Author Archive: Brett Owens

Chief Investment Strategist

Is Inflation Here Already? What Bond Investors Need to Know

Brett Owens, Chief Investment Strategist
Updated: March 17, 2021

What a time to be alive! The stock market is booming, and many of our favorite income investments are ticking higher every day.

Sure, we need to credit all of the money that our intrepid Fed chair Jay Powell has printed in the last year. But with the 10-year rate spiking, we now need to ask ourselves:

Is inflation here already?

Recently, I noted that Fed Chair Jay Powell was doing quite the impression of the infamous 1700s economist John Law, who was the original money printer. (And noted gambler, womanizer, speculator, and creator of multiple manias that included the Mississippi Bubble and South Sea Bubble.… Read more

How to Invest in Tech Like a Baller (6.3% dividends, 15% upside)

Brett Owens, Chief Investment Strategist
Updated: March 16, 2021

Tech stocks have finally taken a breather—and we’re going to pounce on this dip—and grab a rare “double discount” while we’re at it.

The strategy we’re going to use also lets us “squeeze” the biggest tech names for payouts that are unheard of in the sector—I’m talking yields up to 6.3%.

Mom’s Coupon-Clipping Goes High-Tech

This approach is an ode to my mom who, to this day, refuses to pay the sticker price. If there’s a coupon to be found, she’ll find it and find another coupon to secure a double discount—even if it requires management approval to apply!

The dividend equivalent of the back-to-back coupon is buying discounted closed-end funds (CEFs) after a pullback, and that’s exactly the setup we’ve got in tech now.… Read more

9 Beaten-Up Tech Dividends Up to 5.9%

Brett Owens, Chief Investment Strategist
Updated: March 12, 2021

The Nasdaq’s recent quick 11% slip earned the “correction” label. This alarmed many newbie investors who bought technology shares hoping they would keep heading higher.

We careful contrarians, on the other hand, welcome pullbacks like these. Being focused on income, we are now able to go shopping and secure more tech dividends per dollar.

The only “catch” is that we shouldn’t wait long to buy the bargain tech payers. Remember the Nasdaq’s bear market in late 2018? It bottomed out in less than three months.

The tech index sank even farther, much faster, in 2020, sinking 30% in just over a month.… Read more

No Rate Worries Here, Just Tax-Advantaged Yields Up to 7.8%

Brett Owens, Chief Investment Strategist
Updated: March 10, 2021

Does a rising 10-year Treasury yield mean we should move on from municipal (muni) bonds? We’ll talk muni strategy in a moment. First, let’s pay homage to these tax-efficient payers.

Munis are superior to Treasuries two ways. First, they pay more. Even with the 10-year rate popping above 1.6% earlier this week, we can double or triple our dividends with munis. The iShares National Muni Bond ETF (MUB), for example, yields 2.1%, which is 30%+ better than the still-chintzy T-Bill.

Plus, munis have tax benefits. MUB is an easy-to-buy vehicle with a tax-advantaged payout that is higher than its stated 2.1% yield.… Read more

3 Shunned Stocks With Dividends Growing 206%+

Brett Owens, Chief Investment Strategist
Updated: March 9, 2021

There’s a quiet shift happening in the market, and we’re going to tap it for some big, and growing, dividends, plus serious price upside, too.

Here’s what I mean: after tech ran the show all of last year, fanboy (and -girl) faves like Apple (AAPL), Microsoft (MSFT) and Tesla (TSLA) are cooling off, and other corners of the market are making a play for the lead role.

Big Tech Rolls Over …

Here’s more proof that a big shift is underway: all through last year, the S&P 500 as a whole powered higher. But if your portfolio is properly diversified, you know that this gain was a mirage.… Read more

Should We Buy These Hotel REITs Before Their Dividends Return?

Brett Owens, Chief Investment Strategist
Updated: March 5, 2021

These popular dividends were taken away in 2020. But rumors of a payout comeback are swirling, and the best time to buy these stocks may be right now.

Before America goes on a vacation binge, that is. See, these dividend payers will directly benefit from travelers being rereleased into the wild. We have been homebound for nearly a year now. (Sorry for the reminder!) But brighter days are ahead, and I know that my family is already booking out travel into 2022.

Should we pick up some hotel stocks while we’re online? After all, hotels will naturally benefit from our restlessness, as will their landlords—the real estate investment trusts (REITs) that were tossed aside this time last year.… Read more

Floating Rate Bonds: The Retirement Play for 2021?

Brett Owens, Chief Investment Strategist
Updated: March 3, 2021

My friends and I couldn’t have been more excited about our college commencement speaker. Fresh off an electrifying cameo in the 2003 comedy movie Old School, James Carville’s next act was Cornell University.

At 21 years old, we had no idea what Carville actually did for a living. (Answer: Political consultant.) And though he was an engaging and entertaining speaker, I don’t remember a single word the “Ragin’ Cajun” said. Too bad, because he has had some major wisdom to impart.

Ten years earlier, Carville made an observation that is more prescient now than ever. After watching bond investors rebuff President Clinton’s economic stimulus proposals because they demanded a higher interest rate for US Treasuries, Carville coined this gem:

“I used to think that if there was reincarnation, I wanted to come back as a president or the pope or as a .400 baseball hitter.

Read more

This Stock Has a “Hidden” 6.1% Yield (and Rises With Interest Rates)

Brett Owens, Chief Investment Strategist
Updated: March 2, 2021

Today we’re going to bulk up our dividends—and position ourselves for some nice gains—with a group of stocks that pay us four ways as interest rates head skyward:

  1. By paying a dividend;
  2. By growing their dividend;
  3. By repurchasing shares, and;
  4. Through the pure profits they “bank” (hint!) as rates rise.

Let’s take that fourth point first, because as you likely know, the 10-year Treasury rate—which drives rates on everything from mortgages to car loans—is en fuego, having surged from 0.9% to more than 1.5% in less than two months.

Granted, a 1.5% Treasury rate would be considered low pre-pandemic. But now it has us choking on our morning coffee!… Read more

How to Turn Rising Rates Into a 9% Annual Payday

Brett Owens, Chief Investment Strategist
Updated: February 26, 2021

Anyone up for a 10.2% payout? One that is powered by profits that should actually rise alongside interest rates?

If so, I’ve got a three-letter acronym for us:

B-D-C.

Business development companies provide debt, equity and other financing to small and midsized companies, effectively acting as banks because banks often don’t want to take on that level of risk. And because they’re primarily investing in companies that aren’t on public markets, BDCs serve as de facto private equity investments—but ones that retail investors like us can get in on!

BDC structures are similar to real estate investment trusts (REITs). Both were created by Congress—REITs in 1960, BDCs in 1980.… Read more

Rising Rate Dividend Plays Paying Up to 9.8%

Brett Owens, Chief Investment Strategist
Updated: February 24, 2021

On Sunday night, our old friend exclaimed to my wife and me: “How have you all been??”

It’d been, well, almost a year since we’d been to her bar. We had plenty to catch up on with our drink-slinging pal as we sipped and snacked. Back on the home front, our babysitter had recently resurfaced and appeared to have bedtime under control. It was nice to have a throwback evening, the type we all took for granted just 12 months ago.

In the interim, many income investors have, likewise, taken low long-term rates for granted. Not we contrarians, of course.… Read more