After a multi-year rally, people should expect lower returns ahead. Nevertheless, investors may still generate some attractive yields through preferred securities-related exchange traded funds along the way.
On the recent webcast, Hone in on Income with this ETF Preferred Strategy, Channing Smith, Managing Director at Capital Advisors, pointed out that global interest rates have plummeted to all-time lows and U.S. treasuries yields are now hovering near record lows. Meanwhile, stock valuations are now hovering near pre-financial crisis levels, with the U.S. stock market CAPE ratio at around 26.57, which suggests that there is greater risk of a drop off or diminished price appreciation ahead.
On the other hand, investors may consider preferred securities that posses characteristics of both equity and debt securities. Jason Jones, Director and Preferreds Strategist at Wells Fargo Securities, explained that preferreds provide equity ownership but without voting rights, are ranked in the capital structure above common equity but beneath traditional bonds, offer yield potential higher than common equity and investment-grade debt, and tend to be concentrated in the financial sector.
Investors and financial advisors are now looking to fund options to gain diversified exposure to the preferred securities space. On a survey of financial advisors attending the webcast, 34.6% of respondents indicated they use preferred securities directly to gain exposure to the space, 29.5% utilized mutual funds and 35.9% use ETFs.
Fran Rodilosso, Head of Fixed Income ETF Portfolio Management at VanEck, argued that investors may also find opportunities in the preferred securities space sans financial exposure. Rodilosso explained that excluding financials has offered similar yield to the broad preferred securities universe, provided greater diversification since financials make up almost three quarters of the broad preferreds universe and generated lower volatility historically than with financial preferreds.
Investors concerned about the yield potential of excluding financials from preferreds need not worry. Rodilosso and Jones found that preferreds ex-financials have generated a 6.2% yield as of September 30, just below the 6.6% yield of high-yield bonds and still more than the 5.7% yield of the broader preferreds universe.
SEE MORE: Preferred Stock ETFs for a Low-Yield Environment
The strategists argued that the preferreds ex-financial space may provide better diversification benefits as a broad preferreds portfolio could cause an investor to be indirectly overweight financials.