Infrastructure Capital Boosts ETF Dividends Amid Strong Income Demand

NEW YORK, NY – December 29, 2025 – In a move poised to attract income-seeking investors, Infrastructure Capital Advisors (ICA) has announced a notable increase in the monthly dividends for three of its actively managed exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The firm, which manages over $2 billion in assets, raised distributions for the Infrastructure Capital Small Cap Income ETF (NYSE Arca: SCAP), the Infrastructure Capital Equity Income ETF (NYSE Arca: ICAP), and the Infrastructure Capital Bond Income ETF (NYSE Arca: BNDS).

The new distributions are scheduled to be paid on December 31, 2025, to all shareholders of record as of the close of business on December 30, 2025. This announcement underscores the firm’s focus on delivering yield and reflects confidence in its underlying investment strategies across different asset classes.

A Welcome Boost for Yield-Seeking Portfolios

The dividend increases vary across the three funds, reflecting their distinct investment mandates. The most substantial hike comes from the ICAP fund, which will see its monthly distribution jump by over 41% from $0.205 to $0.2891 per share. This raises its annualized payout to an impressive $3.4692 per share, pushing its forward dividend yield toward the 9% mark.

Investors in the SCAP fund, which targets small-cap companies, will receive a monthly distribution of $0.240 per share, a significant 17% increase from the previous $0.205. This brings its annualized distribution to $2.88 per share, reinforcing its position as a high-yielding option in the small-cap space with a yield around 7%.

The BNDS fund, focused on fixed income, saw a more modest but still positive adjustment, with its monthly payout rising from $0.334 to $0.3378 per share. This increase maintains its robust annualized distribution of over $4.05 per share, providing investors with a competitive yield of approximately 8% from a bond-focused strategy.

For investors, particularly retirees and those reliant on their portfolios for steady cash flow, these increases are a significant development. In a market environment where consistent and growing income streams are highly valued, such dividend hikes can make a material difference in portfolio returns and financial planning.

The Active Edge: A Strategy Built on Cash Flow

Behind these dividend increases is a disciplined active management approach led by Infrastructure Capital's Founder, CEO, and Portfolio Manager, Jay D. Hatfield, who brings over three decades of investment experience to the funds. Unlike passive ETFs that simply track an index, ICA’s funds are built on a philosophy of actively seeking out total-return opportunities, with a primary objective of generating current income.

The firm’s core strategy centers on identifying companies with tangible assets that produce substantial and sustainable streams of free cash flow. The belief, as stated by the firm, is that such assets have intrinsic values that are less likely to deteriorate over time, providing a solid foundation for consistent distributions. This focus on cash flow is a critical component in the firm’s ability to not only pay but also grow its dividends.

ICA specializes in key infrastructure sectors, including energy, real estate, transportation, industrials, and utilities. It often finds opportunities in tax-advantaged entities like Master Limited Partnerships (MLPs) and Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), which are structured to pass a significant portion of their income through to investors.

A Trifecta of Income Generation Strategies

The three ETFs that received dividend boosts each employ a unique strategy to achieve their income goals, showcasing the firm's versatile approach to different market segments.

SCAP (Small Cap Income ETF): This fund navigates the often-volatile world of small-capitalization stocks with a dual objective: capital appreciation and current income. The fund's management actively selects what it identifies as undervalued small-cap U.S. companies, generally within the market-cap range of the Russell 2000 Index. By investing in a mix of common stocks, preferred stocks, and other securities, SCAP aims to provide investors with both the growth potential inherent in smaller companies and a steady income stream that is less common in this asset class.

ICAP (Equity Income ETF): With its dividend yield pushing towards 9%, ICAP is a pure-play on high equity income. The fund invests in a diversified portfolio of dividend-paying companies, primarily in the U.S. but with the flexibility to include foreign securities. Its strategy relies on rigorous fundamental analysis and a global macroeconomic perspective to select securities in sectors the adviser believes are undervalued. This active security selection is crucial to achieving a yield that stands out in the crowded equity income category.

BNDS (Bond Income ETF): Perhaps the most complex of the trio, BNDS seeks to maximize income from the fixed-income market. It goes beyond traditional bond investing by focusing on corporate bonds of any credit quality, including high-yield or “junk” bonds, which offer higher coupons in exchange for greater risk. Critically, the fund also employs an opportunistic option-writing strategy, typically selling covered calls against its holdings to generate additional premium income. This multi-faceted approach is what allows BNDS to deliver a yield around 8%, a figure rarely seen in more conventional bond funds.

Reading the Tea Leaves: What the Hikes Signal

Beyond the immediate benefit to shareholders, these coordinated dividend increases from Infrastructure Capital Advisors can be interpreted as a broader signal of confidence. For an active manager to raise payouts, it implies a positive outlook on the earnings and cash-flow stability of the underlying assets in their portfolios.

For SCAP, it suggests a belief in the resilience of select small-cap companies. For ICAP, it points to strength in dividend-paying equities. And for BNDS, it signals conviction in the performance of its corporate bond holdings and the effectiveness of its options strategy. This move comes at a time when investors are keenly scrutinizing the durability of yields in the face of shifting interest rate policies and economic uncertainty.

The announcement also highlights the potential advantages of active management in the ETF space. While passive funds are bound by their underlying index, active managers like Hatfield have the flexibility to tilt portfolios toward sectors and securities they believe offer the best risk-adjusted returns and income potential. This ability to pivot and actively select investments is particularly valuable in complex market environments, offering a compelling alternative for investors seeking to navigate volatility while achieving their income objectives.