Sound Income Strategies’ Fixed Income ETF Ranks High for Morningstar

Sound Income Strategies’ Fixed Income ETF Ranks In Morningstar’s Top 1% For Q1 2023 Among 131 Similar Funds Based On Total Returns

Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based RIA Sound Income Strategies announced its Sound Enhanced Fixed Income ETF (FXED) ranked in Morningstar’s top 1% for the first quarter of 2023 among 131 similar funds based on total returns as of March 31. The actively managed ETF’s total return was 4.33% and its annual dividend yield was 5.55% net of fees and fund expenses.

The FXED ETF, which emphasizes a blended corporate credit income strategy, has holdings that include Business Develop Companies (BDCs), Specialty Bond ETFs, REITs and corporate bonds. According to the ETF’s webpage, its portfolio typically has an approximate equal weighting between investment grade and high-yield debt securities.

Morningstar’s ranking comes as the fund begins its third year, and amid a broader investor flight to fixed income strategies as volatility persists in the stock market. The ETF’s fact sheet states that it is positioned for investors who are preparing for retirement or in retirement.

“We are proud to see the FXED ETF ranked in the top 1% among active managers and passive indices in its peer group,” David J. Scranton, CEO and Founder of Sound Income Strategies, said in the press release. “We created FXED in 2020 to help investors generate current income while providing the opportunity for capital appreciation by investing in fixed-income securities.”

As previously reported, Sound Income Strategies’ other fund, its Sound Equity Income ETF (DIVY), ranked in the top 4% of Morningstar’s 1,229 U.S. large value funds, based on total returns as of year-end 2022. According to Morningstar, DIVY’s total return of 4% in 2022 compared to -18.11% for the S&P 500, while its 2021 return of 34.58% compared to 28.71% for the S&P 500, which placed it in the top 5% for the large-cap value category of 1,207 managers and indices. Its two-year cumulative return of 19.23% exceeded the S&P 500’s 4% by almost five times.

Sound Income Strategies has over $2 billion in assets under management and is part of Sound Income Group, a 2022 WSR Wealth Exemplar Award winner in the category of Retirement Income Solutions Provider of the Year.

Scranton founded Sound Income Strategies in 2014 with a focus on fee-based advisory income solutions. Helping investors generate income during retirement, the firm offers income advisory services as a third-party asset manager serving wealth management firms in addition to ETFs.

Sound Income Group, founded in 2022, holds subsidiaries Sound Income Strategies, Retirement Income Source, which provides a franchise model to advisors providing retirement planning services, and Advisors’ Academy, an insurance FMO.

Chris Latham, Deputy Managing Editor at Wealth Solutions Report, can be reached at clatham@wealthsolutionsreport.com