XAI Octagon Floating Rate & Alternative Income Term Trust (XFLT)

Ellington Credit: High Yield, Speculative CLO Fund

XFLT's 15% yield is offset by extreme risk from levered CLO equity exposure and a hefty 7.58% expense ratio, eroding potential returns. Current economic conditions, such as sectoral strain, low CapEx, and underpriced credit risk, heighten XFLT's vulnerability, even without a broad recession. XFLT's volatility likely exceeds its risk-adjusted returns, especially compared to lower-fee alternatives like BKLN and CLOI, making it unattractive.

CHICAGO, Aug. 14, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- XAI Octagon Floating Rate & Alternative Income Trust (NYSE: XFLT) (the “Trust”) today announced that it plans to host the Trust's Quarterly Webinar on August 26, 2025, at 11:00 am (Eastern Time). Kevin Davis, Managing Director at XA Investments (“XAI”) will moderate the Q&A style webinar with Kimberly Flynn, President at XAI, and Lauren Law, Senior Portfolio Manager at Octagon Credit Investors.

5 Closed-End Fund Buys In The Month Of July 2025

Key Points Although the US stock market is the largest in the world, with a market capitalization of roughly $49 trillion, the US bond market is larger, clocking in at $51 trillion. With US economic growth exploding, the Federal Reserve’s current overnight interest rates are out of step with those of other Central Banks around the globe, and will inevitably get reduced. Investors who are uneasy about the stock market and prefer debt markets have opportunities to lock in higher, double-digit APYs with certain debt oriented Closed End Funds in advance of an interest rate cut. Are you ahead or behind on retirement? Are you intimidated about discussing your portfolio in a financial advisor’s office? SmartAsset’s free tool can match you with a financial advisor in minutes to help you answer that today. Each advisor has been carefully vetted and must act in your best interests. Don’t waste another minute – get started by clicking here.(Sponsor) One of the most controversial financial policies in the news is the refusal of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell to lower the US overnight fed funds rate, which currently stands at 4.33%. This is grossly out of step with the rest of the industrialized world and smacks of politics, as the European Central Bank’s equivalent is at 2.0%, the Bank of England is at 4.0%, and the Bank of Japan is at 0.5%. As Powell’s term ends in May, 2026, President Trump’s prospective replacement candidates are already being reviewed. Whoever it will be, there is little doubt that US interest rates will be cut in the future to get more in-line with the rest of the world, especially since inflation has been successfully squashed and US economic growth is exploding. Locking In High Interest Income Opportunity Window Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell obstinately refuses to cut interest rates for parity with Europe and Japan, and will likely be replaced in May or sooner by President Trump. Although making money in the stock market is the goal of millions of US investors, the US bond and debt market actually is larger by $2 trillion: $51 trillion over $49 trillion for equities. There are millions of investors who are more interested in the income from bonds and the debt markets and prefer to avoid the gyrations of the stock market. The current higher US interest rates will inevitably fall when the Federal Reserve announces the interest rate cut that is already considered a foregone conclusion. That said, there is a window of opportunity to lock in higher payout rates and potential asset upside value before interest rates fall and bond prices go up. Individual investors seeking diversification and high income might wish to consider certain debt oriented closed end funds that presently are yielding over 11%. A $10,000 investment in each of the following four examples could generate over $5,000 annually, based on currently quoted market rates at the time of this writing. XAI Octagon Floating Rate & Alternative Income Trust XAI Octagon Floating Rate & Alternative Income Trust Inc. deals heavily in the floating-rate bond arena, and its parent has over a quarter century of successful experience in the field. XAI Octagon Floating Rate & Alternative Income Trust (NYSE: XFLT) Yield: 15.44% Annual Income Amount: $1,544.00 Floating rate bonds make coupon payments which, instead of a fixed amount, have a basis point spread against a variable rate pegged to a particular interest rate benchmark, like, for example, LIBOR or the 10-year US Treasury Bond. Mechanically, this is akin to a floating rate mortgage. Chicago, IL headquartered XAI Octagon Floating Rate & Alternative Income Trust Inc. manages a $729 million AUM portfolio of debt instruments majority weighted towards floating rate bonds or other debt structures. This means that their coupon payments have a basis point spread against a variable rate pegged to a particular interest rate benchmark, such as LIBOR or the 10-year US Treasury Bond. Mechanically, this is akin to a floating rate mortgage. During periods of interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve, as we have experienced in recent years, these payments have ballooned