To the delight of many income investors, PIMCO announced Monday that a handful of its big-yield bond funds will be offering special year-end distributions. Here is the press release from PIMCO. And you can read our analysis on these PIMCO funds here here and here.
PIMCO CEF: The Big Premium, I'll Be Back, 10.1% Yield
Often an income-investor favorite, 2021 continues to be an interesting year for PIMCO’s lineup of big-distribution, monthly-pay, fixed-income CEFs. We’ve seen the launch of a new winner, a distribution cut from a perennial favorite, and now an imminent merger and sharply declining premiums for three classic PIMCO funds. In this report, we focus on one in particular, its 10.1% monthly distribution and its significantly shrinking price premium (versus NAV) as the big merger looms imminent. And regarding its once large premium, it is our opinion, as Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Terminator character once said, I’ll be back! We conclude with some important takeaways on who might want to invest and how.
PIMCO's Big-Yield CEFs: Cracks in the Dam? (PCI) (PDI) (PKO)
Income-hungry investors flock to PIMCO’s fixed-income closed-end funds for multiple reasons, including the big yields (often in excess of 9.0%), monthly payments, and sometimes even the ridiculously low prices (as we wrote about here and here). And while some investors are reassured by PIMCO’s track record of no distribution cuts in several of their most popular funds (for example (PDI), (PCI) and (PKO)), there is a lot more going on under the hood, and the recently proposed merger between these funds could be a little window dressing by the firm as the track of no distribution cuts may be in jeopardy. In this report, we pull back the curtains on these funds to reveal a little bit about how the sausage is made, and then conclude with our opinion on whether they still make for good investments, or if it is time to move on to new opportunities.
Helicopter Fed: Top 10 mREITs and Bond CEFs (Huge Yields, Discounted Prices)
This article shares our Top 10 compelling mREITs and Bond CEFs. They trade at significant discounts to their book values and are being supported, to varying degrees, by the actions of the US Fed. The Fed is pumping an unlimited amount of liquidity into the system by buying the types of bonds these compelling mREITs and CEFs own.
PIMCO Bond CEFs: Are You Betting Against The Fed?
Many popular PIMCO closed-end funds (CEFs) have sold off particularly hard as investors fear the potential impacts of a coronavirus-driven recession. Further, large CEF premiums versus net asset values (NAVs) have evaporated into unusually large discounts as selling pressure has been intense. Further still, the price declines have been exacerbated by a drying up of liquidity in the bond markets. And even though the US Fed has dramatically increased its quantitative liquidity easing in the treasury and agency Mortgage Backed Securities (MBS) repo markets, just this week it announced that it will “be moving for the first time into corporate bonds, purchasing the investment-grade securities.” To some investors, the Fed’s essentially unlimited buying power is terrifying, and to others it is highly reassuring. Will you be betting against the Fed?
3 PIMCO Bond CEFs: Huge Yields (8.1%, 8.3%, 9.8%) Paid Monthly
If you are an income-hungry investor, PIMCO offers a variety of low-beta, fixed-income Closed-End Funds (“CEFs”) that are worth considering. In this report, we analyze three of them, multi-sector funds (PFL) (PHK) and (PCI), considering sector allocations, pricing, distribution prospects, leverage, and finally conclude with our opinion on which one of them offers the most attractive balance of risks versus rewards for income-focused investors.