GIAX: NICHOLAS GLOBAL EQUITY AND INCOME ETF
ETF Education Report: NICHOLAS GLOBAL EQUITY AND INCOME ETF (GIAX)
What this ETF is trying to do
The NICHOLAS GLOBAL EQUITY AND INCOME ETF (GIAX) is an exchange-traded fund that focuses on global stocks and providing income to investors. Based on its top holdings, the fund holds a mix of different types of assets, including emerging markets, developed markets, and large U.S. companies like Microsoft and NVIDIA.
What the numbers show
When looking at an ETF, it is important to separate "price return" from "total return."
• Price Return: This measures only the change in the share price. For GIAX, the one-year price return was approximately -7.38%. The year-to-date (YTD) price return was approximately -0.12%.
• Total Return: This includes both the price changes and the money paid out to investors through distributions. Even though the share price went down over the last year, the one-year total return was approximately 19.44%. The YTD total return was approximately 19.05%.
To visualize the price change, an investor's share price was estimated to be roughly $17.74 one year ago, compared to the current price of $16.43.
Income and distribution explanation
This ETF is known for frequent distributions. In the last 12 months, it made 45 payments, most of which occurred on Fridays. The distribution yield is approximately 25.49%.
It is very important to remember that a high distribution yield does not mean you earned that same percentage as your total return. While these frequent payments provide cash, they are separate from the movement of the share price itself.
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-risk score" to measure this risk. GIAX has an erosion score of 75, which is labeled as "mild price erosion." While the share price has declined, there is no severe erosion-risk flag for this ETF.
Pros
• High Total Returns: Despite a falling share price, the total return (which includes distributions) has been positive for both the year-to-date and one-year periods.
• Frequent Income: The fund provides very frequent cash distributions.
Cons
• Share-Price Decline: The actual price of a share has decreased over the last year.
• Mild Erosion Risk: The fund shows a mild level of price erosion.
Beginner takeaway
When you see an ETF with a very high distribution yield, it can be misleading. You should always look at the total return to see how much value you actually gained or lost. In the case of GIAX, while the share price itself dropped, the total return remained positive because of the large distributions paid out to investors.
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Top Holdings (Partial List):
• FREEDOM 100 EMERGING MARKETS ETF (7.70%)
• VANGUARD FTSE DEVELOPED MARKETS ETF (7.26%)
• VANGUARD S&P 500 ETF (6.82%)
• MICRON TECHNOLOGY INC (6.48%)
• VANGUARD MSTAR SMALL CAP ETF (6.05%)
• SERVICENOW INC (5.55%)
• NEBIUS GROUP NV SHS CLASS-A (5.45%)
• MICROSOFT CORP (4.67%)
• VANGUARD MSTAR MID CAP GROWTH ETF (4.56%)
• NVIDIA CORP (4.12%)
*Note: Holdings can change over time. This list is partial.*
Top Holdings
Structured portfolio holdings supplied by the ETF data provider. These figures are not generated by the AI article.
| # | Holding | Ticker | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | FREEDOM 100 EMERGING MARKETS ETF | FRDM | 7.70% |
| 2 | VANGUARD FTSE DEVELOPED MARKETS ETF | VEA | 7.26% |
| 3 | VANGUARD S&P 500 ETF | VOO | 6.82% |
| 4 | MICRON TECHNOLOGY INC | MU | 6.48% |
| 5 | VANGUARD MSTAR SMALL CAP ETF | VB | 6.05% |
| 6 | SERVICENOW INC | NOW | 5.55% |
| 7 | NEBIUS GROUP NV SHS CLASS-A- | NBIS | 5.45% |
| 8 | MICROSOFT CORP | MSFT | 4.67% |
| 9 | VANGUARD MSTAR MID CAP GROWTH ETF | VOT | 4.56% |
| 10 | NVIDIA CORP | NVDA | 4.12% |