CMSD - FT: Income Plus Inflation Protection
2025-07-17 08:16:03 ET
The Franklin Universal Trust ( FT ) is a closed-end fund that aims to provide a very high level of current income to its investors, and as such, it attempts to provide a solution for anyone who is struggling to obtain income in the high-priced, low-yielding environment that has dominated the market for most of the 21st century. Unfortunately, however, this fund’s current yield is not much better than what can be obtained from a junk bond index fund. As of the time of writing, the Franklin Universal Trust yields 6.61%, which as we can see here is only a few basis points higher than junk bonds or preferred stocks:
Index/ETF |
Current Yield |
Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index ( AGG ) |
3.86% |
Bloomberg High Yield Very Liquid Index ( JNK ) |
6.61% |
ICE Exchange-Listed Preferred and Hybrid Securities Index ( PFF ) |
6.59% |