Author Archive: Brett Owens

Even with the 10-year Treasury “rallying” of late, it still pays just 2.9%. Put a million bucks in T-Bills, and you’re banking $29,000 per year. Barely above poverty levels!

Hence the appeal of closed-end funds (CEFs), which often pay 8% or better. That’s the difference between a paltry minimum-wage income of $29,000 on a million saved or a respectable $80,000 annually.

And if you’re smart about your CEF purchases, you can even buy them at discounts and snare some price upside to boot!

Here’s why: CEFs (unlike their ETF and mutual fund cousins) have fixed pools of shares. Meanwhile their prices trade up and down like stocks – which means these funds can sometimes trade at a discount to the value of their underlying assets!… Read more

We’re 11 days into September, and if you’re like many folks, you’re probably just a little on edge—expecting the bottom to fall out of stocks any minute.

The truth is, there’s very good reason to be nervous.

After all, according to Bespoke Investment Group, September is the worst month for stocks, with the S&P 500 averaging a 1.05% drop since 1928.

That may not sound like much, but remember that it’s just the average. Some Septembers have been far worse. For example, let me take you back to September 2011, when the market tanked 6.4% in just 21 trading days.

That’s enough to bleed $6,400 off every $100k invested in very short order.… Read more

You might think a $500,000 nest egg isn’t enough to retire on, and I wouldn’t blame you. The financial media loves to tout $1 million as the end-all be-all mark of financial security.

But today, I’ll show you how wrong they are, and how secure you can be even with just half of what “conventional wisdom” says you need – as long as you’re in the right kind of dividend stock.

And I’ll also show you exactly what kind of dividend stocks you need to get the job done and the bills paid.

Those bills, by the way, come every month.… Read more

If you’re worried that stocks are expensive, well, they are. The current bull market is making a run at history. But it’s also costly to stay in cash (and lock in zero income). Fortunately, it’s possible to buy some downside protection with yield (hint: think recession-proof REITs – real estate investment trusts).

I understand the “I’m worried so I’m sitting in cash” concern. And I know many investors who continue to sit on their money and hope for a big pullback. But wouldn’t it be nicer to bank 32% total returns with 8%, 9% or even 10% or more of it coming as dividends?… Read more

If you’re like most folks, you’re so used to collecting dividends quarterly that it may not have occurred to you that your portfolio can pay you every month.

But it’s true, thanks to a small set of stocks that delivers cash payouts month in and month out like clockwork (I’ll reveal 3 with especially juicy dividend yields—up to 6.8%—below).

Monthly Checks You Don’t Have to Work For

If you’re a retiree, this may take you back to your workdays—when your paycheck rolled in at the same time as your monthly bills. Subtract one from the other and voila: you knew exactly how much disposable income you had.… Read more

A smart bond portfolio (picked by humans rather than “dumb” machines, of course!) will take the stress out of retirement investing. It’s like an annuity, but better – because we get to keep our capital.

And our Contrarian Income Report portfolio pays us more than any annuity product the big firms peddle to line their pockets with fees. Our handpicked basket yields 7.3% as I speak. And this is pure interest. You don’t spend any of your capital!

That’s right. Your money stays intact – or better. And it can potentially do much better and grow by up to 68% in a couple of years (more on this shortly).… Read more

Today I’m going to show you how to tap safe dividends so massive, they were only available once before in in our lifetimes—and even then for mere days!

The dividend yields I’m talking about are more than enough to transform your retirement, with reliable payouts of 7.5%, 8.0%—even 10% and up.

I’ll also show you a one-step indicator that reveals, quickly and easily, just how safe your stocks’ payouts are. It’s so reliable it held strong in the toughest battleground you could ask for: the 2008/09 meltdown.

A Battle-Tested “1-Click” Strategy for Finding Safe Dividends

When most dividend investors think of early March 2009, they don’t see it as a golden age for income.… Read more

If you want to clobber the stock market – and double your money every two or three years – then buying companies with accelerating dividends is the easiest and safest way to do it.

And I’ve got good news for you: there are nine blue chip payers likely to raise their dividends next month. So why not “front run” this good news and consider these shares now?

The benefit of dividend hikes? Getting a fatter income stream is an obvious reason, but it’s just the start. A rising payout acts like a lever on a company’s share price, prying it higher and higher with every single dividend hike.… Read more

The stock market is way up – and ironically, that’s terrible news for us dividend investors. Yields haven’t been this low in decades! The S&P 500 pays a measly 1.8% today. If you have a million-dollar portfolio, that’s a lousy $18,000 per year in income. Pathetic.

Most people invest their money in index funds like those that mimic the S&P 500. We can do better – four-times better, to be specific – and raise our dividend income by 400% simply by selling these mainstream plays and buying bigger payouts that are better values.

Specifically we’re going to discuss stocks, bonds and funds that pay 7.3% to 8% instead of the broader market’s lame 1.8%.… Read more

You’ve no doubt seen tons of articles splashed across the Web (over)hyping the hottest investing trends to jump on now. But which promising technologies can we actually tap for payouts and dividends (preferably today)?

The “mainstream” list is endless: cryptocurrencies, marijuana stocks—even gene editing (where the white coats actually alter DNA to wipe out diseases like cystic fibrosis).

I hope you’re not taking the bait, because gambling on shaky themes like these can put a huge dent in your nest egg. Check out the stomach-churning ride pot stock Aurora Cannabis (ACBFF) has been on this year:

Aurora’s Bad Trip

That nasty fall even includes a 19% gain last week after Constellation Brands (STZ) invested $5 billion in Canopy Growth (CGC), the biggest marijuana stock by market cap.… Read more