Author Archive: Brett Owens

I often get asked where I’m investing my retirement money. And these days, I’m also asked if this is even an appropriate time to buy stocks!

Well, I personally am buying. For starters, my 401(K) runs on autopilot. Every month, my contribution (and “Brett Inc.” company match) is plowed into Vanguard’s Dividend Growth Fund (VDIGX). No diversification, no market timing–100% into VDIGX.

Why this fund? Because in my plan, I have to choose from a set list Vanguard funds. And I’m naturally looking for an emphasis on dividend growth because I know it’s the path to 10%+ returns every year, a wealth-creating snowball!… Read more

Our Contrarian Income Report mailbag served up an important question from a reader this week. What are the perfect retirement dividends to buy and hold forever?

Our subscriber is retired and manages investments for him and his wife. He asked me how to build a portfolio that will give her reliable income, with little maintenance, if he can no longer look after their investments himself.

It’s a great question, and one that’s likely occurred to you, too. So let’s tackle it.

3 “Autopilot” 8% Dividends You Can Buy Now

While we always feel you should at least check in on your investments from time to time, let’s go ahead and piece together a portfolio we’d feel pretty comfortable buying and tucking away for the long term.… Read more

Real estate investment trusts (REITs) are simply the best dividend payers you can own right now. These tax loopholes literally “print money” when interest rates fall. So, with Fed Chair Jay Powell signaling that rate easing is on the way, we should load up on real estate dividends.

REITs themselves have flown under cover for years, but “basic” income investors have finally started to wake up to just how effective REITs are. In fact, these income-friendly real estate plays are, quite literally, world beaters.

A Netherlands study examining global assets from 1960 to 2015 found that the top-performing area of the market was not stocks, not bonds, not gold – but real estate investment companies and trusts.… Read more

Most dividend investors understandably love the idea of 10%+ yields. It sure makes retirement easy!

Earn $50,000 per year in dividends alone on a $500K portfolio, or $100,000 annually on a million? Spend your lavish payouts without ever tapping principal? What’s not to like!

Plus, the recent stock market pullback has benefited investors like us because we can snag more dividends for our dollar. Yields are higher overall, and that’s a good thing.

But this strategy is a bit more complicated than simply finding 10% yields and buying them. We must smartly select the stocks that are going to pay our 10%+ dividends securely without tapping their own share prices to pay us.… Read more

Forget the trade war. There’s a bigger danger that too many investors (and especially vulnerable retirees) are ignoring today.

That’s the threat of a snap dividend cut—and the massive damage it can do to your income and your nest egg.

More on that—and 4 imminent dividend cuts you need to dodge now—shortly.

Why I’m Sounding the Alarm

First, there are two reasons why folks are sleepwalking along, wrongly thinking all of their dividends are safe:

• The economy is strong, churning along at a 3.1% rate—lulling most folks to think that only the worst companies would be forced to slash payouts.

• The Fed’s kabuki theater: After being set on raising rates last year, Fed Chair Jerome Powell is signalling a rate cut.

I told you GameStop’s (GME) dividend was toast. Did you sell, or better yet, short the stock?

Just one quarter ago, we chatted about the inevitability of this paper payout ending in tears:

Brick and mortar video game retailer GameStop (GME) is a throwback to yesteryear. It’s survived the rise of digital distribution for video games thus far because Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo haven’t fully digitalized their sales. (In other words, they still sell physical boxes that are bought at stores like GameStop.)

 

But this sales model is ultimately toast and GameStop doesn’t have a convincing second act.

In a word… no.

Interest rates are plummeting, which is usually “prime time” for mREITs like Annaly Capital (NLY). The “original mortgage REIT” has traditionally held fixed-rate securities, which rise in price as rates decline.

Annaly investors remember the “roaring ‘00s” fondly. From 2000 through 2012, mortgage rates ticked down, down, down while the stock climbed higher and higher:

The Roaring ‘00s (and Beyond) for Annaly Investors

While Annaly delivered total returns of 609%, its yield bounced between a handsome 10% and a gaudy 15%. What a run!

Of course, even the best party has its lulls. This happened when then-Fed chair Alan Greenspan began raising rates in the summer of 2004.… Read more

I know I don’t have to tell you it’s tough (and very frustrating) trying to get any kind of income stream from your savings these days.

The average S&P 500 stock yields just 1.9%. That’s not even enough to cover inflation!

Treasuries? The 10-year note yields an almost equally pathetic 2.3%.

But there are still safe 7%+ dividends to be had—even in the “income desert” we’re living in now. I’ll show you three funds yielding up to 8.5% (more than 4 times the typical S&P 500 yield) in a second.

Dividends like those can let you clock out on a nest egg that’s far smaller than advisers say you need.… Read more

I love “secret dividends.” They’re one of the few safe ways to collect yields up to 11.9% in a 1.9% world!

They’re also a great way to protect your portfolio against big market pullbacks, too. If you find yourself wincing every time you check your stocks, perhaps some secret dividends would help steady the ship.

“I’m 11 years older now. Brett, I just can’t have a repeat of 2008,” my new subscribers often share.

“Now tell me which of these dividends will survive a bear market like that. I want to buy the safest yields,” they continue.

Fortunately I’m no stranger to dividends that thrive in bear markets.… Read more

Where’s the market going from here? Well, if you own these seven “never go down” dividend payers, you probably don’t care.

My readers are often asking for safe income ideas. For stocks that pay dividends and never drop in price. It’s a very difficult task, but not quite impossible.

For most long-term investors who want big dividends–I’m talking 6%, 7% and even 8%+ current yields–I recommend a combination of a contrarian and “No Withdrawal” approach. This consists of buying safe dividend-paying bonds and funds when they are out of favor and holding them through any market turbulence.

Big dividends are the rubber duckies of the investing world.… Read more