Author Archive: Brett Owens

Is there anything better than a true bond bargain? I mean, feed me those monthly dividends with a side of price upside and I’ll never ask for anything more!

Gains from a bond fund? Yes, we contrarian income investors want it all. And we can have it when we buy funds yielding up to 9.4% at discounts up to 12%.

Mr. and Ms. Market are finally realizing that rates did not eclipse their 2023 highs. In fact, they appear to be putting in a lower high, which would be quite bullish for the bonds that Wall Street has been ironically panning all year:

Reality Check: Rates Still Lower Than Last Year

And what’s good for bonds is also good for one of my favorite income investments: the preferred stock.… Read more

At some point in my investing life, every participant turned into a trend follower. These “investors” like to buy when an established uptrend is already in place, when purchasing is perceived as “safe.”

Of course, this is the riskiest time to put new money to work. It is also the opposite of what we contrarian income investors do. We buy low and sell high. We do not, like the trend followers, buy high in hopes of selling even higher.

Buy and hope is not a strategy, as my favorite chardonnay label can attest:

(Shout out to my man Barry at Global View Capital Management for the work of art!)… Read more

The market volatility we contrarians have been waiting for is finally starting to show up—and we’re going to play it with a cheap energy fund paying a sweet 9.1% dividend.

These days, most investors think energy is played out. But the truth is, we’ve seen a “slow-mo” selloff, with crude tumbling about 10% from back in early April.

And we’ve got Uncle Sam on our side here, too.

This is an election year after all, and last week we got word the Biden Administration will empty the Northeast Gasoline Supply Reserve, set up to provide an emergency supply after Superstorm Sandy in 2014.… Read more

Income investors love Dividend Aristocrats. And why not? These are stocks that have delivered dividend raises year after year for many decades.

But we can do even better than the Aristocrats. And get stinkin’ rich in the process by buying these payout raisers before they have clocked 25 years of divvie growth (the qualification to be an Aristocrat).

This is where the real money is made.

The problem with some Aristocrats is that their best days are behind them. When a company reaches a level of dividend maturity, payout ratios can get bloated, and payout increases can become incremental and tied to a company’s modest profit growth.… Read more

Got some investing money you’d like to double? As in, grow it by 100% or more? Here’s the surest and safest way to do it quickly.

Well, before we get into getting rich, let’s talk about income. Not everyone needs to grow their pile of money bigger and bigger. Some of us are done accumulating and are looking for cash flow to help us cruise through retirement.

So, we have two options:

Option 1: Invest for Income Today

Put some of the cash pile into safe funds and stocks. I can show you where to find 7.52% yields, which means you can build a “no withdrawal” retirement portfolio that spins off $75,214.44 on a million bucks:

12 Month Projected Income for CIR Portfolio

Source: Income Calendar

Of course, few blue-chip stocks pay over 2%.… Read more

This market rally could roll right through the summer (so much for “Sell in May and go away!”), and we’ve got two sweet bond buys to play it.

That’s right, I said bonds because there are more bargains in bond land than in stocks right now. While stocks could keep floating higher, the last thing we want to do is chase this rally.

Instead, we’re going to ride along on the stock side of things. In bonds, though, the state of play is a bit different.

We’re going to list our two bond picks in order of appeal shortly, capping this article off with our top selection—an unsung closed-end fund (CEF) trading for 12% below its “true” value and yielding a stout (and tax-free) 5.8%.… Read more

“Special” dividends fly right under Wall Street’s radar. Which is great for contrarian income seekers like us. These payouts aren’t officially “counted” by most mainstream websites!

It’s a big accounting error in our favor because these dividends can really add up. Today we’ll discuss five special dividend payers with yields up to 16%.

Most websites won’t report 16%, of course. For whatever reason, they just can’t compute specials!

Special dividends are technically considered one-time payouts. So, vanilla websites assume they won’t happen again, and thus leave them out of their yield calculations.

But there’s more than one kind of special dividend.… Read more

“Why is Arbor Realty (ABR) up 10% this morning?”

The emails piled in. And obviously, yes, it was this Tweet from Roaring Kitty—the high priest of meme stocks—that sent highly-shorted stocks higher.

Source: X.com

His real-life identity is Keith Gill. He’s a former financial analyst turned meme stock diocesan. In 2020, Keith aka Roaring Kitty led the charge behind the short squeeze of GameStop (GME), which sent that dinosaur stock (briefly) into orbit.

The mere hint that Gill was back in the game was enough for his disciples to bid up old flames GameStop and AMC Entertainment Holdings (AMC).… Read more

This onshoring trend is roaring—but we contrarian dividend investors still have time to cash in. I’ve got a “3-pack” of cheap stocks that lets us do that, with dividends that are surging (or are about to!) below.

The two latest signs we’re in the midst of “Industrial Revolution II” here in the US? According to new Census Department figures, Detroit, the HQ of industrial America, is seeing its population grow again for the first time since 1957!

The “OG” Industrial Boom

And the latest round in the tariff wars? They’ll almost certainly send more companies scurrying to America.

Think “Picks and Shovels” for the Best Plays on Industrial Revolution II

If you’ve been reading my articles for a while, you know I love “pick-and-shovel” stocks.… Read more

What’s better than a big dividend?

A hated high yield.

Especially when the disgust comes from Wall Street analysts themselves. You know, the fanboys who follow the company for a living.

Analysts are paid to be bullish. Let’s face it, nobody wants to hear from a bear. Here’s how unusual is it for analysts to be down on a stock?

There are just two consensus Sell calls across the entire S&P 500. Two.

So, when one of the suits says a business is bad, we should take note, right?

Wrong.

Analysts tend to be trend followers. And as they say in the business, the trend is your friend until it ends.… Read more