Understanding the Clough Global Equity Fund (GLQ)

What this ETF is trying to do

The Clough Global Equity Fund, known by its ticker symbol GLQ, is an Exchange Traded Fund (ETF). An ETF is a type of investment that holds many different stocks in one package. This specific fund focuses on global equities, which means it invests in companies from around the world.

What the numbers show

As of July 16, 2026, the current price of GLQ is $8.49. Looking at how the fund has performed, the numbers show growth. Over the last year, the price of the fund went up by about 18.25%. When you include the money paid out to investors, the total return for the year was 31.44%.

To see how much a price change matters, let's look at an example. Imagine you invested $10,000 into this fund one year ago when the estimated price was about $7.18. If you only looked at the price change before any distributions were paid, your $10,000 would have grown to roughly $12,540 based on the one-year price return.

Income and distribution explanation

Some investors look for ETFs that pay them regular money, which is called a "distribution." GLQ has a distribution yield of 9.75%. This means the amount of money paid out relative to the share price is quite high. These payments usually happen once a month, often on a Wednesday. Over the last 12 months, the total amount distributed was $0.8274 per share.

It is important to remember that a high yield alone can be misleading. A very high percentage might look attractive, but it does not tell you the whole story about the health of the fund.

NAV erosion explanation

"NAV erosion" is a term used when an ETF's share price keeps dropping because it is paying out more money than it is actually earning. Think of it like a person spending all their savings to pay for monthly bills; eventually, the savings disappear.

If an ETF has severe erosion, the share price can fall from a high number to a much lower number. This can destroy your "principal," which is the original money you put in. However, for GLQ, no price erosion was detected. The data shows a "good" erosion score, meaning the price has been growing rather than shrinking.

Pros

• The fund has shown strong total returns over the last one, three, and many years.

• It provides regular monthly income.

• The price has been increasing rather than eroding.

Cons

• High yields can sometimes hide risks that are not immediately obvious.

• Investing in global stocks means the fund is affected by what happens in different countries.

Beginder takeaway

Income investors usually prefer ETFs that go sideways (stay at the same price) or move slightly up. They prefer this because they want to collect their monthly payments without seeing their original investment shrink. GLQ has shown a pattern of increasing its price alongside its distributions, which is different from funds that collapse in price.