Touchstone Strategic Income ETF (SIO)

The Touchstone Strategic Income ETF (SIO) is an exchange-traded fund designed to provide investors with income. Based on the data, its most notable characteristics are a distribution yield of approximately 7.13% and a difference between its share-price movement and its total return.

What the Numbers Show

The current price of SIO is $24.70. To understand how the fund has performed, we look at two different types of returns: price return (the change in the share price) and total return (which includes the distributions paid to investors).

• Year-to-Date (YTD): The price return is -4.82%, while the total return is -1.16%.

• One Year: The price return is -6.10%, but the total return is 0.50%.

• Three Year: The price return is 3.41%, while the total return is 22.98%.

An estimated price from roughly one year ago was $26.31. These numbers show that while the share price has declined over the last year, the total return remained slightly positive because of the distributions paid out.

Income and Distribution Explanation

SIO is designed for income. It usually pays distributions monthly and has made 13 payments over the last 12 months. The distribution yield is approximately 7.13%, with trailing distributions totaling $1.76 per share.

It is important for beginners to remember that a high distribution yield alone can be misleading. A fund can pay out a high yield even if the share price is falling. In this case, the total return figures are higher than the price return figures, which shows that the cash distributions helped offset the decline in share price.

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, SIO has an erosion-risk score of 75, which is labeled as "mild price erosion." This means there has been some deterioration in the share price, but the "severe erosion-risk flag" is false, meaning the decline has not triggered a severe warning.

Pros

• Consistent Income: The fund pays distributions usually every month.

• Positive Long-Term Total Return: The three-year total return is approximately 22.98%.

• Offsetting Yield: Distributions have helped keep the one-year total return positive despite a falling share price.

Cons

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

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

• Average Income Grade: The fund has an income rating grade of "C."

Beginner Takeaway

SIO provides regular monthly income, but the share price has been trending downward recently. While the distributions have helped the total return stay positive over the last year, the "mild price erosion" score suggests that the principal value of the shares has decreased. Investors typically look for a balance between high income and a stable share price to ensure their original investment is preserved.