Downtown L.A. investment manager DoubleLine Capital has been getting attention for all the investor cash its funds have been garnering – its open-end mutual funds posted net inflows of $1.03 billion last month, marking 23 straight months of inflows.
And earlier this month, DoubleLine opened another mutual fund where investors can park their money.
The firm launched its Global Bond Fund to investors Jan. 11 after opening it internally last month. It aims to get long-term total return investing primarily in debt issued by governments worldwide, focusing mostly on developed markets and somewhat on emerging markets. Normally, it’ll have significant exposure to foreign currencies through investments in local currency-denominated bonds and by investing directly in currencies as well.
DoubleLine had been contemplating launching a largely investment-grade fund of this type since as far back as a couple of years ago but wanted to wait for a time where it would be a better inclusion in bond portfolios, explained Jeffrey Gundlach, DoubleLine chief executive and global bond fund portfolio manager, during a webcast last week. He noted that moment came once the dollar seemed to have peaked in the middle of last year. It’s “a myth” that when the Federal Reserve raises interest rates, the dollar rallies if you look at previous cycles, he said.
Gundlach added that the markets have been throwing a fit ever since the Fed re-established its forecast of the Fed funds rate, basically suggesting it would raise rates four times during each of the next two years. With commodity prices crashing and global stock markets so shaky, he expects the Fed to dial back its rhetoric and that the dollar will fall as that becomes more likely.
“Perhaps now is the time to at least begin to diversify away from truly dollar-denominated investments,” Gundlach said in the webcast.
Westward, Ho
As businesses have shifted their focus from bankruptcy management to bankruptcy prevention, there’s been more demand for turnaround and restructuring services, according to Cleveland financial services firm CBIZ Inc.
In fact, the company’s corporate recovery services practice was seeing such demand coming from the West Coast, it added that service line to its West L.A. office earlier this month.
“The number of filings has gone down every year since 2009 consistently,” said Esther DuVal, CBIZ’s New York-based corporate recovery services national practice leader. “The process is expensive and more and more companies are trying to avoid that filing.”
She added that her firm chose to headquarter West Coast operations for corporate recovery services in the L.A. office because of its accessibility to the rest of the coast.
“We already deal with a lot of East Coast law firms that have offices on the West Coast and it was a natural progression to answer the demand,” DuVal said. “We are seeing clients who are dealing with companies experiencing financial distress, usually liquidity issues, and want to get ahead of the curve so they don’t fall into those pitfalls.”
DuVal partly credits the increased demand for bankruptcy prevention services to a more open attitude toward possible alternatives, similar to a greater openness she’s seen in businesses being willing to enter mediation.
“We experienced a culture shift,” she said, “a change in thinking and mindset.”
On Move
PacWest Bancorp has moved its headquarters and the main branch of its subsidiary Pacific Western Bank to 9701 Wilshire Blvd. in Beverly Hills. PacWest was headquartered in Century City. …Downtown Los Angeles-based City National Bank announced that senior banker Scott Witter has been promoted to executive vice president of the firm’s core banking division. … Century City alternative investment management firm Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors has hired James K. Hunt as managing partner and chief executive of middle-market credit. … Pasadena prepaid debit card firm Green Dot Corp. has tapped its acting chief financial officer, Mark Shifke, to assume that role permanently. … The downtown L.A. office of Santa Ana-based First American Title Insurance Co. has hired Eric Salter as vice president and regional underwriting counsel for its national commercial services division.
Staff reporter Marni Usheroff can be reached at [email protected] or (323) 549-5225, ext. 229.
