3 mREIT ETFs That Are Living the High (Yield) Life

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mREIT - 3 mREIT ETFs That Are Living the High (Yield) Life

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Real estate stocks have taken a beating in recent months as rising interest rates derail the momentum of this beloved income sector. Yet despite the dip in traditional housing and commercial REITs, one high-yield segment of the market is still seeing surging prices.

3 mREIT ETFs That Are Living the High (Yield) Life

Mortgage REITs (mREITs) have largely ignored the trend in Treasury bonds and instead focused on the continued strength in overall credit conditions. This has translated into new all-time highs for the small group of exchange-traded funds that track these investments.

To review, mREITs are an alternative income-generating vehicle. These companies borrow short-term money at cheap interest rates and use it to buy long-term mortgage-related debt. This enables them to pocket the spread on interest rates and distribute the majority of earnings to shareholders as income. They also use embedded leverage to increase their capital at risk.

These types of ETFs would likely be appropriate as a small tactical play in the context of a diversified income portfolio with the inherent expectation of above-average yield and price volatility.

Here are three mREIT ETFs living high right now:

mREIT ETFs Living the High (Yield) Life: iShares Mortgage Real Estate Capped ETF (REM)

mREIT ETFs Living the High (Yield) Life: iShares Mortgage Real Estate Capped ETF (REM)Expenses: 0.48%
Dividend Yield: 10.6%

The largest fund by a wide margin in this arena is the iShares Mortgage Real Estate Capped ETF (NYSEARCA:REM), which has $1.2 billion in total assets.

This ETF is home to a diverse basket of 36 mREITs with top holdings in well-known names such as Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY) and AGNC Investment Corp (NASDAQ:AGNC). The index is market cap-weighted, which gives the largest share of assets to the biggest companies. As such, NLY and AGNC make up over 28% of the total asset allocation.

REM is one of a very select group of ETFs that offers a yield north of 9%. For comparison purposes, junk bond indices currently yield 6%, investment grade bonds 3%, and Treasuries in the low 2% range. REM currently offers a double-digit yield — abnormal, as it typically only achieves this on price dips. That’s also an extremely wide spread to Treasuries and other high-quality debt instruments.

It’s also worth noting that income is paid quarterly to investors in these funds, rather than monthly, as many bond funds do.

mREIT ETFs Living the High (Yield) Life: VanEck Vectors Mortgage REIT Income ETF (MORT)

mREIT ETFs Living the High (Yield) Life: VanEck Vectors Mortgage REIT Income ETF (MORT)Expenses: 0.41%*
Dividend Yield: 8.3%

For those that like a menu of options at their disposal, the VanEck Vectors Mortgage REIT Income ETF (NYSEARCA:MORT) is a direct competitor to REM.

This fund owns a concentrated mix of 26 mREITs with a greater percentage of assets spread to the smaller holdings. MORT also charges a moderate expense ratio.

The thing I always caution investors about when they get googly-eyed over yield is to remember that there is no free lunch in the income world. The larger the income stream, the greater risk of volatility and capital deprecation. That is why these tools should be used in moderation and with the understanding that they are at the upper end of the risk scale.

For comparison purposes, let’s go back to REM, which has recently diverged from a traditional REIT portfolio like you would find in the Vanguard REIT ETF (NYSEARCA:VNQ). The chart below shows how these two funds were maintaining a fair degree of correlation prior to the jump higher in rates.

REM_VNQ

Historically these mREITs can be sensitive to changes in both interest rates and credit conditions. Although in today’s market they appear more fixated in the strength of stocks and high yield bonds. Any meaningful contraction in those areas will likely result in a concomitant pullback in MORT (and REM) as well.

*Includes 16-basis-point fee waiver

mREIT ETFs Living the High (Yield) Life: UBS Etracs Monthly Pay 2xLeveraged Mortgage REIT ETN (MORL)

mREIT ETFs Living the High (Yield) Life: Etracs Monthly Pay 2xLeveraged Mortgage REIT ETN (MORL)Expenses: 0.4%
Dividend Yield: 20.5%

Lastly, for those who have an extremely high risk tolerance level and don’t like to sleep much at night, there are exchange-traded notes in this field with a built-in leverage component.

The UBS Etracs Monthly Pay 2xLeveraged Mortgage REIT ETN (NYSEARCA:MORL) tracks an index of mREITs with a 2x daily price magnification. This fund has a current listed yield of more than 20%, and income is paid monthly to shareholders.

Keep in mind that leverage on leverage is a volatile recipe with high costs and potentially unpredictable tracking patterns over long periods of time. Funds of this nature should be very carefully examined and used with great caution.

It’s always worth noting where the areas of strength or weakness are in the market, and mREITs have certainly held a resilient path despite many obstacles. I currently do not own exposure to this segment of the market for my clients, and would prefer to evaluate it again on a drop rather than buying up here near the highs.

David Fabian is Managing Partner and Chief Operations Officer of FMD Capital Management. To get more investor insights from FMD Capital, visit their blog.


Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2016/12/mreit-etfs-high-yield-rem-mort-morl/.

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