Has the market bottomed, or are we headed for another leg down before we can start to even think about any upside? It’s a debate that will be with us for a while yet.

But maybe not in every corner of the market. Because there’s a funny thing happening with closed-end funds (CEFs): for some of these high-yield investments, the recovery has already come.

Let me explain.

In a selloff, a CEF can get hit in a couple ways, namely from the market and from investors. In the case of regular stocks, these are the same. But for CEFs, there’s a key difference: while CEFs trade on the open market, like stocks, they have a fixed number of shares (hence the name“closed-end funds”).… Read more

Successful dividend investing can actually be pretty simple. Don’t trade for years, perhaps for a full decade, and then buy super high-quality dividend stocks at bargain basement prices.

One set of trades every decade. Not bad.

It’s the way of the world. There’s always something brewing. From the “original crash” of modern times, 1987, to the tech bubble bursting in 2000 or the financial world nearly collapsing in 2008.

Now, it’s 2020, and the world is again ending. We’ll make it to the other side, of course, but between here and there we are going to have a fantastic opportunity to buy blue-chip dividends.… Read more

These days, we’re hearing a lot of pundits pontificating about which way the markets will go. But let me suggest something none of them are talking about:

What if stocks trade more or less flat for the next while?

It’s a contrarian call, to be sure, but there’s reason to think markets may be, well, kind of quiet in the coming days or weeks. And there’s a way we can squeeze a big 9.2% income stream out of just that kind of market.

The Flat-Market Theory

I know what you’re thinking: how on earth could stocks just hold their breath while America is on lockdown, possibly for a long time to come?… Read more

I hope you are taking care of yourself, and your family. This is a good time to hunker down, both in life and in our investing strategy. Brighter days are ahead—let’s make sure we get there with ourselves and our portfolios relatively intact.

On the other side of this pandemic and shutdown, we may eventually be presented with a “March 2009” type of buying opportunity. Big yields for dimes on the dollar. When the time is right, we’ll load up our income portfolios with these bargains and resume our usual light banter in this weekly missive.

Unfortunately, I don’t think we’re on the other side of this just yet.… Read more

In recent weeks, we’ve discussed proven strategies for protecting and growing our nest egg (and dividends) in this crisis. These are the times when fortunes are made and big income streams are built. However, we must be extra careful about our purchases, with plenty of “payout landmines” suddenly spread around the market.

In last Tuesday’s article, for example, we covered the most powerful indicator of dividend safety: the payout ratio, specifically dividends as a percentage of free cash flow (FCF). Unlike net income, which can be manipulated, FCF is the clearest picture of the cash a firm is generating.

That makes the FCF payout ratio the perfect one-step test to run on your holdings.… Read more

There’s no doubt portfolios everywhere are whipsawing due to the selloff.

But I’ve got good news for you: going by the historical record, this pullback will likely be shorter than most people think, and if you buy now—particularly if you target a select group of high-yield stocks and closed-end funds (CEFs)—you’ll outperform your fearful friends when the bounce-back comes.

Meantime, you’ll open up a nice new income stream to meet your cash-flow needs today. It literally is the best of both worlds!

Let’s dive into what the facts say about this bear market’s duration. Then I’ll name two funds worthy of your attention now.… Read more

These 39 stocks are supposed to hike their dividends soon. How many of these raises are still going to happen?

The first-quarter earnings season is approaching, and that typically means a weekly flow of companies announcing upgrades to their regular payouts. Indeed, I’m about to show you 39 stocks, yielding up to 47.9%, that are on the schedule and expected to deliver dividend raises over the next couple of months.

However the sudden bear market has thrown a gigantic monkey wrench into this quarter’s dividend routine. Dividends are dropping like flies.

• Ford (F), which I warned about, has suspended its dividend.

There’s one investment you simply must not hold in this market crash—a highly speculative, high-yielding instrument called an exchange traded note (ETN).

Does the name sound familiar? That’s probably because it sounds like “exchange-traded fund,” or ETF. But an ETN isn’t like an ETF at all—and that’s a distinction many people fail to make.

So what’s an ETN, then?

It’s a highly leveraged, speculative instrument that lets investors access particular asset classes. In good times, ETNs can skyrocket. These, however are, er, more interesting times.

ETNs: Guaranteed Losses in the Coronavirus Crisis

As a result of the coronavirus selloff, ETNs aren’t just going to rack up big losses—they’re going to go to zero.… Read more

1929, 2008 and, now, 2020.

We’ve only seen this level of “selling pressure” three times since 1900. A limited sample size, sure, but we’re in ominous company. Anything and everything has been dumped in a panic liquidation to raise cash.

We saw a similar “global margin call” in late 2008. A year’s worth of selling crescendoed into a financial crisis grand finale that would eventually conclude in March 2009.

The good news then? If you held tight or, better yet, bought through the panic, you eventually did quite well. Let’s take the worst day of that year. On October 15, 2008, the S&P 500 slid 9% in one day.… Read more

Nearly every retirement portfolio on the planet is reeling from the coronavirus fallout. Recoveries are going to vary widely, however, depending on the safety of the dividends in each basket.

If your income stream is safe, then you’re well ahead of the game. When stock prices recover (and they will, as every bear market eventually gives way to a new bull), your portfolio is going to bounce right back. Assuming the payouts didn’t miss a beat, then you can rest assured you’ve got an uninterrupted income stream between now and then.

The bad news, however, is that cuts to dividend payouts have already started, with Ford (F) suspending its payout last Thursday.… Read more