Understanding the Lazard Global Total Return and Income Fund Inc (LGI)

What this ETF is trying to do

The Lazard Global Total Return and Income Fund Inc (ticker: LGI) is an exchange-traded fund (ETF) listed on the NYSE. Based on its name, this fund focuses on providing both total returns and regular income to its investors.

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 LGI, the year-to-date (YTD) price return is approximately -1.49%. The one-year price return is approximately -0.52%.

• Total Return: This includes the share price changes plus any distributions (cash payments) received. LGI's YTD total return is approximately 6.35%, and its one-year total return is approximately 10.19%.

To see how the price has moved, we can look at an estimated price from roughly one year ago, which was about $17.27. The current price is $17.18. While the share price has seen some slight declines, the total return numbers show a different picture because they include the cash paid out to investors.

Income and distribution explanation

This ETF is designed to pay out regular income. The distribution yield is approximately 10.60%. This means the fund has paid out a significant amount of cash relative to its share price. These distributions usually happen monthly, with 12 payments recorded over the last year.

It is important to remember that a high distribution yield does not mean you earned that same percentage in total return. You must look at the "total return" figure to see how much you actually gained or lost including those payments.

NAV erosion explanation

"NAV erosion" is a term used to describe when the value of the underlying assets in a fund decreases over time. Investors often watch this because they want to make sure their original investment (the principal) stays stable while they collect income.

For LGI, the erosion-risk score is 94, which is labeled as "Stable / sideways." The erosion severity is described as "good," and there is no severe erosion-risk flag present. This suggests the fund's price movement is not currently showing signs of major structural decay according to these risk measurements.

Pros

• The fund has a high income rating grade of "A."

• The total return figures (such as the three-year total return of approximately 65.70%) show significant growth when distributions are included.

Cons

• The share price itself has experienced some minor declines (price return) over the last year and year-to-date.

Beginner takeaway

When you see an ETF with a high distribution yield, always check the total return. The price of a single share might go down slightly, but if the total return is positive, it means the cash distributions helped offset those price drops. Always remember that high yields can be misleading if the share price is falling rapidly, so checking the erosion-risk score is a helpful way to see how stable the fund's value appears to be.