Author Archive: Brett Owens

My six-year-old hooper was having an outstanding YMCA practice. She was leading the drills, encouraging her teammates and almost dribbling between her legs. So close.

And then, the very next minute, she was throwing a fit in the corner. Her tantrum would last the remainder of practice. She missed the end of the time-honored “kids versus coaches” game which the kids (as always) dominated.

One of the coaches (her father, and your income strategist) was not thrilled with her pouting but also not totally surprised. Parenting a soon-to-be-first grader is a rollercoaster. Best to enjoy the good moments and get through (or mentally block out!)… Read more

If you’ve been reading my columns for a while, you’re probably sick of hearing about the “Dividend Magnet.” (I’m starting to think I should put it on my license plate. Too bad the California DMV has a seven-character limit!)

Well, we got another quick Dividend Magnet win last week, when my latest pick for our Hidden Yields service, FedEx Corp. (FDX), shot up 17% five days (including a weekend) after our buy call.

An Immediate Dividend Magnet Win

To be honest, we Hidden Yield-ers are used to seeing gains on stocks that grow their dividends fast, like FDX, which hiked its payout 112% in the last five years.… Read more

I love the economics of real estate. But a landlord I’m not. Please, change your own lightbulb—don’t call me.

Enter real estate investment trusts (REITs), which provide us with landlord-style income from the comfort of computers and smartphones.

Why are these “virtual fourplex” deals available in convenient ticker form? Thank Congress (no, seriously!) By law, the bulk of a REIT’s income has to be returned to us, the shareholders, in the form of dividends. Even an average REIT is going to pay more than most other sectors, and some REIT dividends can get downright enormous—like the 7.8% to 22.3% yielders I’ll discuss here in a moment.… Read more

If you don’t like these 8%, 9% and even 10%+ dividends, well, you’re not really an income investor.

That’s right. As I write, select closed-end funds (CEFs) yield 10.6%.

Ten. Point. Six. Per. Cent!

We contrarians are locking in yields up to nearly 11%. Here’s how, broken down in an 11-step playbook for these 8%, 9%, even 10.6% yields.

CEF Rule #1: Buy the Best 

Fixed-income behemoth DoubleLine runs some well-known big mutual funds and ETFs as well as smaller, lesser-known CEFs. There’s a raging dividend party in the ignored CEF corner of DoubleLine’s portfolio, with yields up to 10.6% via DoubleLine Income Solutions Fund (DSL).… Read more

Some of our favorite high-yield dividends just did something stunning: They sent their investors’ payouts soaring—in some cases by more than 30% overnight.

All of these high-paying dividend growers are municipal bond funds, a corner of the market many folks see as boring—if they know about it at all.

I don’t know what’s “boring” about a payout that leaps double-digits in one go—and hands us a 7%+ tax-free dividend, to boot!

That’s exactly what’s happened at a slew of “muni” focused closed-end funds (CEFs) in the last month or so. (Municipal bonds are issued by state and local governments to fund infrastructure projects).… Read more

Who cares what financial “pundits” are yapping about? Show us the money. Show us what the insiders are scooping up!

I was going to say “cue the Drake meme.” Let me go ahead and tee that up.

Insider buying, generally speaking, is more predictive than insider selling. The C-level types may sell stock to buy new boats or bribe their kids’ way into college. (Ha!)

But when these guys and gals buy, it’s for one reason. They believe their stock’s price is undervalued, and that it’s due to pop.

Insider buying activity has been quiet of late. No surprise there: The market is setting new highs on the regular, and many execs are nervous about buying when their stocks are at or near all-time highs.… Read more

Only here at Contrarian Outlook can we banter for an hour-plus about closed-end funds, utilities and oil dividends! This site is our sanctuary, my income friends.

I’m talking about our Contrarian Outlook 2024 Q2 VIP Webcast. Every quarter we fire up GoToWebinar and discuss the top high-yield stocks and bonds on my mind, along with your questions. A big thanks to my 1,151 subscriber friends who attended the meeting live.

On the call I fielded some questions about closed-end funds (CEFs) that we didn’t have time to cover. I said I’d read them all and, well, I did. So, let’s address them now.… Read more

The media hype machine is in overdrive, pushing utility stocks as a savvy way to play AI’s growth. You’ve no doubt seen these headlines (or some of the hundreds of others like them):

• “The Unlikely Stocks That Became a Hot Bet on AI” –The Wall Street Journal
• “AI Could Drive a Natural Gas Boom as Power Companies Face Surging Electricity Demand” –CNBC
• “Utility Stocks Could Be Headed for a Decade of Strong Growth, Driven by Data, AI” –Barron’s

Before we go further, let me say right off the hop that we contrarians never chase headlines—we’re always looking to buy value first and foremost—high-yielding stocks that are washed out, in other words.… Read more

These small business lenders trade publicly—and offer payouts between 10.5% and 13%.

You have our attention.

We’ll discuss three stocks in the space in a moment. First, let’s address why these companies exist.

When small businesses need cash, they typically don’t dial up their banks. Increasingly, they turn to a small subset of private equity-esque companies for help. These unique companies throw off double-digit yields and can often be found trading for less than they’re worth. Not bad when we’re talking dividends up to 13%!

My Favorite Way to Collect Big Checks From Small Businesses

Once upon a time, when small businesses held out their hands for much-needed growth capital, banks were the only game in town.… Read more

$500K can be enough money to retire on. Even as early as age 50!

The trick is to convert the pile of cash into cash flow that can pay the bills. I’m talking about $39,965.51 per year in dividend income on that nest egg, thanks to 8% average yields.

These are passive payouts that show up every quarter or, better yet, every month. Meanwhile, we keep that $500K nest egg intact. Or, better yet, grind that principal higher steadily and safely.

Got more in your retirement account? Cool—more monthly dividend income for you!

We’ll talk specific stocks, funds and yields in a moment.… Read more