Author Archive: Brett Owens

If rising rates and this whipsawing market have you wondering where to put your cash now, don’t worry: you’re not the only one.

The good news? I’ve got 5 perfect contrarian buys for you to snap up now.

Each of these 5 stocks is set to pull off something that’s proven to line shareholders’ pockets when rates spike: all 5 “outrun” rates by giving us a high dividend yield now or fast payout growth—and sometimes both in one buy!

More on these 5 smart rising-rate plays in a moment.

First, we need to talk about another group of stocks that might look like a great contrarian opportunity now, but is anything but.… Read more

We received many thoughtful questions after last Wednesday’s “options for income” editorial. (If you missed the original piece, you can read it in its entirety here.)

Many of you are understandably interested in my favorite strategy for generating thousands of dollars in extra income each month regardless of what happens with the S&P 500. After all, it’s a great time to consider alternative cash flow options that don’t depend on this bull market motoring ahead for many more years.

So if you’ve dabbled with the idea of selling options for income, and you’re not exactly sure how to get started, I hope this discussion can help you get started with this excellent (and safe) income strategy.… Read more

Are you looking for that “sweet spot” retirement investment that combines growth tomorrow plus dividends today?

If so, let’s talk about a tech megatrend that’s powering a payout with 546% upside.

For this type of dividend growth, we must consider huge breakthroughs, like the Internet of Things—another name for the millions of devices (from your home thermostat to industrial sensors) hooking up to the web every year.

But hands-down the most important disruptor of all, from a dividend standpoint, is artificial intelligence (AI), the move toward “thinking” computers.

That’s because AI is the one revolution that’s baked into just about every tech advance you can imagine, making everything from cybersecurity defenses to self-driving cars faster, smarter every day.… Read more

I’ve said for years that dividend-happy real estate investment trusts (REITs) are the superior play for long-term wealth generation. And yet another set of data – this one spanning more than half a century – proves just how powerful the REIT space really is.

Let me show you the latest findings – and introduce you to a handful of stocks that should deliver market-beating returns for the next several decades.

A couple months ago, I highlighted a CEM Benchmarking study of asset-class returns going back to 1998 that showed publicly listed REITs trounced everything in retirement-focused accounts: large-cap stocks, small-cap stocks, bonds, private equity, hedge funds – you name it!… Read more

“Buy and hope” traders are, understandably, terrified today. Their portfolios are paying nearly nothing in dividends. Don’t you think fat 10% payouts would put them at ease a bit?

The unfortunate situation for our “B&H” friends is that they bought stocks without a plan to generate cash flow from them. They purchased their shares – probably after much of the decade-long run up – and now must hope that this old bull market is not aging in dog years!

A better idea? Demanding big dividends. After all, without cash flow, what is a stock really worth besides what someone will possibly pay us for it tomorrow?… Read more

Now that the election’s over, it’s time for us contrarians to get greedy!

And I’ve got just the thing: 3 hated buys we can use to rack up serious gains and dividends while the rest of the herd struggles to get its bearings.

Where do these 3 cash machines come from? The defense and infrastructure sectors.

Now you might see where I’m coming from on infrastructure. Probably the one thing Republicans and Democrats agree on is that our ramshackle roads, bridges and power plants need a lot of work.

More on this, including a rock-solid play for 6.5% dividends and “steady as she goes” upside, at the end of this article.… Read more

“Brett, I bought something for the girls. From Carter’s. Let me know when you get it.”

My mom thinks that postal delivery is a 50-50 proposition. She hedges her downside by purchasing 4X as many clothes as my young daughters actually need!

“Mom – thanks. Will do. And, you know, they’re probably good on dresses for now. They’ll be up another size in a few months.”

“Oh don’t you worry about that. I’ve got plenty of coupons,” she countered.

My folks live 2,562 miles from their granddaughters. And while long-distance grandparenting can be a challenge, the (increasingly online) experience provided by Carter’s (CRI) satisfies two of my mom’s favorite pastimes:

1. Spoiling grandkids, and
2. Shopping.

Most investors buy stocks and hope they’ll go up in price. They do nothing in the interim to generate cash flow from those stocks while they sit in their portfolio.

Dividends are a good start. But did you know that it’s possible to accelerate many payouts by writing covered calls?

“Write” what?

I’ll explain. And I’ll also highlight some popular exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and closed-end funds (CEFs) that will help you generate 10% cash yields or better from this income strategy without actually handling an options contract yourself.

A call option is a contract that gives its buyer the right to purchase a stock from the seller for a certain price within a certain period of time.… Read more

It’s a pitfall that can slash your income and your nest egg overnight—and this hidden trap is particularly dangerous to your financial health right now.

I’m talking about a snap dividend cut, something poor folks still sitting on General Electric (GE) shares learned again last week, when the stock tanked 9% in a single day after GE slashed its quarterly payout 92%—to a token penny.

The sad part is, anyone could have seen this massacre coming for miles.

All you had to do was look at GE’s cash flow, which kept staggering after the company sideswiped investors with a 50% dividend cut a year ago.… Read more

Don’t be tricked by these manic markets. Let’s use this opportunity to “lock in” some inexpensive 7.7% dividend treats.

You probably know the mistake that most basic investors make. They fixate on the wrong charts and the wrong tickers. For example most “buy and hope” types are bemoaning the stock market’s near-10% correction:

Rocky Times for Buy and Hope Investors

Meanwhile savvier shareholders are focusing on dividend disparities like this one from Omega Healthcare Investors (OHI). The healthcare REIT (real estate investment trust) yields 7.8% today, which is more than four times what the slumping S&P 500 pays!

Four Times the Dividend Yield

OHI investors might not even realize that the markets are down.… Read more