Every percentage point of NAV erosion compounds against you. FIRE math is unforgiving. This guide gives you the institutional framework for auditing any income ETF before it costs you years.
If your income ETF is eroding 8% annually while yielding 12%, your real return is 4% — and your safe withdrawal math breaks.
You won't know you were in a trap until you audit your total return over 24 months. By then, you've lost compounding years.
The difference between 8% sustainable yield and 8% ROC-funded yield is the difference between FI in 7 years vs. 12 years.
Chapters marked Most Relevant are specifically applicable to your situation.
A systematic framework for classifying any income ETF from Cornerstone (Tier 1) to High Octane (Tier 5).
The 6 structural signals that separate sustainable income from return-of-capital illusions.
How distributions exceeding earnings gradually destroy principal — with real ETF case studies.
How to read a fund's distribution coverage ratio and what thresholds signal danger.
Real ETFs analyzed: which ones are yield traps, which are sustainable, and why.
A printable checklist to evaluate any dividend ETF in under 30 seconds.
A deep-dive due diligence process for any ETF you're considering adding to your portfolio.
How to combine tiers for your specific income goal — conservative to aggressive allocation models.
36% Total Return Delta
The spread between the best and worst performing high-yield ETFs over 3 years — most FIRE investors can't afford to be on the wrong side of that gap.
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