commensurately. The parent company, Octagon, has an over 25-year track record of institutional financial management, with a total $32.6 billion AUM under their auspices. The average bond purchase price is 86% of par, and the average maturity is roughly 8 years. As the bonds pay off at par when they mature, XAI Octagon realizes the 14% difference as additional upside for the portfolio. XAI Octagon’s portfolio is allocated as follows: Senior Secured First Lien: 45.85% Collateralized Loan Obligation Equity: 37.69% Collateralized Loan Obligation Debt: 12.32% High Yield: 0.91% Secured Second Lien: 0.52% Common Stock: 0.06% Cash & Equivalents: 2.64% Ratings-wise, XFLT’s bonds break down accordingly: B: 54.68% BB: 24.49% Unrated: 7.22% BBB: 5.09% Below B: 4.47% A: 2.12% Invesco Senior Income Trust The Invesco Senior Income Trust uses the Credit Suisse Leveraged Loan Index as its benchmark. Invesco Senior Income Trust (NYSE: VVR) Yield: 12.46% Annual Income Amount: $1,246.00 Fixed-income mutual funds often use benchmarks against which they will gauge the fund’s performance. In the case of Invesco Senior Income Trust, the benchmark in question is the Credit Suisse Leveraged Loan Index. With nearly the entirety of its $674 million assets under management devoted to investing in the high-yield bond markets, the Atlanta, GA based fund has not missed any monthly dividend payments since its inception, over 27 years ago. The fund was formerly known as Invesco Van Kampen Senior Income Trust and Van Kampen Senior Income Trust. Invesco Senior Income Trust was formed on June 23, 1998 and is domiciled in the United States. As of July, roughly 88.65% of the fund was invested in the bond market, with 4.72% in US stocks and 0.12% in foreign stocks. Within the bond portfolio, there were 383 different fixed income securities. Of these, 95.8% were corporates, of which 40.38% were rated B, 38.47% were unrated, 14.53% were between B- and C-, and 6.62% were BB. Dividends pay out monthly. Nuveen Floating Rate Income Fund The Nuveen Floating Rate Income Fund is a closed-end fund deploying $1.42 billion AUM almost entirely in bonds and other debt instruments. Stock: Nuveen Floating Rate Income Fund (NYSE: JFR) Yield: 11.94% Annual Income Amount: $1,194.00 Asset manager Nuveen Investments is a wholly owned private subsidiary of the Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America (TIAA). However, it has spun off a number of funds that manage independent portfolios, many of which have become both lucrative and large. Nuveen has a significant footprint in the fixed income arena, which is unsurprising, given that annuities are a key mandate of its parent. Operating from its offices in Chicago, IL. The Nuveen Floating Rate Income Fund is a closed end bond fund which is focused on the US high yield debt market. It has $1.42 billion AUM that is deployed accordingly: Senior loans: 85.3% Corporate Bonds: 10.5% Cash and Equivalents: 3.1% Net Other Assets: 1.6% Ratings-wise, the JFR portfolio bonds are 53.98% rated B, 28.5% BB, 8.39% BBB, 5.68% B- or below, and 3.24% unrated. JFR pays out dividends monthly. PIMCO Access Income Fund The PIMCO Access Income Fund holds both US and foreign corporate debt issues in its $1.15 billion portfolio. Stock: PIMCO Access Income Fund (NYSE: PAXS) Yield: 11.44% Annual Income Amount: $1,144.00 The PIMCO Access Income Fund is a closed end bond fund that leverages the resources of Newport Beach, CA headquartered Pacific Investment Management Co.’s fixed-income analysts to evaluate bond issues in a wide range of categories from around the globe. Corporate bonds, government and sovereign nation debt, asset-backed and mortgage-backed bonds, floating rate bonds, and even municipal bonds are all fair game if they are available at an attractive price and can deliver on the fund’s income requirements. Dividends are paid out monthly. With $1.15 billion total AUM, the PIMCO Access Income Fund’s portfolio is allocated thus: Industrial Sectors (top 5): Technology: 5.74% Healthcare: 4.80% Consumer Products: 4.31% Wirelines: 3.28% Media Cable: 3.21% Bond Sector Exposure (top5): Non-Agency Mortgage: 27.29% High-Yield Credit: 21.16% Non-US Developed: 14.67% Collateralized Mortgage Backed Sec.: 13.65% Emerging Markets: 10.31% Based on market price at the time of this writing, $10,000 invested in each of these four (4) debt CEFs would lock in yield that delivers $5,128 annually on a cumulative $40,000 portfolio investment. $1,544 + $1,246 + $1,194 + $1,144 = $5,128.00 per year, $427.33 per month. The DRIP Compounding Option A Dividend Reinvestment Plan is an excellent way to compound dividends and build wealth more quickly without expending additional savings. As all four CEFs listed pay dividends on a monthly basis, investors seeking to utilize dividend compounding for boosting portfolio growth rather than requiring the income for expenses, may wish to consider a Dividend Reinvestment Plan (DRIP) agreement. This would allow them to dollar cost average and compound every month for greater growth acceleration and share accumulation on a limited to zero-fee, autopilot basis. The post Need $5,000 in Passive Income and Spooked By Stocks? Invest $10,000 in these 4 Funds appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..

