Fund Evaluator:

TCW MetWest Total Return Bd M Overview

TCW MetWest Total Return Bd M (MWTRX) is an actively managed Taxable Bond Intermediate Core-Plus Bond fund. TCW launched the fund in 1997.

The investment seeks to maximize long-term total return. The fund pursues its objective by investing, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets in investment grade fixed income securities or unrated securities determined by the Adviser to be of comparable quality. Up to 20% of the fund's net assets may be invested in securities rated below investment grade or unrated securities determined by the Adviser to be of comparable quality. The fund also invests at least 80% of its net assets, plus any borrowings for investment purposes in fixed income securities it regards as bonds.

About TCW MetWest Total Return Bd M (MWTRX)

There are 3 members of the management team with an average tenure of 9.05 years: Bryan Whalen (2004), Jerry Cudzil (2023), Ruben Hovhannisyan (2023). Management tenure is more important for actively managed funds than passive index funds.

The fund has 1 primary benchmark: Bloomberg US Agg Bond TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. TCW MetWest Total Return Bd M has 1446 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 39.1% 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.

TCW MetWest Total Return Bd M is part of the Fixed Income global asset class and is within the Taxable Bond fund group. TCW MetWest Total Return Bd M has 6.0% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 0.2%. There is 0.0% allocated to foreign stock, and 0.1% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 88.6% (82.5% domestic bond, 6.0% foreign bond and 0.1% convertible bond). TCW MetWest Total Return Bd M has 1.3% 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 Intermediate Core-Plus 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.

MWTRX 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 MetWest Total Return Bd M expense ratio is above average compared to funds in the Intermediate Core-Plus Bond category. TCW MetWest Total Return Bd M has an expense ratio of 0.65%, which is 17% lower than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a C. 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 MetWest Total Return Bd M has a portfolio turnover rate of 405%, indicating that holds its assets around 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 180% for the Intermediate Core-Plus Bond category.

Recently, in the month of June 2026, TCW MetWest Total Return Bd M returned 0.1%, which earned it a grade of F, as the Intermediate Core-Plus Bond category had an average return of 0.3%. 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.

TCW MetWest Total Return Bd M has a trailing yield of 3.74%, which is below the 4.29% 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 MetWest Total Return Bd M Grades

Year to date, the fund has returned 0.5%, 0.2 percentage points worse than the category, which translates into a grade of D. The fund has returned 3.5% over the past year (grade of D), 4.1% over the past three years (grade of F) and -0.4% per year over the past five years (grade of F) and 1.5% per year over the past 10 years (grade of F).

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