Rising yields have decimated mREITs this year—mortgage real estate ETFs like $REM and $MORT are down ~19–20% (dividend-adjusted) YTD. However, over longer time frames, their high dividend yields (often 15%+) often compensate for underperformance in stock price. On a dividend-adjusted basis, $AGNC (one of the few mREITs that I own) has lost 12% YTD (vs. $O +1.8%), but it actually outperformed $O over the 1Y (+0.7% vs. -0.2%) and 5Y (+6.1% vs. +4.6%) periods. On a 10Y annualized total return basis, the results are similar — $AGNC at 4.5% vs. $O at 4.1%. To be fair, mREITs are highly volatile, and outsized drawdowns can happen over fairly short periods of time, but I find that quality mREITs like $AGNC and $NLY (and a few others) can be excellent income vehicles when entries are made opportunistically—buying near or below tangible book has historically been a good risk/reward setup.
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