Below are press releases from companies with preferred stock and/or baby bonds outstanding-or just news of general interest. Now that we are very near to the end of earnings for the quarter ending 6/20/24 news will be somewhat slow once again.
Mortgage Rates Remain at the Lowest Level in Over a Year
JPMorganChase Declares Preferred Stock Dividends
U-Haul Holding Company Announces Quarterly Cash Dividend
MetLife Declares Third Quarter 2024 Preferred Stock Dividends
Morgan Stanley Declares Dividends on Its Preferred Stock
Brighthouse Financial Announces Preferred Stock Dividends and Related Depositary Share Distributions
National Storage Affiliates Trust Announces Quarterly Dividends
OFS Credit Company Provides July 2024 Net Asset Value Update
PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust Declares Third Quarter 2024 Dividends for Its Preferred Shares
Allstate Announces July 2024 Catastrophe Losses
Re: Allstate catastrophe losses –
Barron’s recently pumped Catastrophe bonds and funds as a way for “savvy investors” to hedge against rising insurance costs (“Catastrophe Bonds Are Anything But for Investors.”) ROAR a new Cat ETF is on the way.
Cat bonds offer a nice coupon but your principal can get wiped out if a Cat 5 hurricane blows through or the San Andreas fault gets jittery. Barron’s cheerily notes that “large-scale disasters happen rarely,” implying that Cats are safe investments. Barron’s doesn’t mention that “withdrawing from the Florida market” is a popular phrase among insurers and reinsurers.
Barron’s claims Cats are much less volatile than stocks and produce similar returns, although 5.5% / yr over 10 years seems underwhelming to me. I tried a cat fund once and the results were mediocre. JMO. DYODD.
I had heard of Catastrophe bonds. Seem like playing a game of Russian roulette – everything is great, until it goes black.
While it is true that catastrophes happen rarely in any particular place/cause/time, they happen regularly when viewed globally. There are big hurricanes every year – just depends on what they hit.
Maybe there is a way to structure a well diversified fund of Catastrophe bonds, but it would be tough to get the returns on the “survivors” to cover the capital losses from the ones that go under.
I guess it is a timing play – get in, make some money, then get out before a catastrophe strikes.
I guess I would need to get my crystal ball back from the shop….
Did a bit more research -future returns may not be as good as the past ones mentioned in Barrons. Cats typically park their money in Treasury money market funds until payout or maturity. Distributions may fall if interest rates drop. Risk doesn’t change however. IMHO, these days, there are plenty of other ways to get good returns.