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Registrant Name dei_EntityRegistrantName Dunham Funds
Prospectus Date rr_ProspectusDate Feb. 28, 2014
Dunham Loss Averse Equity Income Fund
  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Supplement [Text Block] cik0001420040_SupplementTextBlock

DUNHAM FUNDS

Dunham Loss Averse Equity Income Fund

Class A (DAAVX)

Class C (DCAVX)

Class N (DNAVX)


Supplement dated August 29, 2014 to the Statutory Prospectus dated February 28, 2014 (the "Prospectus"). This Supplement updates and supersedes any contrary information contained in the Prospectus.


The purpose of this supplement is to describe important changes to the Dunham Loss Averse Equity Income Fund (the "Fund"). Effective October 1, 2014 the Fund will have a new name and investment strategy.


Change to the Fund's Name


Effective October 1, 2014, the name of the Fund will be Dunham Dynamic Macro Fund. All references to the Fund's name will be revised accordingly.
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Changes to the Fund's Principal Investment Strategies


Effective October 1, 2014, the following replaces Principal Investment Strategies on pages 17-18 and page 62 of the Prospectus:


The Fund's Sub-Adviser seeks to achieve the total return portion of the Fund's investment objective by utilizing a dynamic macro asset allocation strategy. The Fund may invest in or seek exposure to a wide range of asset classes including, without limitation, equity, fixed-income (including asset-backed securities, mortgage-backed securities and other collateralized obligations and all grades and maturities of domestic and foreign credit, including high yield (junk bonds)), commodities and real estate investment trusts, and currencies. The Sub-Adviser's strategy seeks long and short exposure in these various asset classes and currencies. The Fund may take long positions indirectly through exchange-traded funds ("ETFs"). The Fund may take short positions indirectly through ETFs, including inverse ETFs (funds that are designed to rise in price when stock prices are falling).

 

The Sub-Adviser's macro asset allocation strategy is based primarily on the fundamental investment valuations of various asset classes. The Sub-Adviser's goal is to identify periodic discrepancies between fundamental values and market prices, actively shift between long or short positions, as well as allocations to cash and seek to capitalize on opportunities within and among the capital markets of the world.


The Sub-Adviser generally purchases a security when its model identifies that its market price is below the model's valuation and that the risk-reward profile is relatively more attractive than other opportunities. The Sub-Adviser generally sells a security when its model identifies that the relative attractiveness deteriorates or its valuation becomes excessive or risk associated with the security increases significantly. In addition, the Sub-Adviser may sell a security if better investment opportunities emerge elsewhere. The Sub-Adviser evaluates currencies on a relative valuation basis and generally increases the Fund's exposure to currencies that are undervalued and reduces exposure to currencies that are overvalued based on real interest rates and other proprietary measures.

 

The Fund has no geographic or other limits on the allocation of its assets among asset classes. The Fund may also invest in individual stocks, preferred stock, publicly traded partnerships, royalty income trusts, repurchase agreements and other equity securities, fixed-income securities and currencies for the purpose of effecting macro strategies. The Fund may invest in, or otherwise have investment exposure to, the securities of companies of any market capitalization.


The Sub-Adviser seeks to achieve the capital preservation portion of the Fund's investment objective during down markets by using risk management techniques including (1) allocation to investment grade fixed income securities and (2) allocation to cash equivalents.

Risk Narrative [Text Block] rr_RiskNarrativeTextBlock

Change to the Fund's Principal Investment Risks


Effective October 1, 2014, the following replaces Principal Investment Risks on page 18 of the Prospectus:


Asset Allocation Risk – In allocating the Fund's assets, the Sub-Adviser may favor markets or asset classes that perform poorly relative to other markets and asset classes.

Credit Risk – Issuers of debt securities may suffer from a reduced ability to repay their interest and principal obligations. They may even default on interest and/or principal payments due to the Fund. An increase in credit risk or a default will cause the value of Fund debt securities to decline. Issuers with lower credit quality are more susceptible to economic or industry downturns and are more likely to default.


Currency Risk – Adverse changes in currency exchange rates (relative to the U.S. dollar) may erode or reverse any potential gains from the Fund's investments denominated in a foreign currency or may widen existing losses. Exchange rate movements are volatile and it may not be possible to effectively hedge the currency risks of many countries.


ETF Risk – ETFs are subject to investment advisory and other expenses, which will be indirectly paid by the Fund. As a result, the cost of investing in the Fund will be higher than the cost of investing directly in ETFs and may be higher than other mutual funds that invest exclusively in common stocks. The ETFs in which the Fund invests will not be able to replicate exactly the performance of the indices they track and the market value of ETF shares may differ from their net asset value.

 

ETFs are subject to specific risks, depending on the nature of the fund. For instance, investing in inverse ETFs is similar to holding various short positions, or using a combination of advanced investment strategies to profit from falling prices. When the value of ETFs held by the Fund decline, the value of your investment in the Fund declines.


Foreign Investing Risk – Investments in foreign countries are subject to currency risk and country-specific risks such as political, diplomatic, regional conflicts, terrorism, war, social and economic instability and policies that have the effect of decreasing the value of foreign securities. Foreign countries may be subject to different trading settlement practices, less government supervision, less publicly available information, limited trading markets and greater volatility than U.S. investments.


Interest Rate Risk – In general, the price of a debt security falls when interest rates rise. Debt securities have varying levels of sensitivity to changes in interest rates. Securities with longer maturities may be more sensitive to interest rate changes.

Management Risk – The Fund is subject to management risk because it is an actively managed investment portfolio. The Sub-Adviser will apply its investment techniques and risk analyses in making investment decisions for the Fund, but there is no guarantee that its decisions will produce the intended result. The successful use of hedging and risk management techniques may be adversely affected by imperfect correlation between movements in the price of the hedging vehicles and the securities being hedged. The successful use of hedging and risk management techniques may be adversely affected by imperfect correlation between movements in the price of the hedging vehicles and the securities being hedged.


Portfolio Turnover Risk – A higher portfolio turnover will result in higher transactional and brokerage costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account.


Real Estate Investment Trust Risk – A REIT's performance depends on the types and locations of the rental properties it owns and on how well it manages those properties. A decline in rental income may occur because of extended vacancies, increased competition from other properties, tenants' failure to pay rent, or poor management.


Small and Medium Capitalization Risk – The Fund's investments in smaller and medium-sized companies carry more risks than investments in larger companies. Companies with small and medium size market capitalization often have narrower markets, fewer products or services to offer and more limited managerial and financial resources than do larger, more established companies. Investing in lesser-known, small and medium capitalization companies involves greater risk of volatility of the Fund's net asset value than is customarily associated with larger, more established companies. Often smaller and medium capitalization companies and the industries in which they are focused are still evolving and, while this may offer better growth potential than larger, more established companies, it also may make them more sensitive to changing market conditions.

 

Stock Market Risk – Stock markets can be volatile. In other words, the prices of stocks can fall rapidly in response to developments affecting a specific company or industry, or to changing economic, political or market conditions. The Fund's investments may decline in value if the stock markets perform poorly.


You should read this Supplement in conjunction with the Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information dated February 28, 2014, which provide information that you should know about the Fund before investing and should be retained for future reference. These documents are available upon request and without charge by calling the Dunham Funds at (888) 3DUNHAM (338-6426).

Performance Availability Phone [Text] rr_PerformanceAvailabilityPhone (888) 3DUNHAM (338-6426)