AboutJohn D Smith, CFP Expertise I can answer detailed questions regarding mutual fund investing, retirement planning, education planning and related financial planning/investment issues. I have a B.S. degree in Financial Planning & Counseling. I am also a Certified Financial Planner practitioner and have performed fee only investment management and financial planning services for the past 11 years.
Question In the daily Yahoo stock and mutual funds closing report, I receive two figures--year-to-date return and yield. What is the difference between these two items? Yield is almost always significantly lower than YTD return, for example, SWNTX. Thanks for any help you can give me.
Answer Hi. Yield is the amount of income being paid whereas total return is a combination of income being paid as well as the change in the underlying price of the investment. For example, an investment that yields 3% and goes up in value 5% would have a total return of 8%. I hope this helps.
