BBY Strategies offers model portfolios built around buyback yield — the missing dimension of equity income that most investors overlook.
These strategies, implementable in SMAs, allow buybacks to be harvested as dividends, producing buyback yield, while maintaining steady ownership position. This is similar to the rebalance that happens after buybacks in normal market-cap-weighted index funds, but structured as a source of income.
Screens S&P 500 companies for high total shareholder yield (dividend yield plus buyback yield).
| JPMorgan | 8.4% |
| ExxonMobil | 5.9% |
| Home Depot | 4.8% |
| Johnson & Johnson | 4.4% |
| Bank of America | 4.2% |
| Chevron | 3.3% |
| Merck | 3.1% |
| Cisco | 2.9% |
| Wells Fargo | 2.9% |
| IBM | 2.5% |
| Strategy | S&P 500 | |
|---|---|---|
| 20-Year Ann. Return | 10.2% | 10.5% |
| 10-Year Ann. Return | 11.5% | 12.9% |
| 5-Year Ann. Return | 12.3% | 14.8% |
Screens S&P 500 companies for durable, above-average total shareholder yield (dividend yield plus buyback yield).
| Apple | 10.0% |
| Alphabet | 7.4% |
| JPMorgan | 4.2% |
| ExxonMobil | 3.7% |
| Procter & Gamble | 2.8% |
| Johnson & Johnson | 2.5% |
| Home Depot | 2.5% |
| Bank of America | 2.2% |
| AbbVie | 2.2% |
| Chevron | 2.1% |
| Strategy | S&P 500 | |
|---|---|---|
| 20-Year Ann. Return | 10.4% | 10.5% |
| 10-Year Ann. Return | 11.4% | 12.9% |
| 5-Year Ann. Return | 12.2% | 14.8% |
Backtest results, March 2005 – December 2024. Not indicative of future performance. Actual yields vary year to year.
Buybacks increase your ownership position in companies. If you participate in them on a pro rata basis, your ownership stays the same, and you get a payout. Functionally, this is like a dividend.
This actually happens naturally in market-cap-weighted index funds. When your ownership position rises after a buyback, it will be sold in future rebalancings and re-invested in other stocks in the index. Our strategies make this process explicit and intentional — structuring it as a dependable source of income.
A company has two choices for returning capital to shareholders.
You own 1,000 shares of 100,000 outstanding (1%)
Company pays a $5/share dividend (5%)
You receive $5,000 cash
You still own 1,000 of 100,000 shares (still 1%)
You own 1,000 shares of 100,000 outstanding (1%)
Company repurchases 5,000 shares (5%)
You receive $5,000 cash selling 50 shares
You now own 950 of 95,000 shares (still 1%)
Over the past two decades, S&P 500 companies have shifted dramatically toward buybacks as their primary method of returning capital. Dividend payout ratios have declined while buyback spending has surged — yet most equity income strategies still screen exclusively on dividend yield. The result is a shrinking, increasingly narrow universe of investable names. By incorporating buyback yield alongside dividends, our strategies capture the full picture of how companies actually return capital today.
Despite the popularity of the 4% rule in retirement portfolios, we believe there is some wisdom in the old adage to spend the dividend and not the principal. Selling shares to fund withdrawals means liquidating ownership in an uncertain market — and every share sold is one that can never compound again. A total yield approach lets you draw income from what companies actually distribute, rather than forcing you to sell into weakness. When capital comes to you as yield — whether via dividends or buybacks — you keep your principal intact and let compounding do its work.
Both strategies have delivered S&P 500-competitive total returns over 20 years — with lower volatility and smaller drawdowns. This is an income strategy that doesn't ask you to give up growth.
| Total Yield Achievers | High Total Yield | S&P 500 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annualized Return (20yr) | 10.4% | 10.2% | 10.5% |
| 10-Year Avg Total Yield | 5.07% | 5.36% | 3.59% |
| Current Total Yield | 3.57% | 4.19% | 2.06% |
Backtest results, March 2005 – December 2024. Past performance does not guarantee future results.
We work with RIAs on a model licensing basis. Reach out to learn more about our strategies and how they integrate with your existing SMA infrastructure.
Contact Us