Or perhaps you want a rich income stream but aren't comfortable buying junk bonds. Because bonds typically gain less than stocks over time, their costs become a heavier burden. Costs are the most important factor when evaluating bond funds, hands down. Managers with low expense hurdles, in contrast, can offer the same yields and returns without taking on extra risk. Focus on total return, not yield.
Yield provides instant gratification in the form of regular income checks.
But chasing yield can be costly. Managers will pay more than face value for high-yielding bonds and distribute that entire yield as the bonds depreciate to face value. Or they'll buy undervalued bonds and supplement their lower yields with capital gains. Investors sometimes accept dwindling NAVs for burly yields because they want the regular income that yield offers. Yield is nothing more than a percentage of NAV, so shrinking NAV leads to smaller income checks over time.