Displaying items by tag: yields

(New York)

The Fed seems almost certain to hike later this month, as well as in December. Rates heading higher looks like a certainty. So what does that mean for high yielding equity sectors which many Americans rely on for dividend income? The answer is a mixed picture. Pure rate-driven sectors like utilities, real estate, and telecoms will likely be hurt, but high-yielders like healthcare and and consumer staples should hold up better because their businesses can generate a lot of cash that can be returned to shareholders via dividends and buybacks.

FINSUM: Pharma has returned over 12% this year while real estate is just around 2%, showing how the former can outperform in rising rate environments.

(New York)

A REIT as an ETF might be an odd concept for some advisors. Since REITS are a special asset class unto themselves, and ETF made up of them could seem foreign. Their big advantage is that they are much cheaper than actively managed real estate strategies. However, risks abound, especially as many REITs tend to focus only on the US market, which could be very risky at the moment. One good REIT ETF is the Schwab US REIT, which has returned over 5% this year despite rising rates, and sports a 4%+ yield. Schwab points out that one of the best parts of REITS is that they “do not move in lockstep with either stocks or bonds.” The Vanguard Real Estate ETF is another good REIT choice. For global exposure try the SPDR Dow Jones Global Real Estate.

FINSUM: We like REITs in principal, but rates are a big worry at the moment. They seem like a good way to earn yield right now, but should probably be hedged.

(New York)

If there were ever a time to be worried about rate risk it is now. The US economy is red hot and the Fed continues to look hawkish. Two rate hikes by the end of the year look like a certainty. So how can one protect their portfolio? One answer is floating rate bonds, and especially floating rate investment grade bonds with a range of durations. One ETF that does just that is the X-trackers Investment Grade Bond – Interest Rate Hedged ETF (IGIH). The ETF sports a yield of over 3%, and very importantly, it has a duration of almost zero, meaning it should be almost completely unaffected by any movement in rates.

FINSUM: a 3% yield with no rate risk sounds like a very good investment in the current environment.

(New York)

This is a tough time to be buying bonds. Prices have become very rich over the last several years and on top of sky high valuations and low yields the risk of rising rates causing big losses is high as the Fed sticks to its hawkish path. With that in mind, floating rate bonds and ETFs are a good strategy to combat the situation, as their yields rise as the market’s do. Most also invest in short-term bonds to lessen interest rate risk. Two of the most popular floating rate ETFs are the iShares Floating Rate Bond ETF (FLOT) and SPDR Blmbg Barclays Inv Grd Flt Rt ETF (FLRN). Both hold floating rate bonds with maturities of 5 years and under.

FINSUM: These seem like good options. The one downside to these ETF is that yields are quite low given their conservative nature, but they obviously have great downside protection.

(New York)

The Fed looks set for another hike in September, and likely another before the end of the year. That means that fixed income is a very tricky market, as many bonds will likely see losses. So how can one protect their portfolio but still earn reliable income? One option is to buy floating rate bonds. Luckily, there are several funds that can help investors own floating rate bonds. Some of them include the Fidelity Floating Rate High Income (4.36% yield), the iShares Floating Rate Bond ETF, the BlackRock Floating Rate Income Strategies Fund, or the Eaton Vance Floating Rate Income Fund.

FINSUM: We think floating rate bonds seem like a good strategy for the current environment. Just be careful of high credit risk in some of these funds.