One of the things I like about owning high-yield shares is that I can receive passive income from them, in the form of dividends.
Here are a couple of such shares I think offer good value at their current price. In fact, I like them so much that I hold them myself.
Henderson Far East Income
With a 10.4% dividend yield and a recent track record of annual dividend increases, Henderson Far East Income (LSE: HFEL) does what it says on the tin.
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By investing in companies with business in Asian countries, the fund aims to capture some of the economic gains to be made in that region.
One concern I have had in the past owning investment trusts that tout “high income” is that to deliver it, they invest in high-yielding but also high-risk shares.
All shares carry risks, but overall I think this fund’s portfolio avoids this trap. Its portfolio includes fast-growing companies like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (its biggest holding) as well as high-payout shares like 7.3%-yielding Swire Properties.
An uncertain economic outlook in some Asian markets is a risk for the fund’s performance. But with the Japanese stock market finally throwing off a decades long slump and emerging markets powering ahead, I am happy to hold this share in my portfolio.
M&G
Closer to home is asset manager M&G (LSE: MNG).
The well-known City name has a retail customer base of millions spanning over two dozen markets. On top of that, it serves hundreds of institutional clients.
Asset management is big business. The sums involved can be large, meaning that commissions and fees add up. I expect demand to stay strong over the long run.
Thanks to its well-known brand, established customer base and long experience in the field, I think M&G is in a good position to capitalise on this.
Like Henderson Far East Income, it has raised its dividend per share annually over the past few years and yields 9.8%. I am hopeful the high-yield share will deliver on its strategy of maintaining or increasing its dividend each year.
Dividends are never guaranteed though, and there are risks here. A loss of business is a key one, for example if poor fund performance leads clients to move their money elsewhere. That could also be triggered by weak financial markets.
But business performance has been resilient lately and the company has proved it is able to generate significant excess cash. That is good news when it comes to funding dividends.
Weighing risk and reward
Other investors can see what I do and yet both these high-yield shares continue to offer attractive dividends.
That could be a sign of elevated risk, which helps explain why I consider risks carefully before investing.
In both cases though, I see reasons to be optimistic about the long-term outlook – while hopefully earning sizeable passive income streams along the way!
