What the data says about European income funds, including the parts that do not
suit us. Every study is run on the same database that powers the screeners, and the method is
written out so you can disagree with it.
Thirty-nine products measured month by month: they diversify better than expected, they are more
exposed to the market than the index, and most of them distribute more than they earn.
Every fund falls on the ex-date by about what it pays. Whether the price climbs back is what
separates income from capital returned — and the funds that never recover are not the ones you
would guess.
Tax is charged on the whole distribution and only on the gain of a sale. What that costs, strategy
by strategy — up to fifteen points a year — and the 8.4 points that offsetting realised losses
gives back.
Combining screeners concentrates instead of diversifying, income per unit of risk buys dead funds,
and no amount of selection recovers a return the asset class did not produce.
All twelve with returns, drawdowns and income side by side, plus the machinery: sleeves, ranking
criteria, exit buffers, and what happens to the income.
Important information. Master of Yield is an independent research tool. All content on this
site, including fund data, screeners, scores, model portfolios and backtests, is provided for information
and education only. Nothing here is investment, legal, tax or accounting advice, nor a recommendation or
solicitation to buy, sell or hold any financial instrument. We are not a broker, a bank or an authorised
investment adviser, and we have no knowledge of your personal circumstances. Any investment decision you
make is yours alone: consult a qualified adviser before acting.
Our approach. Our model portfolios follow a purely quantitative, rules-based method focused on
income. Funds are selected, ranked and rotated by statistical criteria applied mechanically: price erosion
since inception, sustainability of distributions, dividend growth, yield and total return. No discretionary
judgement or view on individual companies or markets is involved, and the same rules apply to every fund.
About the backtests. Portfolio results are hypothetical simulations run on historical data, not
records of real trades or of any real account. Among other simplifications, they assume every fund could be bought
and sold at its month-end price with no spread, commission or market impact; they show figures before tax
unless you set your own tax profile under "Taxes", where you choose your country and can adjust every rate and
the commission your broker charges per trade — those figures are an estimate, not a tax calculation; and they
convert every amount to euro at the daily exchange rate. The fund universe only
contains products that exist today, so funds that closed in the past are missing, which tends to flatter
results. Many funds have short histories, so some results cover only a few years of a largely rising market.
Rules may be refined over time and each refinement is applied to the full history, so past results can
change. Past or simulated performance does not guarantee future results, and every investment can lose
value, including the capital invested.
About the data. Data is collected from publicly available open sources and third-party providers
and is not independently verified. No warranty is given as to its accuracy, completeness or timeliness.
Always check figures with the fund provider before acting. Fund reference data (expense ratio, fund size,
domicile) is completed with the EU ETF Universe dataset by Danimoth, used under the CC BY 4.0 licence:
danimoth.com/dataset.
Intellectual property. Fund names and trademarks belong to their respective owners. Content from
this site may not be reproduced or redistributed without written permission.
Before you look around
Master of Yield is an independent research tool. All content on this site — fund data,
screeners, scores, model portfolios and backtests — is provided for information and education only.
Nothing here is investment, legal, tax or accounting advice, nor a recommendation or solicitation to buy,
sell or hold any financial instrument. We are not a broker, a bank or an authorised investment adviser,
and we have no knowledge of your personal circumstances.
Any investment decision you make is yours alone: consult a qualified adviser before acting.
This site stores only what it needs to work: your theme, your table view and your tax profile, all in your
own browser. No tracking, no advertising. How it works.
