CRF: Cornerstone Total Return Fund (now Cornerstone Strategic Investment sibling)
Cornerstone Advisors · CEF - Equity · Tracks S&P 500
Growth of $100
Green is what an investor who reinvested every payout would have; red is the price alone. The gap between them is the income. If the red line keeps falling, the payouts are partly your own money coming back.
Was the payout earned?
Over the last year CRF paid 24.5% but its total return was -10.1%, so none of the payout was earned: the price fell by more than the fund paid out.
| Earned % (3 months) | below -100% |
| Earned % (1 year) | -62% |
| Earned % (full history, up to 5 yrs) | -5% |
Earned % = total return ÷ payouts. 100% means every dollar paid out was earned; below 100% means part of it came from the fund's own value. This is an economic measure based on market price, not the tax label on the payout.
Where the DT Score comes from
Total 35.5 / 100 · rank #261 of 420. How the score works
Risk
| Sortino ratio (1Y) | -1.19 |
| Sharpe ratio (1Y) | -0.92 |
| Steadiness vs S&P 500 | 74% |
| Beta to S&P 500 | 0.82 |
| Correlation to S&P 500 | 0.61 |
| Max drop (1Y) | -19.1% |
| Max drop (up to 5 yrs) | -43.1% |
| Trend | Downtrend |
| History | 5.0 yrs |
Vs. SPY (what it's built on)
| Upside capture | 63% |
| Downside capture | 87% |
| Capture ratio | 0.72 |
| Beta | 0.82 |
| Correlation | 0.61 |
| Tracking | Weakly |
On days SPY rose, CRF caught 63% of the gain; on days it fell, CRF took 87% of the loss.
Payout history
Each bar is one payout (last 36 shown). Pays Monthly.
| Ex-date | Amount |
|---|---|
| 2026-10-15 | $0.1180 |
| 2026-09-15 | $0.1180 |
| 2026-08-14 | $0.1180 |
| 2026-07-15 | $0.1180 |
| 2026-06-15 | $0.1180 |
| 2026-05-15 | $0.1180 |
| 2026-04-15 | $0.1180 |
| 2026-03-16 | $0.1180 |
| 2026-02-17 | $0.1180 |
| 2026-01-15 | $0.1180 |
| 2025-12-15 | $0.1170 |
| 2025-11-14 | $0.1170 |
Funds that track the same thing
Other S&P 500 income funds, ranked by DT Score. See them all · Compare CRF with the top 3
| Fund | Category | Fwd rate | 12m yield | 1Y total ret. | Earned % 1Y | Upside capt. | Downside capt. | Tracking | DT Score | Momentum | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| XYLD Global X S&P 500 Covered Call ETF | Index Covered Call / Option Income | 10.2% | 10.6% | +11.7% | 107% | 52% | 43% | Loosely | 76 | 58 | Downtrend |
| PBP Invesco S&P 500 BuyWrite ETF | Index Covered Call / Option Income | 9.6% | 12.5% | +12.7% | 99% | 52% | 42% | Loosely | 75 | 58 | Downtrend |
| GPIX Goldman Sachs S&P 500 Premium Income ETF | Index Covered Call / Option Income | 8.9% | 7.9% | +10.9% | 123% | 87% | 85% | Closely | 75 | 46 | Downtrend |
| SPHD Invesco S&P 500 High Dividend Low Volatility ETF | Equity Income / Dividend Growth | 5.0% | 4.8% | +16.1% | 304% | 15% | -4% | Weakly | 74 | 78 | Mixed |
| APRH Innovator Premium Income 20 Barrier ETF - April | Buffer / Defined Outcome | 8.4% | 7.5% | +7.1% | 97% | 13% | 5% | Weakly | 73 | 69 | Downtrend |
| SPYD State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 High Dividend ETF | Equity Income / Dividend Growth | 4.2% | 4.2% | +21.9% | 444% | 31% | 8% | Weakly | 73 | 83 | Uptrend |
| BALI iShares U.S. Large Cap Premium Income Active ETF | Index Covered Call / Option Income | 6.5% | 7.5% | +12.6% | 150% | 82% | 77% | Closely | 73 | 41 | Downtrend |
| JANH Innovator U.S. Equity Premium Income 20 Barrier ETF - January | Buffer / Defined Outcome | 6.3% | 6.2% | +5.9% | 95% | 22% | 17% | Loosely | 72 | 72 | Downtrend |
| ADX Adams Diversified Equity Fund | CEF - Equity | 8.2% | 7.8% | +15.5% | 161% | 103% | 99% | Loosely | 72 | 35 | Downtrend |
| JEPI JPMorgan Equity Premium Income ETF | Index Covered Call / Option Income | 7.2% | 7.5% | +7.8% | 99% | 42% | 37% | Loosely | 72 | 60 | Downtrend |
About CRF
| Issuer | Cornerstone Advisors |
| Structure | CEF |
| Category | CEF - Equity |
| Strategy | Managed distribution ~ 20%+ of NAV, ROC heavy, rights offerings |
| Underlying | US equities |
| Exposure | S&P 500 / US Large Cap |
| Index linkage | No - active |
| Pays | Monthly |
| Expense ratio | – |
| Launched | 1973 |
| Uses leverage | No |
| Upside capped | No |
| Rate sensitivity | Neutral |
| Return of capital common | Yes |
| Tax notes | Heavily ROC |
Research notes: Verify current status: Cornerstone merged/renamed funds in 2024 (CRF/CLM); verify CRF still trades separately.
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