% lower than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a A. 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. DoubleLine Flexible Income I has a portfolio turnover rate of 50%, indicating that holds its assets around 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 162% for the Multisector Bond category.
Recently, in the month of July 2026, DoubleLine Flexible Income I returned 0.0%, which earned it a grade of A, as the Multisector Bond category had an average return of -0.7%. 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 funds in that category.
DoubleLine Flexible Income I has a trailing yield of 5.56%, which is above the 5.31% category average. The fund normally distributes its income monthly.
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.
DoubleLine Flexible Income I Grades
Year to date, the fund has returned 1.9%, 1.0 percentage points better than the category, which translates into a grade of A. The fund has returned 4.7% over the past year (grade of B), 7.2% over the past three years (grade of A) and 3.1% per year over the past five years (grade of A) and 3.6% per year over the past 10 years (grade of C).
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DFLEX 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 |
|
| DFLEX Return (NAV) | 0.0% | 0.7% | 4.7% | 7.2% | 3.1% | 3.6% |
| DFLEX Grade | A | A | B | A | A | C |
| +/- Category | 0.7% | 0.7% | 0.4% | 0.9% | 0.7% | 0.1% |
| Multisector Bond Avg | -0.7% | 0.0% | 4.3% | 6.3% | 2.4% | 3.5% |
| DFLEX Tax Cost Ratio | na | na | 2.2% | 2.4% | 2.2% | 1.9% |
DFLEX Annual NAV Total ReturnsData as of 7/31/26
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
| DFLEX Return (NAV) | 1.9% | 6.6% | 8.6% | 7.8% | -8.5% | 3.8% | 2.9% | 7.2% | 0.1% | 5.3% | 5.5% |
| DFLEX Grade | A | F | A | D | B | A | F | F | B | D | D |
| +/- Category | 1.0% | -1.5% | 2.9% | -0.6% | 1.6% | 1.6% | -3.4% | -3.1% | 2.0% | -1.3% | -2.0% |
| Multisector Bond Avg | 0.9% | 8.1% | 5.7% | 8.4% | -10.1% | 2.2% | 6.3% | 10.3% | -1.9% | 6.6% | 7.5% |
| Risk Measures | |
| Standard Deviation: | 1.9% |
| Total Risk Index: | 0.15 - Low |
| Category Risk Index: | 0.42 - Low |
| Category Risk Grade: | A (4% Rank) |
| Beta: | 0.26 |
| R-Squared: | 67% |
| Leveraged Fund: | No |
| Inverse Fund: | No |
| Portfolio Characteristics | |
| Equity Investment Style: | na |
| Bond Investment Style: | High Quality Limited Sensitivity |
| Yield: | 5.6% |
| Dividend Distribution: | Monthly |
| Cap Gains Distribution: | |
| Total Assets: | $1679 Mil |
| Fund Total Assets: | $1,332 Mil |
| Share Class Type: | Inst |
| Portfolio Turnover: | 50% |
Management Team
| Number of Managers: 2 | |||
| Longest Tenure: 12.3 years | |||
| Average Tenure: 11.1 years | |||
| Managers (Year): Gundlach Jeffrey (2014), Sherman Jeffrey (2016) | |||
Portfolio Composition (as of 5/31/26)
| # of Holdings: | 1229 |
| % in Top 10 Holdings: | 20.8% |
| Fund is Non-Diversified: | No |
| % in Foreign Issues: | 18.4% |
Portfolio Allocation |
|
| Domestic Stock: | 0.0% |
| Foreign Stock: | 0.0% |
| Preferred Stock: | 0.0% |
| Domestic Bond: | 70.8% |
| Foreign Bond: | 18.4% |
| Convertible Bond: | 0.0% |
| Other: | 0.0% |
| Cash: | 10.9% |
Purchase Information
| Fund Family: | DoubleLine |
| Phone Number: | 877-354-6311 |
| Website: | www.doublelinefunds.com |
| Status: | Open |
| Inception Date: | April 7, 2014 |
| Min. Initial Purchase: | $100,000 |
| Min. Initial IRA Purchase: | $5,000 |
| True No-Load: | Yes |
| Front Load Maximum: | 0.00% |
| Deferred Charge Maximum: | 0.00% |
| Redemption Charge Maximum: | 0.00% |
| 12b-1 Fee: | na |
Expenses and Fees | |
| Expense Ratio (%): | 0.59% ( Rating : Avg ) |
| Category Average Expense Ratio (%): | 0.94% |
| Share Class: | DoubleLine Flexible Income I |
| Min. Subsequent Purchase: | $ 100 |
| Min. Subsequent IRA Purchase: | $ 100 |
