Displaying items by tag: income

(New York)

Inflation worries may have surged this Spring, but that has not helped real yields. When you compare the yields of stocks and bonds versus inflation, the truth is that real yields have turned negative. It is unusual for the S&P 500 to have a negative yield, which is currently at -0.81%. That is slightly better than 10-year Treasuries’ real yield of -0.87%. This has usually spelled trouble historically. Going back to 1970, there has only been one instance when the market did not decline at least 32% in the two years following the point at which yields went negative.

FINSUM: This is a pretty scary statistic, but then again, most historical contexts don’t involve a pandemic-induced country-wide shutdown and unprecedented government stimulus.

(New York)

Last week's jobs report was disappointing, to say the least, but bond market investors want to know what exactly this means for the recovery: Is this a blip or are we headed for a weakening recovery? Markets are signaling that it could be a slower tightening than they initially might have expected but upcoming data will help investors solidify their response. Job’s Openings and Labor turnover survey (jolts) will tell investors if there is a labor market slump. CPI inflation numbers on food and energy will tell investors how big the labor market spillover troubles are. Additionally, real average hourly earnings are included in this report to be released Wednesday. Finally, retail sales data is released for April on Friday. Growth is expected to slow already but the additional slowdown could be a warning.

FINSUM: These data releases are critical for not only what the bond market sees but what the Fed sees as well. If economic data slows this could change the cadence of the recovery and QE.

(New York)

Residential real estate is one of the most popular alternative investments for Americans…see the full story on our partner Magnifi’s site

(New York)

Income is both extremely desired, and very hard to achieve in today’s market. Based on the economic data which hit the morning of the 7th, it seems likely to stay that way. So where are the best places to find income? One of the first places investors think of outside of bonds is the dividend aristocrats, but the bad news is they are only yielding 1.9%. If you need more income, check out high yield bond ETFs like the SPDR Bloomberg Barclays High-Yield Bond ETF (JNK), which yields 4%. But the best bet is to look at bond closed end funds, for example the DoubleLine Income Solutions Fund run by bond legend Jeffrey Gundlach. The fund yields 7.3%.

FINSUM: Bond closed end funds are great. Many trade at a discount to their NAV and they have very nice yields.

(New York)

Income is scarce and investors need it more than ever (funny how that happens). Bonds look very risky given the direction of rates. So where can investors turn? Take a look at three different asset classes: blue-chip REITs, preferred shares, and property-backed loans. Blue-chip REITs can be a good investment because they have high yields (e.g. 4%+), but are still quality companies. They are also often trading at a discount because of the pandemic. Check out ticker “0”, Realty Income. Private property loans are another good option, yielding 8-12% , and often having good LTVs of around 60%, which means you have some significant downside protection.

FINSUM: These are some good alternative income options. Our personal favorite are the REITs because of their liquidity, but private property loans are a good option too, especially given the new economic cycle.