Vol 38 - The Highest Yield with The Lowest Risk | Jadewell Family Office Investment Newsletter
- Ann Yu
- 11 minutes ago
- 5 min read
October 19, 2025
Contents of This Week's Newsletter
Social Media | |
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Family Office Buzz | |
Next Week |
【Social Media】Topics from Jadewell's Social Media
👨🏼🔬 Getting Wrecked with Newton
As the saying goes, “I don’t mind losing with others. I just fear being poor alone (不怕跟人一起輸，最怕沒人陪我窮).”
Even geniuses fall for FOMO - for example, Isaac Newton. Yes, the gravity guy.
In 1720, he invested in the South Sea Bubble and lost it all. Turns out, even brilliance can’t beat human nature. 👉 Facebook (Chinese) / Instagram (English)
💥 BDC - Wealth Code of Chaos Catalyst?
If you’ve been following us, you know we're always cautious about a hot private banking product — Private Credit Funds.
These funds have grown flashy, bloated, and complicated.
But lately, they've been quietly rebranded under a more historic name: BDC (Business Development Company). 👉 Facebook (Chinese) / Instagram (English)
【Family Office Buzz】The Highest Yield with The Lowest Risk
While reviewing a client's bond portfolio this week, I was hit with a question that froze me for thirty seconds 🤯:
"In today’s market, what kind of investment offers the highest yield with the lowest risk?"
This isn’t just a financial inquiry—it’s almost a philosophical one. Just tossing my thoughts out there to spark discussion. If you have a better answer, I’d love to hear it!
📌 First, what exactly is "yield"?
In finance, “yield” usually refers to the return you get from bonds. But don't forget: bond yields have "absolutely zero" upside potential.
Take a bond issued by Apple Inc, for example. Suppose the yield to maturity is 3%. That means if you hold the bond until Apple redeems it at $100 at maturity, your average annual return during the holding period is 3%.
Apple is never going to say, “Hey bondholders, our iPhone sales were so good this year. Let’s redeem your bond at $120 at maturity instead of $100!” That’s just NOT how bonds work.
Think of it as your mortgage: you wouldn’t tell the bank, “Hey bank, I made a fortune this year, so I’d like to repay the bank $12 million instead of the $10 million I borrowed. Just to share the joy.” 😅 See what I mean?
Another example is popular structured products among private bank clients, such as ELN (Equity-Linked Note) or FCN (Fixed Coupon Note).
Even if the underlying stock skyrockets tenfold, the noteholder's return is still capped at the yield agreed upon at the start. No bonus, no surprise.
🎭Then there's this illusion of yield
But there’s another type of yield that can be misleading—like the dividend yield on stocks, which often creates an illusion of returns.
Dividend yield comes in two flavors:
Historical yield: past 12 months’ dividends ÷ current stock price
Forward yield: projected next 12 months’ dividends ÷ current stock price
These are useful reference points, but they don’t guarantee actual returns. Companies don’t ask small shareholders how much dividend to pay. And no one can predict where the stock price will be when you sell.
🌟"Yield" is not the same as "Return Potential"
Another concept that’s often confused with yield is "return potential".
Think gold—it doesn’t pay any yield. Your profits or loss depends entirely on gold price movements.
Or look at high-growth stocks like Nvidia. Most investors don't care what Nvidia's dividend yield is because they’re chasing the upside of Nvidia's share price.
🧠 So what does the client really mean by "the highest yield"?
When someone says they want the “highest yield,” we need to dig deeper.
Are they referring to yield or return potential? Because the risks behind each are completely different.
Yields for bonds and structured notes are fixed and formulaic. As long as the bond issuer doesn’t default and the note doesn't get exercised, the promised yield will certainly land in your pocket.
Investors give up further return potential above the agreed-upon yield, sacrifice liquidity and opportunity cost during the holding period of bonds or notes, and accept the associated investment risks — all in exchange for that certainty
🤔So which investment offers the highest yield with the lowest risk?
Well, I still don’t have a definitive answer (please don’t throw things at me 🙈). As we’ve discussed, everyone interprets “yield” differently—and the same goes for “risk.”
Take TSMC, for example. Some investors treat it with near-religious devotion. To them, a potential dip in its stock price isn’t a risk—it’s just noise.
Others place blind faith in big financial institutions. “If they issue bonds, they’ll surely repay.” Never mind that Credit Suisse’s CoCo bonds are still warm in the grave.
So as advisors, we need to diagnose before we prescribe.
We have to understand each client’s mindset and preferences before offering a strategy that won’t earn us an eye-roll. 😌💬
📞Want to explore your investment strategy further too? Talk to 【Jadewell Family office】 today!
【Next Week】Key Events to Watch in the Week Ahead:
China - Major Eco Data and Political Meeting
Oct 20 (Mon) - 3Q GDP, Industrial Production, Retail Sales, Fixed Asset Investments
Oct 20 to 23 (Mon-Thu) - The Fourth Plenary Session (四中全會)
China - Earnings
Oct 20 (Mon) - CATL (3750.HK)
US - Earnings
Oct 21 (Tue) - NFLX, GE, ISRG
Oct 22 (Wed) - TSLA, IBM, LAM, GEV
Oct 23 (Thu) - BX, INTC
About Jadewell Family Office
Jadewell is committed to offering proactive, customized services akin to a “single-family office,” yet within the ease of a “multi-family office” environment.
- HK SFC Licensed (Type 4&9)
- Tailor-Made Investment Advisory Services
- Portfolio Consolidation Across Banks
- Zero Commission Model
- Decades of Experience Across Leading Global Private Banks
Ann Yu
Co-Founder and CEO
Jadewell Family Office
FOR INSTITUTIONAL & PROFESSIONAL CLIENTS ONLY – NOT INTENDED FOR RETAIL CUSTOMER USETHESE ARE NOT STOCK OR PRODUCT RECOMMENDATIONS
This document is intended for informational purposes only. It should not be considered as advice or a recommendation for any specific investment product, strategy, plan feature, or any other purpose in any jurisdiction. It is educational and does not represent a commitment from Jadewell Family Office to participate in any mentioned transactions. Any examples used are generic, hypothetical, and for illustration purposes only.
This material is insufficient to support an investment decision and should not be relied upon to evaluate the merits of investing in securities or products. Users should independently assess the legal, regulatory, tax, credit, and accounting implications, and work with their own financial professional to determine if any mentioned investment is appropriate for their personal goals. Investors should ensure they have all relevant information before making any decisions.
Any forecasts, figures, opinions, or investment techniques and strategies provided are for informational purposes only. They are based on certain assumptions and current market conditions and are subject to change without prior notice.
All information presented herein is considered to be accurate at the time of production, but no warranty of accuracy is given and no liability in respect of any error or omission is accepted.
It should be noted that investment involves risks, the value of investments and the income from them may fluctuate in accordance with market conditions and taxation agreements and investors may not get back the full amount invested. Both past performance and yields are not reliable indicators of current and future results.
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