Author Archive: Brett Owens

Chief Investment Strategist

Perfect Dividends for the Roaring (or Recessionary?) 2020s

Brett Owens, Chief Investment Strategist
Updated: January 1, 2020

Are we kicking off another episode of the “Roaring 20s” today?

Who knows. Nobody really predicted the 2010s would be an end-to-end bull market. Yet the most hated rally of all-time resulted in stocks nearly quadrupling:

The Epic Rally Few Investors Believed In

A million bucks that sat in a boring S&P 500 fund a decade ago would have grown to $3.5 million. Unfortunately, many experienced investors did not participate in this full rally, still being shell-shocked after 2008.

(Which illustrates why it is important to always be fully invested. Investors who slept through the ’08 carnage quickly made their money back in the years to follow.… Read more

A 17.6% Dividend, 36% Upside and a 2020 Investing Strategy You Won’t Believe

Brett Owens, Chief Investment Strategist
Updated: December 31, 2019

Right now, with 2020 just hours out, is the perfect time to show you my two-step dividend strategy for the year ahead.

We’ll also dive into four specific stocks and funds to buy. They’ll hand you 6%+ dividends now and set you on the path to unreal payouts of 17.6%+ down the road.

How Powell Crushed Savers

First, if you’re disappointed in the dividend options out there today, you can blame one man: Jay Powell. (Actually, you’ll have to get in line to dump your frustrations on the poor fellow’s head!)

We all know that Powell’s clumsy “pivot” from rate hikes to rate cuts at the start of 2019 sent stocks soaring (and dividend yields plunging—as you calculate yield by dividing a company’s annual dividend payout into is current share price).… Read more

Can You Spot the Next 830% Dividend Grower?

Brett Owens, Chief Investment Strategist
Updated: December 27, 2019

I don’t blame you if you think stock picking boils down to a choice between income or growth. That’s how the financial media has framed it for years.

But it’s not. Not by a long shot. In fact, for years, my Hidden Yields service has shown investors that rapidly growing dividends are something of an “early alert system” for red-hot price appreciation. That’s why I always keep an eye out on regular dividend growers, like the list of 56 stocks whose names and tickers I’ll share with you momentarily.

In fact, if patient investors sniff out the right dividend stocks, they’ll hit the trifecta: income growth, higher prices and big, fat yields.… Read more

This Handed Us a Fast 43.5% Win. History Is About to Repeat

Brett Owens, Chief Investment Strategist
Updated: December 24, 2019

Make no mistake: now is the perfect time to set ourselves up for 7%+ dividends, along with serious upside—I’m talking total returns well into the triple digits!

The key is my easy “dividend barometer” strategy. I’ll show you exactly how it works—and two stocks it’s flagged for big payout growth and price gains—shortly.

Your Ticket to “Rate-Proof” Gains in 2020

First, we need to talk about Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell, who says he’ll hold interest rates steady next year. That’s despite President Trump, who’s been Twitter-bashing the poor fellow on the regular for not slashing rates to the bone.

If the smart money (betting through the Fed futures market) is right, The Fed chief will win this battle.… Read more

Roaring or Tearful ’20s? 5 Dividends (up to 11.6%) for A Market Meltdown

Brett Owens, Chief Investment Strategist
Updated: December 20, 2019

Are you worried about a market meltdown in 2020? Fair enough–stocks went straight up for an entire decade, making a pullback more than due as we head into the 20s.

Now, more than ever, it’s vital that your portfolio is anchored by bulletproof dividend payers. If it’s not, read on, and I’ll introduce you to a few of the market’s five-star income plays—payouts so safe that even a worst-case recession scenario won’t touch them.

