Exchange traded funds offer exposure to various sources of income-generating assets for yield. Now, Van Eck’s Market Vectors is adding a “business development companies” income ETF to that list.
According to a press release, the Market Vectors BDC Income ETF (NYSEArca: BIZD) began trading Tuesday. The fund will provide a pure-play to business development companies, or BDCs, that lend to and invest in private companies that are below investment grade or not rated.
BDCs lend capital or provide services to privately-held companies or thinly-traded U.S. public companies. Since BDCs have exposure to smaller companies, the companies will be susceptible to potential risks involving bankruptcies or defaults.
“Business development companies have traditionally been high-yielding, making them an attractive choice in today’s ongoing search for income,” Brandon Rakszawski, product manager for Market Vectors ETFs, said in the press release. “Investing in BDCs provides exposure to private companies that many investors could not otherwise access, allowing for potential growth and yield generation.”
The new ETF will try to reflect the performance of the Market Vectors U.S. Business Development Companies Index, which tracks U.S. publicly traded BDCs. The Index’s market capitalization break down includes mid-caps 49.4% and small-caps 50.6%. The underlying index also has an average weighted dividend yield of 7.60%.
BIZD has 25 holdings and its top holdings include Ares Capital (NasdaqGS: ARCC) 16.0%, American Capital (NasdaqGS: ACAS) 14.8%, Prospect Capital (NasdaqGS: PSEC) 7.5%, Apollo Investment (NasdaqGS: AINV) 6.1% and Triangle Capital (NYSE: TCAP) 4.9%.
For more information on new fund products, visit our new ETFs category.
Max Chen contributed to this article.