Investors these days have to learn how to drink from a fire hose of market data. From gold prices to key stock indexes to the unemployment rate, different metrics often say different things about Wall Street and how our investment portfolios are faring.
For instance, if you're measuring your investment performance against the popular S&P 500 SPX, +0.34% large-cap index alone, 2019 is one heck of a year. The benchmark is up about 16% year-to-date, with some of its larger components gaining even more.
In truth, not everyone is "all in" on stocks right now. For income-oriented investors looking for yield, the story isn't quite so pleasant. Case in point: the rate on the 10-year U.S. Treasury Note TMUBMUSD10Y, +0.72% has declined from above 3.0% in November 2018 to briefly cross under 2.0% earlier this week — its lowest level since 2016.
Looking forward, there's little prospect that yeilds are going higher. In fact, President Donald Trump has recently criticized the Federal Reserve for failing cut rates even more. While the Fed deferred at its June meeting, the CME Group's FedWatch tool currently pegs the chance of a rate cut in July at just under 30%. A rate cut at the Fed's September meeting is considered more likely, with 85% chance.
All that adds up to a rather bleak outlook for yields. But there are a few ways to invest now that don't involve plowing into growth-oriented U.S. stocks.
Here are a few ways to invest in this low-rate environment — particularly if you're looking for income.
1. Junk bonds
"Junk" bonds come with obvious caveats, since borrowers in this category include corporations or even foreign governments with less-than-stellar credit ratings and the risk that they may not make good on their obligations. Yet this substandard credit rating results in higher yields for bondholders as a reward for taking on this additional risk.
Consider the iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF HYG, +0.36% , a popular junk-bond exchange-traded fund with around $17.5 billion in assets under management. This ETF boasts a current distribution yield of 4.9%, even after the crash in rates — more than twice long-term Treasury bond funds such as iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF TLT, -0.31% , which yields roughly 2.3% at present.
Low interest rates ironically are a boon to junk-bond issuers. Struggling companies may face a cash crunch if the cost of borrowing rises significantly. These firms don't have to stretch that much in this low-rate environment.
2. ‘Unconstrained’ bond funds
If you're leery of junk bonds, then consider the middle ground between the risk of high-yield markets and the paltry yield of long-term Treasuries. This strategy involves "unconstrained" funds that can hold a mix of bond offerings from foreign governments, private industry, mortgage lenders, and anything in between.
For example,Pimco Active Bond ETF BOND, +0.21% focuses on investment-grade debt from the U.S. government, multinational corporations, and emerging markets. The fund has gained about 4% this year and offers a current yield of 3.1%. Beyond the ETF space, in the mutual fund universe there's also DoubleLine Flexible Income DLINX, +0.00% run by bond icon Jeff Gundlach. This fund has seen its principal value stay effectively flat for two years through this tumultuous rate environment, and currently offers a 4.6% yield.
The expenses baked into funds like these tend to be higher than index funds, but those extra fees are worth it for many investors looking for flexibility in their bond portfolio.
3. REITs
Rather than fight upstream with bonds, one group of investments to consider in the current low-rate environment are Real Estate Investment Trusts, or REITs. This special class of publicly traded corporation must deliver 90% of taxable income back to shareholders, giving it a mandate for big dividends.
Vanguard Real Estate ETF VNQ, +1.43% is a good example; a leading REIT fund with about $35 billion under management. This ETF has tallied 16% returns year-to-date to match the broader S&P 500, and offers a yield that is close to 4.0% to boot.
It's worth remembering that REITs, being publicly traded companies, are subject to stock-market volatility. There are often wide gaps in performance from one pick to the next.However, a diversified portfolio of REITs purchased via a fund can help smooth out the stock market’s bumps and tap into bigger income than in the bond market.
4. Utility Stocks
Less volatile than REITs are utility stocks, which are effectively legalized monopolies operating as publicly held companies, providing a bulletproof stream of income to shareholders. Due to the highly regulated nature of this industry, the lack of competition in most markets, and the reliable nature of baseline electricity demand, this sector is one of the lowest-risk ways to play domestic equities with an eye for income.
These characteristics mean growth is much harder to come by, and utility stocks have underperformed the S&P 500 amid the "risk on" rally. Yet top funds including Utilities Select Sector SPDR XLU, +0.00% and Vanguard Utilities ETF VPU, +0.20% are both up about 12% year-to-date vs. 16% for the S&P, showing they are hardly being left in the dust. Furthermore, these funds both offer a yield of about 3.1%.
It is worth noting that thought utilities are admittedly lower risk than the typical stock, they are hardly insulated from declines in a market downturn. However, this sector may offer a decent way for investors to participate in some of the upside of equities and still derive a modest source of income.
5. Dividend-growth stocks
If you don't particularly like the idea of going all-in on real estate or utilities, consider a broad investment in dividend-paying stocks with a focus on companies that are committed to bigger payouts over time.
If you're a stockpicker, this can involve hand-picking individual names including Microsoft Corp. MSFT, -0.28% , which has grown its dividends dramatically even as its stock has surged in recent years, doubling payouts from 23 cents quarterly in 2013 to 46 cents presently. Or let a dividend-growth ETF do the selection for you, such as ProShares S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats NOBL, +0.39% , which focuses on stocks that have raised payouts for a minimum of 25 consecutive years.
Just because a dividend is growing doesn't mean the headline yield impressive; for instance, Dividend Aristocrats yields 2.4% or so at present, which is a paltry payday even if it is better than the 1.9% or so for the S&P 500 components or the 2.0% or so offered from the 10-year Treasury. Still, the idea here isn't to get paid up front, but rather to buy and hold for future paydays and long-term income.
Jeff Reeves writes about investing for MarketWatch. He holds no investments in any companies mentioned in this article.