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How To Earn 10% In A Low Yield Environment?

Tyler Durden's picture




 

A key challenge for most investors is meeting return bogies, but as Citi notes in the following 6 slides, generating a 10% return in this low-yield environment is still possible (aside from riding short-squeezes in #N/A P/E stocks) as long as you have the intestinal fortitude for the kind of leverage required...

 

How to Earn 10% in a Low Yield Environment?

Although less acute than early in the year, a key challenge for at least some investors is meeting return bogies.

How Much Leverage is Needed to Earn 10%?

We looked at how much financial leverage is needed to earn 10% for select assets. Required leverage is certainly higher than the historical norm, but variations across the markets are extraordinary.

How Risky are Levered Positions?

With respect to what could happen to levered positions in a tail scenario (defined as the single worst monthly performance during the post-Lehman period), we find that the most resilient assets tend to be cash corporates.

We also looked at the likelihood of each asset generating a negative outcome, and again cash corporates tend to fair well.

We also looked at the chance of beating a 10% return bogey (post-Lehman era), and once cash corporates look fairly attractive.

And the Winner Is...

For various risk metrics we rank each asset relative to the overall group (from 1 to 13, with 1 being the best). Using the average score for our overall ranking, we find that corporates are compelling.

So there it is, levered loans is the most 'efficient' way to gain 10% on a risky/levered basis - oh aside from the fact that The Fed, just yesterday,. announced it plans to introduce new loan underwriting standards for just that business...

 

Source: Citi

 

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Fri, 10/25/2013 - 11:40 | 4090194 Al Huxley
Al Huxley's picture

Leveraged loans - ponzinomics 101.  This might be able to go on for a long fucking time, but I sure don't want to be trying to get through the theater door when somebody eventually notices the fire.

Fri, 10/25/2013 - 11:57 | 4090243 Aeternus
Aeternus's picture

Yup, everything looks swell and on the up n' up until you run into a BEAR.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbuUWf56RTA

Fri, 10/25/2013 - 12:16 | 4090306 pemdas
pemdas's picture

So, like if I would rather earn 20%, I should just double my leverage, right?  

 

 

: )

Fri, 10/25/2013 - 12:27 | 4090357 Urban Redneck
Urban Redneck's picture

Some of those "income" streams seem to hemorage "income" in adverse circumstances, what's double leverage on coronary bleeding? Obamacare?

Fri, 10/25/2013 - 12:33 | 4090377 Boris Alatovkrap
Boris Alatovkrap's picture

What you are lose on individual transaction, can make up in volume, no?

Fri, 10/25/2013 - 13:05 | 4090505 Its Only Rock N Roll
Its Only Rock N Roll's picture

That's right, lever up the most illiquid asset out there.  Wasn't this ass wipe around in 2008 and the CLO debacle? Either way there is MORE leverage in that space today due to all the newly created BDC's out there.  This time these loans are going a LOT lower than the 40-45% decline they did in 2008/2009.  Some of these BDC's, which are nothing more than leveraged closed-end funds, will get wiped out completely. 

 

Fri, 10/25/2013 - 11:44 | 4090207 Hongcha
Hongcha's picture

Pay off your credit cards.

Fri, 10/25/2013 - 11:47 | 4090211 greatbeard
greatbeard's picture

I'll admit it, I hold some paper on the places I sell. 20% to 30% down, 6% to 7%, 15 years.  Yeah, it could blow the fuck up in my face, but I could be dead from a heart attack tomorrow also.  I've got plenty of cash and no income so holding first mortgages on the places I fix up and sell doesn't hurt me.

Fri, 10/25/2013 - 12:05 | 4090246 socalbeach
socalbeach's picture

Also hard money loans backed by real estate can yield 10%.  Bruce Norris of the Norris Group has some programs that have very low default rates, I think way less than 1% with 60% LTV.  Prices have risen a lot since he started that business, so there might be more risk now. 

I know a lot of people here are bearish on r.e., but all the money the Fed is printing to subsidize gov't spending is going somewhere.  It may not be ending up in your neighborhood, but a lot of it does seem to be going into northern and southern CA.  My biggest concern would be that by the time your loan is paid off in 8 years, the dollar will have lost half its value.