BofA Merrill Lynch analyst Michael Harnett, looking at recent developments such as our “phase one” deal with China and the U.K.’s recent elections, said stocks are “primed for Q1 2020 risk asset melt-up,” projecting that the S&P 500 will rip off a quick 5% by March.… Read more

Lemmings, Beware! Wall Street’s 2020 Dividend Picks, Yikes

Brett Owens, Chief Investment Strategist
Updated: December 18, 2019

“Hey Kevin, I think I’m going to look at doing one of those top 20 dividend picks for 2020 pieces. Cheesy, I know, but ‘tis the season.”

My always-supportive publisher knew how to rattle my cage, however:

“Funny, I just saw one of those ‘Wall Street favorite’ pieces cross my desk. Had one of your old favorites included…”

Our old flame Medical Properties Trust’s (MPW) inclusion caught Kevin’s eye. Classic Wall Street. Way to call the stock you should have bought in 2015 as the best buy for 2020!

Now don’t get me wrong, this is a well-run company with a timeless business model.… Read more

CEF Investors: Do This Now for 94%+ Upside (and 8.8%+ Dividends)

Brett Owens, Chief Investment Strategist
Updated: December 17, 2019

I’m about to reveal my very best strategy for pocketing 20%+ upside (and 7%+ dividends) from closed-end funds (CEFs) in the year ahead.

And in the long run, you could be in for truly monstrous gains, like the 94% return, and 8.8% dividend, I locked in using this simple plan just a few days ago.

I’m sharing this powerful tool with you now because this is the perfect time to get into CEFs. Unlike the (bubbly) S&P 500, many of these high-yield funds are cheap now—and spring-loaded for big “snap back” upside in 2020.

In fact, 380 of the roughly 500 CEFs out there—a full 75%—trade below their “true” worth as I write this.… Read more

3 Safe Dividends (Up to 15%!) for a Toppy Stock Market

Brett Owens, Chief Investment Strategist
Updated: December 13, 2019

The way to protect your portfolio isn’t large caps–it’s large yields. And the very best ones often come in small packages, such as the three “underappreciated dividends” yielding up to 15% that I’m about to show you.

I’m talking about funds that pay big, secure dividends. When pullbacks happen, these funds’ prices don’t move thanks to their yields. After all, a 15% annual payout (like the one we’re going to discuss shortly) buffers your portfolio against plenty of market volatility.

Here’s an example. Let’s consider Wall Street’s temper tantrum from late 2015 to early 2016, which greeted our launch of the Contrarian Income Report service focused on dividends that are big enough to retire on.… Read more

Bond God’s Bond Warning: Should We Dump All Junk?

Brett Owens, Chief Investment Strategist
Updated: December 11, 2019

Brilliant bond manager Jeffrey Gundlach—aka the “bond god”—has decreed that it’s time to sell “junk” bonds. And he’s gone as far as to say that one-third of corporate bonds should probably be rated as junk.

Gundlach is one of the few “gurus” that we pay attention to. He called the subprime mortgage crisis ahead of time in 2007, an epic rally in US Treasuries earlier this decade, and President Trump’s election in early 2016 (when few gave the Republican candidate a chance.)

And his two closed-end funds (CEFs) are excellent long-term additions to a retirement portfolio. Over the last six years his two DoubleLine funds have roared to 72% and 54% total returns (with the majority of these gains coming as cash dividends:)

DoubleLine CEF’s Deliver: Distributions Plus Gains

But no guru is perfectly clairvoyant!… Read more

December Massacre Looming? Here’s What to Buy for 6.5% Dividends, 150% Upside

Brett Owens, Chief Investment Strategist
Updated: December 10, 2019

I’m going to hand you a dead-simple strategy that perfectly lines you up for dividends growing 150%—or more—plus safe current yields of 6.5% and higher.

The kicker? This quick 3-step plan positions you for fast 70% upside, too—especially when stocks dive.

And if stocks soar? You’ll very likely outrun the market, too!

What I’m going to show you really is the closest thing to a “heads you win, tails you win” scenario I’ve ever seen in investing.

More on this easy move (and how it drove a huge 70% gain for folks who pulled this same “trick” exactly one year ago) shortly.… Read more