Credit spreads are back to multi-year lows and the prospect of multiple rate cuts from the Fed this year has a lot of folks believing that conditions for junk bonds might even improve for these issuers before they get worse. I’m not one of them, but I think we do need to acknowledge that sentiment is what it is at the moment. Which leads me to the Pioneer Diversified High Income Trust (HNW).

Around a year ago at this time, I profiled the BlackRock Science & Technology Trust Fund (BST). At the time, conditions were far different than they are today. Over the one year since, the magnificent 7 trade has dominated the equity markets and mega-cap tech has driven the vast majority of S&P 500 gains. Will high interest rates start to let some air out of the bubble? Is BST the way to play it if you still believe in tech’s potential?

A subscriber recently asked me about the Virtus Convertible & Income Fund II (NCZ). There’s a lot to consider with this fund - risk, composition, performance, leverage. Whether to add this fund to your portfolio goes beyond just deciding that you want to invest in this asset class. This group has had a solid run over the past year, but NCZ’s aggressive strategy could tilt the risk/reward profile in the wrong direction.