Flaherty Crumrine Debt

FFC Fund  USD 15.73  0.14  0.90%   
Flaherty Crumrine holds a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.593. With a high degree of financial leverage come high-interest payments, which usually reduce Flaherty Crumrine's Earnings Per Share (EPS).

Asset vs Debt

Equity vs Debt

Flaherty Crumrine's liquidity is one of the most fundamental aspects of both its future profitability and its ability to meet different types of ongoing financial obligations. Flaherty Crumrine's cash, liquid assets, total liabilities, and shareholder equity can be utilized to evaluate how much leverage the Fund is using to sustain its current operations. For traders, higher-leverage indicators usually imply a higher risk to shareholders. In addition, it helps Flaherty Fund's retail investors understand whether an upcoming fall or rise in the market will negatively affect Flaherty Crumrine's stakeholders.
For most companies, including Flaherty Crumrine, marketable securities, inventories, and receivables are the most common assets that could be converted to cash. However, for Flaherty Crumrine Preferred, the most critical issue when managing liquidity is ensuring that current assets are properly aligned with current liabilities. If they are not, Flaherty Crumrine's management will need to obtain alternative financing to ensure there are always enough cash equivalents on the balance sheet to meet obligations.
Given that Flaherty Crumrine's debt-to-equity ratio measures a Fund's obligations relative to the value of its net assets, it is usually used by traders to estimate the extent to which Flaherty Crumrine is acquiring new debt as a mechanism of leveraging its assets. A high debt-to-equity ratio is generally associated with increased risk, implying that it has been aggressive in financing its growth with debt. Another way to look at debt-to-equity ratios is to compare the overall debt load of Flaherty Crumrine to its assets or equity, showing how much of the company assets belong to shareholders vs. creditors. If shareholders own more assets, Flaherty Crumrine is said to be less leveraged. If creditors hold a majority of Flaherty Crumrine's assets, the Fund is said to be highly leveraged.
  
Check out the analysis of Flaherty Crumrine Fundamentals Over Time.

Flaherty Crumrine Debt to Cash Allocation

Flaherty Crumrine Preferred has 502 M in debt with debt to equity (D/E) ratio of 0.59, which is OK given its current industry classification. Flaherty Crumrine has a current ratio of 7.68, demonstrating that it is liquid and is capable to disburse its financial commitments when the payables are due. Debt can assist Flaherty Crumrine until it has trouble settling it off, either with new capital or with free cash flow. So, Flaherty Crumrine's shareholders could walk away with nothing if the company can't fulfill its legal obligations to repay debt. However, a more frequent occurrence is when companies like Flaherty Crumrine sell additional shares at bargain prices, diluting existing shareholders. Debt, in this case, can be an excellent and much better tool for Flaherty to invest in growth at high rates of return. When we think about Flaherty Crumrine's use of debt, we should always consider it together with cash and equity.

Flaherty Crumrine Assets Financed by Debt

Typically, companies with high debt-to-asset ratios are said to be highly leveraged. The higher the ratio, the greater risk will be associated with the Flaherty Crumrine's operation. In addition, a high debt-to-assets ratio may indicate a low borrowing capacity of Flaherty Crumrine, which in turn will lower the firm's financial flexibility.

Flaherty Crumrine Corporate Bonds Issued

Most Flaherty bonds can be classified according to their maturity, which is the date when Flaherty Crumrine Preferred has to pay back the principal to investors. Maturities can be short-term, medium-term, or long-term (more than ten years). Longer-term bonds usually offer higher interest rates but may entail additional risks.

