ETF Education Report: RINF

What this ETF is trying to do

The ProShares Inflation Expectations ETF (RINF) is an exchange-traded fund listed on the NYSE. While the specific investment strategy is not detailed in the provided data, ETFs like this are generally designed to track certain market movements.

What the numbers show

It is important to understand that "price return" and "total return" tell different stories. Price return only tracks how much the share price moved. Total return includes both the price movement and any cash distributions paid out to investors.

Here is how RINF has performed:

• Year-to-Date (YTD): The price return is approximately 1.38%. However, the total return is higher at approximately 2.84%.

• One Year: The price return was a loss of about 0.76%. When including distributions, the one-year total return was approximately 2.96%.

• Three Years: The price return was a loss of about 3.42%. However, the three-year total return was approximately 9.74%.

• Five Years: The five-year total return was approximately 32.29%.

To visualize the price change, the estimated price from roughly one year ago was $32.90. The current price is $32.65.

Income and distribution explanation

Some investors look for ETFs that pay out cash, known as distributions. RINF has a distribution yield of approximately 3.65%. This means the cash paid out is about 3.65% of the ETF's price. Over the last 12 months, the trailing distributions were approximately $1.19 per share. These payments usually happen quarterly, and most recently, they have been paid on Wednesdays.

NAV erosion explanation

"NAV erosion" refers to a decline in the Net Asset Value (the actual value of the assets held by the fund). While a falling share price can sometimes look like erosion, they are not always the same thing.

For RINF, the erosion-risk score is 94, which is labeled as "Stable / sideways." The erosion severity is rated as "good," and there is no severe erosion-risk flag present.

Pros

• The fund provides a distribution yield of approximately 3.65%.

• The total return figures (which include distributions) have been positive over the one-year, three-year, and five-year periods.

Cons

• The price return (the actual share price) has been negative over the one-year and three-year periods.

• There is no data provided regarding specific top holdings or the number of stocks held in the portfolio.

Beginner takeaway

When looking at RINF, it is helpful to distinguish between the share price and the total return. While the share price has seen some declines over the last year and three years, the total return remains positive because of the cash distributions paid to investors. Always remember that a high distribution yield is not the same as a total return.