BKLN Stock Recent News

An upbeat job market and moderately cooling inflation may prevent the Fed from opting for significant rate cuts in the near future.

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The BKLN ETF has performed well with 4.1% returns in 6 months due to lower-than-expected loan defaults and low credit spreads. However, forward returns for BKLN are expected to trend lower as the Federal Reserve cuts short-term interest rates, impacting leveraged loan yields. With expected forward returns of ~6%, I am maintaining my hold rating at this time.

BKLN is the largest senior loan ETF in the market. Although it has outperformed these past few years, coming rate cuts are a significant headwind. BKLN's 0.65% expense ratio is higher than average, and a significant long-term negative.

The Invesco Senior Loan ETF is a risky but potentially high-reward proposition for investors expecting interest rate cuts but don't want to bet on when they'll start. BKLN primarily contains junk debt, and that's the biggest risk if higher-for-longer goes on indefinitely. This ETF offers a risky but attractive near-9% yield for 'waiting out the Fed', in a manner of speaking. Risk is high, but it's a Buy.

The Federal Reserve continues to hold fast to its highly data-driven, wait-and-see approach on rate policy. Last week's FOMC meeting further bolstered the market's belief in a lone rate-cut scenario, and senior loan ETFs have gained traction as elevated rate expectations spill over into the second half of the year.

While markets mull over when the Federal Reserve will begin rate cuts, investors are evaluating where to allocate investments. Justin Danfield, Fixed Income ETF Strategist at Invesco, noted that bond investing presents an attractive option for investors.

The Invesco Senior Loan ETF is a passive investment vehicle giving exposure to leveraged loans. The BKLN ETF has returned a handsome 9% total return since June despite rising defaults as credit spreads have tightened. Looking forward, with a yawning gap between credit spreads and actual defaults, I believe forward returns may not be as robust as investors expect.

VettaFi's Head of Research Todd Rosenbluth discussed the Invesco Senior Loan ETF (BKLN) on this week's “ETF of the Week” podcast with Chuck Jaffe of “Money Life.” For more news, information, and strategy, visit the Innovative ETFs Channel.

Fixed income ETFs gathered $51 billion of new money in the first quarter. This represented 26% of the industry's net inflows.