Share-split context: A minor share adjustment was recorded on Apr 21, 2025 with coefficient 1.016. Current price-return figures are already normalized to the current share basis.

ETF Education Report: Cornerstone Strategic Value Fund (CLM)

What this ETF is trying to do

The Cornerstone Strategic Value Fund (CLM) is an ETF traded on the AMEX exchange. While the specific investment goals are not listed in the provided data, ETFs like this one often focus on providing regular cash payments to investors.

What the numbers show

It is important to understand that "price return" and "total return" are two different things. Price return only tracks how much the share price moves. Total return includes both the price movement and the cash distributions (dividends) paid out.

Because this ETF has a history of both forward and reverse splits, we use split-adjusted returns to look at performance. A forward split means one old share became multiple new shares, while a reverse split means multiple old shares were combined into fewer new shares.

Here is how the performance looks:

• Year-to-Date (YTD): The price return is approximately -22.37%, while the total return is approximately -10.20%.

• One Year: The price return is approximately -22.65%, while the total return is approximately -6.45%.

• Three Year: The price return is approximately -16.32%, while the total return is a positive 44.54%.

Income and distribution explanation

This ETF has a high distribution yield of approximately 22.51%. This means the fund pays out a large amount of cash relative to its share price. These distributions usually happen monthly, with 12 payments recorded over the last year.

However, a high yield can be misleading. A large distribution does not guarantee that your original investment will stay the same value. Investors should look at the total return to see how the price changes and the distributions work together.

NAV erosion explanation

"NAV erosion" is a term used to describe when the value of the underlying assets in a fund decreases. StockValueFinder uses an "erosion score" to measure this risk.

For CLM, the erosion score is 55, which is labeled as "Moderate price erosion." This is a measurement of risk and does not necessarily prove that the fund's value has collapsed, but it suggests the share price has faced downward pressure.

Pros

• The fund offers a high distribution yield of approximately 22.51%.

• Over a three-year period, the total return was positive at approximately 44.54%.

Cons

• The share price has seen significant declines (price returns) over the last year and year-to-date.

• There is a moderate erosion-risk score of 55.

Beginner takeaway

When looking at CLM, it is vital to distinguish between the cash you receive (distribution yield) and the actual value of your shares (price return). While the distributions are high, the share price has declined recently. Always look at the total return to get a clearer picture of how an ETF is performing over time.