Understaning Flaherty Crumrine Use of Financial Leverage

Flaherty Crumrine's financial leverage ratio helps determine the effect of debt on the overall profitability of the company. It measures Flaherty Crumrine's total debt position, including all outstanding debt obligations, and compares it with Flaherty Crumrine's equity. Financial leverage can amplify the potential profits to Flaherty Crumrine's owners, but it also increases the potential losses and risk of financial distress, including bankruptcy, if Flaherty Crumrine is unable to cover its debt costs.
Flaherty Crumrine Preferred Securities Income Fund Inc. is a closed-ended balanced mutual fund launched and managed by Flaherty Crumrine Incorporated. The fund invests in the public equity and fixed income markets of the United States. It seeks to invest in securities of companies operating across diversified sectors. The fund primarily invests in investment grade preferred securities consisting of hybrid or taxable preferreds. It employs quantitative analysis to create its portfolio. The fund benchmarks the performance of its portfolio against the Merrill Lynch 8 percent Capped DRD Preferred Stock Index, Merrill Lynch Hybrid Preferred Securities Index, and Merrill Lynch Adjustable Preferred Stock 7 percent Constrained Index. It was formerly known as Flaherty CrumrineClaymore Preferred Securities Income Fund Incorporated. Flaherty Crumrine Preferred Securities Income Fund Inc. was formed on May 23, 2002 and is domiciled in the United States.
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Other Information on Investing in Flaherty Fund

Flaherty Crumrine financial ratios help investors to determine whether Flaherty Fund is cheap or expensive when compared to a particular measure, such as profits or enterprise value. In other words, they help investors to determine the cost of investment in Flaherty with respect to the benefits of owning Flaherty Crumrine security.
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What is Financial Leverage?

Financial leverage is the use of borrowed money (debt) to finance the purchase of assets with the expectation that the income or capital gain from the new asset will exceed the cost of borrowing. In most cases, the debt provider will limit how much risk it is ready to take and indicate a limit on the extent of the leverage it will allow. In the case of asset-backed lending, the financial provider uses the assets as collateral until the borrower repays the loan. In the case of a cash flow loan, the general creditworthiness of the company is used to back the loan. The concept of leverage is common in the business world. It is mostly used to boost the returns on equity capital of a company, especially when the business is unable to increase its operating efficiency and returns on total investment. Because earnings on borrowing are higher than the interest payable on debt, the company's total earnings will increase, ultimately boosting stockholders' profits.

Leverage and Capital Costs

The debt to equity ratio plays a role in the working average cost of capital (WACC). The overall interest on debt represents the break-even point that must be obtained to profitability in a given venture. Thus, WACC is essentially the average interest an organization owes on the capital it has borrowed for leverage. Let's say equity represents 60% of borrowed capital, and debt is 40%. This results in a financial leverage calculation of 40/60, or 0.6667. The organization owes 10% on all equity and 5% on all debt. That means that the weighted average cost of capital is (.4)(5) + (.6)(10) - or 8%. For every $10,000 borrowed, this organization will owe $800 in interest. Profit must be higher than 8% on the project to offset the cost of interest and justify this leverage.

Benefits of Financial Leverage

Leverage provides the following benefits for companies:
  • Leverage is an essential tool a company's management can use to make the best financing and investment decisions.
  • It provides a variety of financing sources by which the firm can achieve its target earnings.
  • Leverage is also an essential technique in investing as it helps companies set a threshold for the expansion of business operations. For example, it can be used to recommend restrictions on business expansion once the projected return on additional investment is lower than the cost of debt.
By borrowing funds, the firm incurs a debt that must be paid. But, this debt is paid in small installments over a relatively long period of time. This frees funds for more immediate use in the stock market. For example, suppose a company can afford a new factory but will be left with negligible free cash. In that case, it may be better to finance the factory and spend the cash on hand on inputs, labor, or even hold a significant portion as a reserve against unforeseen circumstances.

The Risk of Financial Leverage

The most obvious and apparent risk of leverage is that if price changes unexpectedly, the leveraged position can lead to severe losses. For example, imagine a hedge fund seeded by $50 worth of investor money. The hedge fund borrows another $50 and buys an asset worth $100, leading to a leverage ratio of 2:1. For the investor, this is neither good nor bad -- until the asset price changes. If the asset price goes up 10 percent, the investor earns $10 on $50 of capital, a net gain of 20 percent, and is very pleased with the increased gains from the leverage. However, if the asset price crashes unexpectedly, say by 30 percent, the investor loses $30 on $50 of capital, suffering a 60 percent loss. In other words, the effect of leverage is to increase the volatility of returns and increase the effects of a price change on the asset to the bottom line while increasing the chance for profit as well.