Author Archive: Brett Owens

Is the 60/40 (stock/bond) portfolio now 100/0 in favor of stocks?

That’s been the subject of several financial headlines lately. The authors are suggesting that the traditional mix of 60% large-cap stocks and 40% safe bonds won’t generate enough money for us to retire on unless we’ve got a cool $10 million or so. And, they’ve got a point, with the S&P paying less than 2% and US Treasuries yielding under 1%.

But even a 100/0 portfolio won’t help you too much. Put it all in the popular SPY ETF, and we’re still under 2%! Plus, this “heart attack kid” can fluctuate by 1% or even 2% per day.… Read more

With stocks breaking to all-time highs, we should emphasize security of the dividends we’re purchasing first and foremost. In previous months, it was a good time to be greedy. Now, with other investors in a fervor, let’s be careful.

The main thing we don’t want to do in a pricey market like this? Join the millions of “buy and hopers” out there. I call them that because they “buy” the typical S&P 500 stock and then “hope” for gains.

They’re sure not buying for the dividends: the popular names pay a poverty-level 1.6% income stream, on average.

With a lame yield like that, hoping for a jump in the share price is the only play you’ve got!… Read more

Mortgage payments. Car payments. Cell-phone bills. Power bills. Water bills. Credit card bills.

Yuck. They’re the only downside to being retired!

These bills show up (or debit our accounts) every single month. That’s OK when we have a normal j-o-b that pays us every couple of weeks, or every month. But this regular bill gets really old when we retire.

Like you, I prefer to retire on dividends (and leave my nest egg alone). Problem is, most dividends are paid out every quarter, not every month.

So, dividend cash flow is (unfortunately) often out of sync with every-30-day expenses.

Some income investors build out complicated dividend calendars that get knocked out of whack whenever they ever have to sell certain stocks.… Read more

Our beat here at Contrarian Outlook is dividends. We seek to collect them using proven income strategies.

Dividend stock investing isn’t easy, even though it looks so on the surface. (Find a high yield, and buy it!) We’ve all had our heart broken by one or more “disappearing” dividend payers in the past. These delinquents are the reason we place such a premium on dividend security.

One secure-looking strategy is (unfortunately) known as dividend capture. I don’t like the name because it sounds like something we should be interested in. I don’t like the approach itself because it doesn’t really work.… Read more

One of the most powerful stock-market indicators you’ll ever find is a simple one I call “relative strength.”

It means that stocks that outperform now will likely keep outperforming. And if you catch them just as they start their next leg up, you’ll line yourself up for big gains (and dividends!).

I’ve found relative strength to be a potent strategy when it comes to timing the purchases of dividend stocks. With many income investors fishing in the same pond for payouts, identifying yield plays before the herd turns their attention to a particular sector often results in extra profits.

Mid-Cap Stocks: The Perfect Buys for 2021

We’ve got a nice “relative strength” play setting up in mid-cap stocks (those with market caps between $2 billion and $10 billion).… Read more

“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