CHICAGO, Aug. 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- XAI Octagon Floating Rate & Alternative Income Trust (the “Trust”) has declared its regular monthly distribution of $0.070 per share on the Trust's common shares (NYSE: XFLT), payable on September 2, 2025, to common shareholders of record as of August 15, 2025, as noted below. The amount of the distribution represents no change from the previous month's distribution amount of $0.070 per share.

For income investors, closed-end funds remain an attractive investment class that covers various asset classes and promises high distributions and reasonable total returns. Closed-end funds, or CEFs, are generally characterized by higher volatility and deeper drawdowns than the broader market. For these reasons, they are not suited for everyone. In this monthly series, we highlight five CEFs with solid track records that pay high distributions and offer "excess" discounts. We try to separate the wheat from the chaff using our filtering process to select just five CEFs every month from around 500 closed-end funds.

Interval and Tender Offer Fund Market Experiences Accelerated Growth, Surge in Fund Launches, and Shift Toward Greater Investor Accessibility Interval and Tender Offer Fund Market Experiences Accelerated Growth, Surge in Fund Launches, and Shift Toward Greater Investor Accessibility

Diversification across bonds, senior loans, and CLOs is key to managing interest rate and credit risks in fixed-income portfolios. Market timing is extremely difficult; a balanced mix of fixed and floating-rate assets provides resilience regardless of rate direction. Distribution cuts in floating-rate CEFs are expected as rates fall but should be weighed against opportunity cost and risk-adjusted returns.

CHICAGO, July 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- XAI Octagon Floating Rate & Alternative Income Trust (the “Trust”) has declared its regular monthly distribution of $0.070 per share of the Trust's common shares (NYSE: XFLT). The Trust also declared preferred dividends for the quarter of $0.40625 per share of the Trust's 6.50% Series 2026 Term Preferred Shares (NYSE: XFLTPRA).

For income investors, closed-end funds remain an attractive investment class that covers various asset classes and promises high distributions and reasonable total returns. Closed-end funds, or CEFs, are generally characterized by higher volatility and deeper drawdowns than the broader market. For these reasons, they are not suited for everyone. In this monthly series, we highlight five CEFs with solid track records that pay high distributions and offer "excess" discounts. We try to separate the wheat from the chaff using our filtering process to select just five CEFs every month from around 500 closed-end funds.

XFLT offers a 14.6% yield and trades at a 5.4% discount, with a portfolio split between loans and CLO equity. Distribution coverage is around 90% due to falling loan spreads and lower short-term rates, prompting a second consecutive distribution cut. XFLT stands out for its low management fees, attractive sector discount, and potential pull-to-NAV yield if the term feature holds.

We review the CEF market valuation and performance through the first week of June and highlight recent market action. Loan CEF valuations have underperformed as Fed rate cuts led to distribution reductions, reversing prior outperformance from the hiking cycle. A couple of Nuveen CEFs have trimmed distributions, with few distribution changes elsewhere.

XAI Octagon Floating Rate & Alternative Income Trust (NYSE:XFLT) Q1 2025 Earnings Conference Call June 4, 2025 12:00 PM ET

CHICAGO, June 02, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- XAI Octagon Floating Rate & Alternative Income Trust (the “Trust”) has declared its regular monthly distribution of $0.070 per share on the Trust's common shares (NYSE: XFLT), payable on July 1, 2025, to common shareholders of record as of June 16, 2025, as noted below. The amount of the distribution represents a 9.09% decrease from the previous month's distribution amount of $0.077 per share.

I maintain a hold rating on XFLT due to ongoing macroeconomic risks and elevated interest rates impacting credit quality and fund performance. XFLT offers a high 16.1% yield and trades at a 4.5% discount to NAV, but capital preservation remains a concern given historical price declines. Aggressive leverage and significant CLO equity exposure increase risk, especially if defaults rise amid persistent inflation and tariff uncertainties.