DoubleLine looking to expand into equities

DoubleLine Capital LP is considering expanding its mutual fund lineup into equities for the first time. Star fixed-income manager Jeffrey Gundlach, ceo and cio of DoubleLine, said the firm is considering bringing on “a couple” of equity teams to launch mutual funds, during a webinar on Tuesday afternoon. He didn't elaborate on specifics and could not be reached for comment by press time. Mr. Gundlach, a finalist for Morningstar Inc.'s fixed-income manager of the decade, founded DoubleLine in early 2010 after his high profile departure from TCW Group Inc. His flagship mutual fund, the DoubleLine Total Return Fund ticker:(DBLTX) has been the fastest growing mutual fund since its April 2010 launch and has more than $31 billion in assets today. DoubleLine's been one of the biggest beneficiaries of investors demand for fixed-income over the past several years. The Los Angeles-based firm has taken in $14.4 billion year-to-date through the end of July, according to Morningstar, topping such household names as T. Rowe Price Group Inc. and Franklin Templeton Investments. The announcement that the firm is considering adding equities to its all fixed-income lineup may come as a surprise to some, especially given investors stark aversion to actively managed equity funds since the financial crisis. Over the 12-months ending in July alone, investors pulled more than $116 billion from stock funds according to Morningstar.