Key Takeaways
- An income fund is a mutual fund or ETF focused on generating current income over capital appreciation by investing in dividends and interest-paying securities.
- Income funds typically include a mix of bonds, preferred stock, money market instruments, and high-dividend stocks to achieve consistent income.
- While generally considered lower risk than growth-focused funds, income funds can be affected by interest rate changes and credit quality of their holdings.
- Money market income funds aim for safety but offer lower yields, investing in short-term debt like CDs and Treasury bills.
- Explore the best fit for your income needs by checking our roundup of the best online brokers.
What Is an Income Fund?
An income fund is a mutual fund or ETF designed to prioritize generating regular income over long-term capital growth. By investing in a mix of dividend-paying stocks, bonds, and other income-producing assets, these funds aim to offer investors reliable returns on a monthly or quarterly basis. They suit those who are seeking a steady income stream, like retirees, because they often include government, municipal, and corporate debt obligations known for their stability.
We explain how income funds operate, how they compare with other investment options, and provide examples of successful funds to help you make informed investment decisions.
The Basics of Income Funds
Share prices of income funds are not fixed; they tend to fall when interest rates are rising and to increase when interest rates are falling. Generally, the bonds included in the portfolios of these funds are investment-grade. The other securities are of sufficient credit quality to assure the preservation of capital.
There are two popular types of high-risk funds that also focus mainly on income: high-yield bond funds that invest primarily in corporate junk bonds and bank loan funds that invest in floating-rate loans issued by banks or other financial institutions.
Income funds come in several varieties. The primary differentiation involves the types of securities they invest in to generate income.
Exploring Money Market Funds
Money market funds generally invest in certificates of deposit (CDs), commercial paper, and short-term Treasury bills. These funds are designed to be very safe investments aiming to maintain a low share price at all times, but they also tend to offer relatively low yields. While these funds don’t carry the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insurance that bank products do, money market funds have traditionally provided a high degree of safety.
An Overview of Bond Funds
Bond funds typically invest in corporate and government bonds. Government bond funds carry virtually no default risk and, therefore, can act as a safe haven for investors in times of uncertainty, but normally offer lower yields than comparable corporate bond funds. Corporate bonds carry the additional risk that the issuer may not be able to make principal or interest payments. As a result, they tend to pay higher interest rates to account for the additional risk. Corporate bond funds can be split into investment-grade bond funds and below-investment-grade, or junk, bond funds.
How Equity Income Funds Work
Many companies pay dividends on their stocks. Funds invested primarily in stocks that pay regular dividends are known as equity income funds. These types of funds are especially popular among retirement-age investors that look to live off of the predictable monthly income generated from their portfolios. Historically, dividends have provided a significant percentage of a stock’s total long-term return.
Diverse Income Fund Options
Other income-producing funds include those focused on real estate investment trusts (REITs), master limited partnerships (MLPs), and preferred stocks.
Case Study: T. Rowe Price Equity Income Fund
The T. Rowe Price Equity Income Fund has $17.51 billion in net assets as of Q1 2021 and seeks a high rate of growth through high dividend-paying stocks in combination with capital appreciation. The fund, which distributes payouts quarterly, paid a dividend of $0.18 per share on Dec. 14, 2020. The fund has performed relatively in line with its benchmark. An investment of $10,000 in the T. Rowe Price Equity Income Fund at inception in 1985 would be worth around $24,5100 as of Feb. 28, 2021. The Lipper Equity Income Funds Average result for the same amount over the same period would be about $25,150.