Fri, 10/25/2013 - 12:21 | 4090329 the grateful un...
the grateful unemployed's picture

+100) beach blanket bingo. we have a vacant lot, maybe worth 250 now, i said to her, it will be worth a million, hold on to it (i just don't know what a milliion will be worth by then)

Fri, 10/25/2013 - 11:54 | 4090229 Its_the_economy...
Its_the_economy_stupid's picture

There is zero risk for TBTF. Lever away! Taxpayer funded rescue is just one phone call away. Now, where is the .25% overnite window speed dial?

Fri, 10/25/2013 - 12:00 | 4090254 fonzannoon
fonzannoon's picture

ZIRP is just so beautiful. Everytime I think about going to cash and hanging out for a while the Bernak reminds me I will earn nothing. So why bother!

Fri, 10/25/2013 - 12:05 | 4090263 buzzsaw99
buzzsaw99's picture

nailed it. zirp 4evah makes this strategy risk free.

Fri, 10/25/2013 - 12:44 | 4090417 derek_vineyard
derek_vineyard's picture

zirp was the shot heard round the world

once you go zirp you'll never go back

Fri, 10/25/2013 - 12:48 | 4090431 NotApplicable
NotApplicable's picture

Might as well sell SPX puts to fund it with, while you're at it.

Fri, 10/25/2013 - 12:04 | 4090256 Mercury
Mercury's picture

Leveraged beta in the US equity market is a much better, safer bet.

Fri, 10/25/2013 - 12:01 | 4090257 icanhasbailout
icanhasbailout's picture

Just get a job as a Congressional staffer and go to town on the insider trading.

Fri, 10/25/2013 - 12:11 | 4090291 the grateful un...
the grateful unemployed's picture

yes but are those new standards tighter or looser, i'm betting on looser, its always looser, expand the money supply to accomodate the growth in profits, parrot your efforts to encourage more speculation in leverage on products suited for widows and orphans as a sure sign of economic growth. stock market 20K Obama runs for a 3rd term. nobody is going to change their stripes at this point

Fri, 10/25/2013 - 12:17 | 4090309 RaceToTheBottom
RaceToTheBottom's picture

If this is not an indication of a top, I don't know what is.

Here, little Muppet.....

Fri, 10/25/2013 - 12:43 | 4090412 Freddie
Freddie's picture

Buy the f***ing dip!

Fri, 10/25/2013 - 12:22 | 4090317 SheepDog-One
SheepDog-One's picture

YAY! EZ 10% returns guaranteed! I like these odds from bookie Citi...here, hold my beer while I pile everything into Treasuries and leverage it up to the max!

Fri, 10/25/2013 - 12:29 | 4090363 JuliaS
JuliaS's picture

Investing in top earners ain't what it used to be:

http://imageshack.com/a/img819/8277/1fjs.jpg

Fri, 10/25/2013 - 12:51 | 4090442 NotApplicable
NotApplicable's picture

Hilarious, yet so sad. Maybe they'll just start cutting off the list at zero in the future?

Fri, 10/25/2013 - 20:04 | 4091830 JuliaS
JuliaS's picture

The sad thing is that based on tables like these, compiled by faulty algo's other faulty algos make purchase and sell decisions.

Fri, 10/25/2013 - 12:43 | 4090413 summer09
summer09's picture

Then and now, there are a plethora o rich fund managers getting 2 and 20 from just leveraging beta...what a country! And gotta love the pension funds, endowments, etc. who pay the fees.

Fri, 10/25/2013 - 13:58 | 4090718 NDXTrader
NDXTrader's picture

How about 1,000% monthly? Take 10% of your portfolio, wait for the dip each month caused by "crisis" (really it just allows the option MMs to balance their books). Buy out of the money calls in the next month. Rinse and repeat until the Fed stops printing

Fri, 10/25/2013 - 14:14 | 4090788 MFLTucson
MFLTucson's picture

10% till they collapse!

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