Displaying items by tag: liquidity

Interval funds are gaining traction as a compelling investment option, offering high yields and access to exclusive asset classes like private equity and credit. These funds operate as a hybrid between open- and closed-end funds, allowing investors to purchase shares anytime but limiting redemption opportunities to specific intervals, such as monthly or quarterly. 

While their appeal lies in diversifying portfolios and enhancing fixed-income returns, they come with notable downsides, including high fees that often exceed those of traditional mutual funds or index funds. 

Another concern is the limited track record of many funds, making it harder to evaluate long-term performance or compare strategies effectively. Additionally, the valuation of illiquid assets within these funds can mask underlying risks, as daily net asset values may not reflect real-time market conditions. 

Finsum: Investors, interval funds can be a strategic complement to a portfolio, but careful consideration of liquidity, fees, and transparency is essential.

Invesco announced the monthly dividend payments for two of its closed-end funds: Invesco High Income Trust II and Invesco Senior Income Trust. Both funds are maintaining their current monthly dividend rates, with no change from previous distributions. 

The dividend for Invesco High Income Trust II is set at $0.09641 per share, while Invesco Senior Income Trust will pay $0.04301 per share. Under their Managed Distribution Plans, these funds may distribute more than their income, including returning capital to shareholders, which could affect their long-term performance. 

Investors should keep in mind that these returns may not be directly linked to the funds' investment success and may be impacted by market fluctuations and tax regulations. 

Finsum: This might be a great option for investors looking to add income to their portfolio and may compensate for the lack of liquidity. 

Interval funds offer investors a way to diversify their portfolios with assets like real estate, private equity, and debt instruments, but they come with unique features. Unlike mutual funds, interval funds allow for liquidity only at specific intervals, such as quarterly or annually, rather than daily. 

This limited liquidity provides fund managers with greater flexibility in choosing investments. Despite their higher fees and limited redemption opportunities, interval funds are growing in popularity, especially among those nearing retirement, due to their potential for steady returns from less liquid assets.

Investors should be aware of the fund's redemption process, minimum investment requirements, and the varying performance of these funds. Firms like KKR and Capital Group plan to launch interval funds.

Finsum: Liquidity concerns are real, but relaxing this constraint lets opportunities blossom. 

Interval funds continue to gain popularity as investors become familiar with their benefits. New interval fund launches have increased since 2017, with 2024 on track for a record number. 

Assets under management have grown 40% annually, reaching $80 billion by April 2024. These funds offer daily NAV pricing and subscription, but limit redemptions to quarterly intervals. This structure allows for investments in higher-return assets, better alignment of assets and liabilities, opportunistic buying, longer investment horizons for catalyst realization, and greater visibility of redemption requests. 

Overall, interval funds combine traditional mutual fund features with unique advantages like a longer horizon allowing markets to less liquid investments. 

Finsum: Interval funds offer a goldilocks like solution for certain investors. 

At the annual Milken Institute Global Conference, many expressed concerns that, as rates remain elevated, there is increasing liquidity risk for some borrowers. So far, robust economic growth has masked these underlying issues, but many borrowers would be vulnerable in the event of an economic downturn.

So far, default rates have remained low. Skeptics contend that this is due to amendments made to loan terms, leading to maturity extensions and payment arrangements. Ideally, these maneuvers would buy time for borrowers until monetary conditions eased. 

Yet, economic data has not been supportive of this outcome so far in 2024, leading to more stress for borrowers and concerns that defaults could spike. According to Katie Koch, the CEO of the TCW Group, “This cannot be extended forever. Eventually, those default rates will rise.” Danielle Poli adds, “It is going to be ugly. Many of these companies are burdened with excessive leverage, with holes in their covenants like Swiss cheese.”

Some investors sense opportunity as there has been an increase in bridge loans to borrowers, searching for liquidity. Oaktree Capital has reduced exposure to syndicated loans and raised cash levels to take advantage of any dislocations. In addition to bridge loans, there is also increasing demand for hybrid capital, which is in between senior debt and equity and provides liquidity and cash flow relief to borrowers.

Finsum: At the annual Miliken conference, Wall Street heavyweights warned that as rates remain elevated for longer, borrowers are getting more stressed and that a spike in defaults is looming.