Investors seeking greater income generation may turn to a number of alternative investments and exchange traded funds that can provide attractive yields.
For instance, investors who want to add a little more dividend into their mix can consider master limited partnerships, or MLPs. To qualify as an MLP, the companies pass through at least 90% of their income to investors, making the assets an attractive yield-generating investment.
Additionally, MLPs primarily deal with the distribution and storage of energy products, so their business model is less reliant on the commodities market since MLPs profit off the quantity of oil and natural gas they are able to move around. Consequently, MLPs have historically shown a weaker correlation to energy prices over longer periods as MLPs act more like energy toll roads, profiting on the volume of oil moving through their pipelines.
Investors have a number of yield-generating MLP ETF options available, such as the Yorkville High Income MLP ETF (NYSEArca: YMLP) and the Yorkville High Income Infrastructure MLP ETF (NYSEArca: YMLI). YMLP shows an impressive 19.2% distribution yield and YMLI has a 9.19% distribution yield.
Both ETFs track Solactive indices. YMLI, though, refines its MLP approach to only include “infrastructure MLPs,” which are a subset of the MLP universe that earn a majority of revenue from the transportation and storage of energy commodities. In contrast, YMLP may include companies that also operate in exploration and production of energy, along with energy services and sale of energy.
Business development companies and sector-related ETFs, like the Market Vectors BDC Income ETF (NYSEArca: BIZD), are also a good source of income and a way to capture an expanding economy. BIZD has a 8.5% 12-month yield.