Understanding Brookfield Real Assets Income Fund Inc (RA)

The Brookfield Real Assets Income Fund Inc (RA) is an ETF designed to provide investors with income through real asset investments. Its most notable characteristic is a high distribution yield of approximately 12.09%.

What the Numbers Show

The current price of RA is $11.71. When looking at how the share price has moved, the data shows a decline over several timeframes:

• Year-to-Date (YTD): The price return is -9.65%.

• One Year: The price return is -11.62%.

• Three Year: The price return is -3.54%.

However, the total return (which includes the cash distributions paid to investors) tells a different story. While the one-year total return was -1.37%, the three-year total return was 33.79%. This shows that the cash payments helped offset the decline in the share price over a longer period.

For a simple example, if an investor had put $10,000 into the share price alone roughly one year ago (at the estimated price of $13.25), the value of those shares would have decreased based on the -11.62% price return.

Income and Distribution Explanation

RA is designed for income seekers. It usually pays distributions monthly, with 12 payments made over the last year. The trailing distributions totaled $1.42 per share.

It is important for beginners to remember that a high distribution yield does not guarantee a profit. A yield of 12.09% means the fund pays out a large amount of cash relative to its price, but this does not mean the investor's total account value grew by that percentage.

Price and NAV Erosion Explanation

The supplied data is sufficient to evaluate price erosion, but it does not include enough historical NAV-per-share data to confirm or rule out NAV erosion.

Regarding price-based evidence, RA has an erosion-risk score of 75, which is labeled as "Mild price erosion." This means the share price has shown a downward trend, but it has not triggered a severe erosion-risk flag.

Pros

• High Income: The fund provides a high distribution yield and pays out monthly.

• Long-term Total Return: Despite a falling share price, the three-year total return is positive at 33.79%.

Cons

• Price Decline: The share price has fallen over the last year and year-to-date.

• Price Erosion Risk: The fund has a "mild" price erosion label.

Beginner Takeaway

Brookfield Real Assets Income Fund Inc (RA) offers significant monthly cash payments, but the share price has been declining. While the total return over three years is positive, the recent price returns are negative. Investors often care about "principal stability," which means they want their original investment amount to stay steady even while they collect income. In this case, the high yield has existed alongside a falling share price.