WisdomTree Alternative Income Fund

WisdomTree Alternative Income Fund (HYIN) is an ETF that owns other listed investment vehicles: business development companies, closed-end loan funds and mortgage REITs. It tracks the Gapstow Private Credit and Alternative Income Index, which holds about 35 of them. Its main draw is income, with a trailing 12-month yield of 16.51% paid monthly as of October 27, 2026. The trade-off is cost: total annual expenses are 4.34%, compared with 0.75% for the similar MDIV.

• Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, HYIN returned -15.1%.
• Its 5-year annualized return was -2.9%.
• Its worst full calendar year was 2022 (-21.1%); its best was 2023 (+22.2%).
• The deepest fall in its price history was 31.1% (Nov 5, 2021 to Oct 10, 2022), recovered by Jul 11, 2024.

As of Aug 31, 2026, the fund held 31 securities; the ten largest made up 35.89% of assets. It also reported 12.41% in a money-market fund, most likely cash collateral from lending out shares rather than uninvested money.

• Over the three months to Aug 31, 2026, investors added a net $1.1M (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
• Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: +0.13%, -1.77%, +3.17%.

HYIN aims to track the Gapstow Private Credit and Alternative Income Index from Gapstow Capital Partners. Rather than owning loans itself, the index holds listed vehicles that own loans and bonds: closed-end funds (pooled funds with a fixed share count that trade like stocks), business development companies, or BDCs (firms that lend to smaller private companies), and real estate investment trusts (REITs) that hold mortgage debt. The fund may own a sample that mirrors the index rather than every member.

To qualify, a vehicle must trade on a major US exchange for at least 90 days, have no set end date, not mainly own other funds, and average over $100 million in market value and $750,000 in daily trading across six months. Members fall into six credit sectors, from private corporate lending to agency mortgage debt. The index picks the largest by market value in each until it holds about 35, aiming for 60% private credit and 40% other credit. Holdings are equally weighted and reset quarterly; membership is reviewed twice a year.

With equal weights, no position topped 4% as of August 31, 2026; FS KKR Capital, Oxford Lane Capital and Main Street Capital led. Holders indirectly bear the underlying vehicles' own fees and any borrowing, and closed-end fund shares often trade below the value of their assets.

• HYIN charges 4.34% a year, versus an average of 0.75% for the similar funds below.
• Of that, 0.5% is the management fee; the rest covers other fund expenses.
• Using the prospectus's standard example, $10,000 invested would cost about $435 in the first year and $4,486 over 10 years (assuming a 5% annual return).

It offers high monthly income, but its costs are steep and its drops have been as deep as a stock fund's, so it fits best as a small add-on rather than a core holding.

HYIN could add a high monthly income stream from private loans and mortgage debt. Its trailing 12-month yield was 16.51% ($2.02 per share) as of October 27, 2026. That income has come with stock-like swings. The fund launched in May 2021, so it has no record from 2008 or 2020. In the 2022 bear market it fell 30.3%. It did not get back to its old high until July 2024, 21 months after the low, and 2022 was its worst calendar year at -21.1%. It also lost 15.1% in the year to October 27, 2026. A retiree who had to sell shares in a stretch like that would lock in losses, and distributions from these vehicles can be cut. Costs are high: 4.34% a year, or $435 on $10,000 in the first year under the SEC's standard example. Past results don't predict the future, and a plan should look at the whole portfolio, not one fund.

Matched by closest holdings overlap from the latest N-PORT reports (no similar fund shares 20% or more of its holdings).