Author Archive: Brett Owens

If you’re betting that President-elect Trump’s economic policies will ignite corporate profits—and share prices—I have two words for you: be careful.

In a moment, I’ll show you how I’m investing in the early days of the Trump era and name 3 rare finance-sector bargains that are terrific buys now.

First, let’s look at how much things have changed (and not) since Election Day, starting with the S&P 500, which has jumped 6.0%. However, most of that came in the first month: since December 8, it’s basically gone nowhere.

“Trump Bump” Hits a Wall

That leaves the market trading around 17.1 times forward earnings, according to FactSet, well above the five-year average of 15.1 and the 10-year average of 14.4.… Read more

Not every high yield asset is in danger as rates rise. While some stocks paying 3% may feel the Fed’s pressure, there’s a higher subset paying 8% that should do just fine.

If you’re looking for dividends you can actually retire on, you should familiarize yourself with business development companies (BDCs). They tend to pay big yields because they are required by law to dish most of their profits back to their investors as dividends.

BDCs themselves are investment companies that provide funding to small- and mid-size companies (which typically have a difficult time acquiring funding from larger financiers). BDCs were brought to life in 1980 by Congress to spur U.S.… Read more

“Efficient market” proponents are wrong – you can bank returns of 10%, 12% or more from stocks regularly.

But you need to ignore common Wall Street “wisdom” and follow a simple 3-step formula that I’ll outline for you in a moment.

Most individual investors don’t make anything close to 10% per year because they practice “buy and hope” investing. They pick up shares and root for them to appreciate in price. With no specific plan outlining how they are going to profit from their stocks, they are doomed.

Even “tangible” fundamental drivers like higher sales or profits are no guarantee that you will profit.… Read more

By now, I bet you’re sick of “Best Stocks for 2017” articles.

That makes two of us.

So today, we’re going to take the long view, starting with a strategy you can use to steadily bulk up your nest egg—even if you’re 10 years or less out from retiring—and trigger a reliable income stream once you do.

Then I’m going to reveal 5 of my favorite dividend-growth retirement stocks to buy now.

“Wait a minute,” you’re may be thinking. “Aren’t dividend payers going to get crushed as interest rates rise?”

2 Keys to Beating Rising Rates

I have two answers to that.… Read more

Vanguard’s offerings don’t usually attract much attention from income investors. But they should – and I’m going to analyze five of the firm’s highest yield (and low cost) offerings shortly.

Three of them are compelling portfolio conveniences, while two have lagged their competitors in disappointing un-Vanguard-like manners.

While Vanguard provides a few actively managed funds, for the most part, it sticks to basic index funds and straightforward smart-beta funds in both the equity and bond arenas. The firm doesn’t delve much into the kinds of riskier strategies that tend to result in higher yields, nor does it deal in exchange-traded notes or leveraged funds that would allow it to gin up extra income.… Read more

What will 2017 hold for income investors?

Let’s sort through the current hysteria regarding interest rates, Trump and inflation. Thanks to some first-level insanity, there are once again pockets of value that pay meaningful dividends of 6%, 7% or better.

And many have some price upside to boot! Why?

Because Rate Hikes Will Probably Disappoint

This time last year, the Fed was promising four rate hikes over the next twelve months. The “smart money” crowd (via Fed Funds futures prices) was betting on two. And both parties were too aggressive as we saw just one rate hike in 2016.

Today we have Yellen & Co promising three hikes in 2017, while the futures markets say just two:

The Smart Money Bets 2 Hikes in 2017

Given their track records, I’m inclined to take the “under” on both predictions.… Read more

The S&P 500 is near record highs. The pundits see an elderly bull market with more room to run. The Federal Reserve says it will likely hike interest rates multiple times in the next 12 months.

Sound familiar? It should. Because it’s exactly what we were as 2016 dawned.

Here’s what happened in the following six weeks:

I know what you’re thinking: Yes, but the index did go on to recoup those losses and more, with big rallies following the Brexit vote in June and Donald Trump’s surprise win last month. In the end, it wound up the year with a 10.1% rise.… Read more