Searching For Yield? Try These ETFs

We've all heard it before: Yields on Treasuries stink. The dividend yield on the S&P 500 is nothing to write home about either. Money markets and CDs? Yeah, right. So what is an income-minded investor to do in the search for yield. Well, there are plenty of ETFs offering robust yields and most are fairly conservative in posture, meaning long-term investors might want to take a look at a few members of the following list. 1) SPDR Barclays Capital High Yield Bond ETF JNK: Don't be deterred by the ticker that implies junk. JNK holds high-yield corporate bonds from a broad swath of sectors, including issues from Uncle Sam favorites Citigroup C and AIG AIG. The top 10 holdings account for less than 20% of JNK's weight, so the ETF is highly diverse and the yield is an amazing 12.15%. 2) iShares iBoxx $ Invest Grade Corporate Bond ETF LQD: Consider LQD the higher quality cousin to JNK. Citigroup offerings are found here as well, but so are issues from blue chips like AT&T T, Goldman Sachs GS and Verizon VZ. LQD is obviously less risky than JNK and that means you'll take a cut in yield, but 5.44% is nothing to sneeze at. 3) iShares S&P U.S. Preferred Stock Index Fund PFF: Preferred stocks don't get much press because they're not as liquid as common shares, but the yields are better and the dividends are all but guaranteed. Owners of preferred shares are also further ahead in line than common stock owners in terms of compensation when a company goes belly up. Preferred shares from Ford F have been solid performers over the past year and that issue is PFF's top holding. The ETF yields almost 7.8%. 4) Claymore/SWM Canadian Energy Income ETF ENY: ENY is a play on the Canadian oil sands with an interesting twist: The ETF shifts is allocation toward oil when oil prices are high and will do the same with natural gas when nat gas futures rise. The yield is a solid 4.1%.