iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF

HYG

Market cap $16.8B

Most income investors are unknowingly missing two of the best-performing sectors of the past decade. These two investments fill that gap while still paying 10–13% yields. They also benefit from superior tax efficiency and skilled management teams.

Two popular BDCs offer sky-high yields and deep discounts to NAV after the recent sector-wide sell-off. One is a very attractive "Buy," while I am avoiding the other one. I detail how to sort the wheat from the chaff when analyzing deep value BDC opportunities like GBDC and FSK.

Discover the essential 'two qualifiers' that determine if a high-yield strategy is the right fit for your retirement goals. Learn the four-pillar framework for identifying sustainable dividends and avoiding common yield traps that lead to capital loss. Explore a diversified selection of high-income opportunities across numerous sectors of individual stocks, ETFs, and CEFs to bolster your monthly cash flow.

In a challenging 2026 market, defense has come back in vogue. It is also the right environment to prioritize durable NAV and stable cash flows, focusing on income over price appreciation. Stepping into a double digit yield zone is probably not the smartest idea.

BDC sector offers a great moment to put your inner contrarian to test by scooping up high-quality compounders when everyone else is selling. The discounts have fallen into 20%+ zone, and the average yield level in the sector has risen to almost 13%. These metrics look too good to be true.

Kayne Anderson BDC and Trinity Capital offer 11%+ yields with minimal SaaS exposure, making them attractive amid sector-wide SaaS-driven BDC selloffs. KBDC's SaaS portfolio exposure is under 3%, and TRIN's is 10.3%, both well below sector averages, limiting their risk from SaaS credit events. Both BDCs demonstrate superior credit quality, with non-accruals at 1.4% (KBDC) and 1% (TRIN), and PIK income far below sector averages.

The latest 13F filings from BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, are offering investors a fresh look at how the firm positioned its portfolio as of Q4 2025.

The market is signaling distress for BDCs, but the data tells a very different story. Dividend cuts for BDCs aren't what most investors think they are. Rare, well-covered double-digit yields trading at huge discounts to NAV are quietly flashing opportunity signals.

Closed-end funds can provide monthly distributions from a diversified portfolio to help generate cash flow for paying bills or compounding to snowball that cash flow.

A few scary headlines have investors running, but the data tells a very different story. Deep discounts are opening up where fundamentals remain unusually strong. This misunderstood corner of the market may offer rare income upside.