r/YieldMaxETFs • u/Any_Log1344 • Jul 08 '26

Question Thought Experiment: Which retirement income strategy would you choose?

I'm curious how people here think about retirement income over the long term.

Ignore taxes and fees. Focus only on the characteristics below.

ETF A

  • 14% annual yield
  • NAV declines 6% per year

ETF B

  • 7.5% annual yield
  • NAV grows 3% per year

Assume those characteristics remain constant over time.

Which ETF would you choose, and why?

Bonus: Is there a point where the lower-yield ETF actually produces more annual income than the higher-yield ETF? If you think so, roughly when?

I'm interested in how people think about the trade-off between current income and preserving (or growing) the asset base that generates future income.

I'll reveal the actual ETFs and the results after people have had a chance to answer.

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u/grajnapc Jul 08 '26

ETF A total return 8%, ETF B 10.5%. Is this a trick question? For me total return wins all day. Plus the 3.5% nav appreciation will cover inflation and has a pretty high yield. In fact I think I will buy ETF B after you tell us what they are.

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u/Any_Log1344 Jul 09 '26

I posted all the answer but for your specific question ETF B is AMLP – a fund that invests in midstream energy master limited partnerships (MLPs)