Author Archive: Brett Owens

“I’m getting close to retirement,” my friend explained after a fun round of golf. (In 2020, any round of golf is a fun round). “And…” he continued.

“You’re looking to turn your nest egg into regular cash flow,” I jumped in.

Bingo.

Most retirees and soon-to-be retirees (wisely) focus on cash flow from dividends. Like my buddy, they don’t care about beating the market.

But, with some smart high-yield buys, it is actually possible to beat the market with cash payments alone. This may sound absurd in a world where, at least once a year, investors like you and me are treated to a slew of media reports pronouncing that for yet another year, fund managers couldn’t beat their benchmarks.… Read more

As we prepare to say farewell (or, good riddance!) to 2020, let’s beat the investing herd and figure out how we can really rake in some cash in 2021. And, in doing so, put this dumpster fire of a year behind us in spectacular fashion.

Why are we having this conversation now? Well, Mr. and Ms. Market love looking ahead. Plus, the “seasonally strong” months for the stock market tend to happen between November 1 and May 1. So, there’s no reason to wait, as the S&P 500 has already returned double-digits just 18 days into this “strong stock season.”… Read more

2020 has turned on a dime, and we dividend investors need to pounce now to set ourselves up for the big dividends and fast upside in 2021.

With a (mostly) settled presidential election and a vaccine for the virus, the strong buying opportunity we’ve waited on for 7 long months is finally here.

So what, exactly, should we be buying?

Let me show you the strategy I’ll be following in the coming months, along with three tickers—one of which has grown its payout an amazing 638% in just five years—poised to deliver big upside and dividends.

Divided Government Will Ignite Our Returns

No matter where you stand on the election—and I’d repeat that we always set aside our politics and approach things purely as investors here at Contrarian Outlook—we’ll likely have a divided government, with a Republican Senate and Democrats holding the House and presidency.… Read more

Wall Street can have its casino. We’re going to look past the suits’ “common shares” and instead dial in some steady dividends—up to 10%!—that, for whatever reason, aren’t widely talked about on financial news channels and websites.

We income investors could care less what the S&P 500 or, heaven forbid, glue-sniffing NASDAQ, did in their daily session. When you’ve got “preferred” dividends funding your retirement, we can look down on those who roll the dice with their nest eggs.

These types of preferred-stock funds have a few key advantages:

1. They pay their dividends monthly,
2. They boast generous yields (between 5.4% and 10%, for example), and
3. Their prices don’t drop nearly as much as the S&P or the NASDAQ during market fits.

Since we last connected last Wednesday, we’ve had a few notable events happen (to say the least!)

First, former vice president Joe Biden became president-elect Joe Biden. Depending on your perspective, this may or may not be a “done deal” as far as you are concerned. That’s fair. However, it is mostly a done deal as far as the prediction markets are concerned.

Leading website PredictIt is giving Biden a 90% chance of winning this never-ending November election. I like PredictIt better than any poll because punters are betting “real money” on the website. Heading into the election, the prediction marketplace correctly foresaw a close election, outperforming any pollster I’m aware of.… Read more

Make no mistake: now is the time to buy dividend stocks. That’s because stocks tend to rally from Election Day to the end of the year—no matter which party wins.

The important thing is that the election, and the uncertainty it brings, is over.

The post-election surge is already on, with the S&P 500 jumping 6% since the market close on November 2. Plus we’ve got a nice seasonal effect working in our favor, as stocks tend to gain from October to May.

A Second Chance to Buy Cheap

But don’t worry—if you haven’t used this opportunity to set yourself up for some strong upside (and growing dividend payouts) you’re not too late.… Read more

Many investors believe that financial markets react to the news. But it’s a bit more nuanced than that. Asset prices move with respect to their expectation of the news, versus the actual events that play out.

It’s a cliché, but true: Markets don’t like uncertainty. As I write, it appears that we will (eventually) have a clear winner to the 2020 election. Social unrest also appears to be less than feared. Plus, the likelihood of Congressional gridlock increases the chances that taxes will not rise.

All-in-all, a “slam dunk” for Mr. and Ms. Market, who went to bed Tuesday night fearing worse.… Read more

If you woke up this morning and thought to yourself:

“Well, at least that’s over with!”

You’re not alone. Historically speaking, financial markets in the US don’t seem to care which side wins on Election Night (or, in the drawn-out days and weeks that will follow). The important thing for the markets is that the election uncertainty is largely over.

As the political carnival fades into our rearview mirror, we’re left with some dividends that made out better than others. Let’s review these winners and losers now.

Winner: Financial Markets

Since March 2009, the long-term (multi-year) trend of the stock market has been up.… Read more

I sure hope you haven’t listened to the bleating pundits begging us to sell everything ahead of Election Day. These talking heads don’t realize that, historically speaking, cash has already turned to trash.

It’s at times like these—when everyone is panicking and another big selloff seems right around the corner—that fortunes are made. And they’re not made by being out of stocks for the six months when they tend to rally (November 1 to May 1).

I know this sounds strange, but hear me out. Because we’ve got a shot at big gains (and dividends!) setting up our portfolios before E-Day comes and goes.… Read more

Why choose between dividends and growth when we can have both?

Thanks to popular payout programs from the likes of Apple (AAPL) and Microsoft (MSFT), investors can buy a growthy tech stock and even enjoy a little income on the side.

“63% of the (information technology) sector constituents paid a regular dividend,” says Todd Rosenbluth, Head of ETF & Mutual Fund Research for CFRA. In other words: While tinier tech stocks might have to plow everything into M&A, larger tech stocks that have already reached scale generate lots of cash—which they can shower shareholders with.

But there’s just one catch with these tech dividends.… Read more