ETF Education Report: DoubleLine Asset-Backed Securities ETF (DABS)

What this ETF is trying to do

The DoubleLine Asset-Backed Securities ETF (DABS) is an exchange-traded fund listed on the NYSE. While the specific investment strategy details are not provided in this data, ETFs like this generally aim to provide investors with exposure to asset-backed securities.

What the numbers show

When looking at an ETF, it is important to understand the difference between "price return" and "total return."

• Price Return: This measures only the change in the share price. For DABS, the year-to-date (YTD) price return is approximately -2.44%. The one-year price return is approximately -2.52%.

• Total Return: This includes both the share price changes and the money paid out to investors through distributions. For DABS, the YTD total return is approximately 1.22%, and the one-year total return is approximately 2.30%.

Because the total return is higher than the price return, it shows that the distributions helped offset some of the share-price decline.

To visualize this, we can look at an estimated price from roughly one year ago, which was $50.95. The current price is $49.67.

Income and distribution explanation

This ETF provides cash distributions to investors. The distribution yield is approximately 4.92%. This means the amount of cash paid out is about 4.92% of the current share price.

The data shows that DABS usually pays out monthly, with 12 payments recorded over the last year. Most of these payments have been made on Mondays. It is important to remember that a high distribution yield does not guarantee that an investor will earn that same percentage as a total return.

NAV erosion explanation

"NAV erosion" refers to a decline in the Net Asset Value (the actual value of the assets held by the fund). While a falling share price can sometimes be related to erosion, they are not the same thing.

StockValueFinder uses an "erosion-risk score" to measure this risk. DABS has an erosion score of 94, which is labeled as "Stable / sideways." The erosion severity is rated as "good," and there is no severe erosion-risk flag present for this ETF.

Pros

• The ETF provides regular cash distributions (usually monthly).

• The total return has remained positive over the last year, even though the share price declined.

• The erosion-risk score suggests a stable trend.

Cons

• The share price has seen a decline both year-to-date and over the last year.

• Total return data for the three-year period was not supplied.

Beginner takeaway

When looking at DABS, it is helpful to distinguish between the share price and the total return. While the price of a single share has gone down slightly over the last year, the total return (which includes the cash distributions paid to you) has been positive. Always remember that high yields are not a guarantee of overall profit.