Author Archive: Brett Owens

If this were any “normal” time, we’d be able to buy safe bonds and collect enough income on our nest egg to fund our retirements. Unfortunately, this is the “new normal” where the Fed is not the friend of us current and hopeful retirees!

Jay Powell is afraid for his job, which means he’s going to cut rates and keep them low for a long time. This means we must look beyond traditional bonds for meaningful income.

What about blue chip dividend-paying stocks? Well, an 11-year stock market rally has ruined that idea. Anyone putting new money in a pricey dividend aristocrat is “buying and hoping” that the stock continues to levitate while the firm dishes its dividend.… Read more

Today I’m going to show you the one market indicator you can use to grab gains as high as 70% in nine months (or less!), plus dividends growing double-digits, too.

It’s a measure of market panic you’ve probably heard about, but here’s the funny thing: everyone is looking at this indicator backwards.

Let me explain.

First, I’m talking about the CBOE S&P 500 Volatility Index, or VIX for short. You’ve probably heard of the VIX: dubbed the market’s “fear gauge,” it’s a measure of how volatile traders see stocks in the next 30 days.

In other words, when investors are twitchy, the VIX rises—and when they’re confident, it trends down.… Read more

How much do you need to save to retire comfortably? Not as much if you think if you buy the right monthly dividend payers.

How you invest your retirement portfolio is more important than how much you have. Especially today, with “dumb” retirement money collecting just 1% in safe bonds.

That 1% won’t even get it done if you save the $1.7 million most Americans believe they need. (And don’t worry, they are wrong anyway. You don’t need nearly that much money to retire on dividends alone.)

Financial experts are incorrect, too. Here is more advice based on, well, not knowing which dividends to buy in retirement:

• The AARP says you’ll need $1.18 million to generate $40,000 a year.

“There it is – Freddo’s Ice Cream. It should be right next door,” I half-heartedly explained to my wife.

And with feigned confidence, I added, “I’ll be right back.”

I crossed the street once, then again… and walked up toward this monolith:

I didn’t see a teller window, so I walked around into the ice cream shop. Maybe that was the entrance.

Nope, just a wall. So I circled back, and the door on the left “buzzed” at me. I tried to pull it open—to no avail.

It buzzed again. I tried pushing this time, and it opened. Inside there were two teller windows, both guarded by bulletproof glass.… Read more

Are you worried that you’re going to outlive your money? It’s a fair concern with interest rates low and heading lower.

To put it bluntly, many well-off retirees are at serious risk of having to pick up a “side hustle” to avoid dying broke. Passive income in the popular retirement “go-tos” is simply no help today, as the average S&P 500 stock pays a skimpy 1.9% now. Ten-year Treasuries? Even worse, at just 1.5%.

So unless you’ve got $2.1 million laying around to invest in the typical blue chip stock—enough to get you a $40,000 annual dividend stream—you’ll likely have to sell some of your stocks to supplement your dividend income.… Read more

“I did read that. I thought about you, B.O.”

While other people may be known for their hobbies, or their families, my publisher thought of me when a Vanguard fund re-opened!

I’ve yapped about the Vanguard Dividend Growth Fund (VDIGX) before. I rarely mention (let alone endorse!) mutual funds. But VDIGX is notable for two reasons:

1. I plow 100% of my 401(K) contributions into this fund, and
2. It’s a pretty good option as far as retirement plans go.

Why this fund? Because in my “Brett Inc.” company plan, I have a set list of Vanguard funds to choose from. This is “set and forget” money so my goal is to maximize long-term returns.… Read more

Should we income investors buy any bonds right now? Bond prices have rallied, but the rear view mirror doesn’t help any new money we’re putting to work right now. Meanwhile interest rates are tanking, which tends to defeat the point of purchasing fixed income in the first place.

But, stocks are on a roller coaster ride. If you’re getting a bit nauseous with the violent day-to-day swings, you may appreciate a little stability to balance out your portfolio.

Whether you’re looking for dividends, sanity, or both, you’ve come to the right column. Let’s take a spin around Bondland and rank ‘em worst to first.… Read more

Here’s the funny thing about the inverted-yield-curve talk we’re getting hit with lately: most people are looking at the wrong numbers!

I’m going to show you how we savvy dividend investors can jump on this mistake to bag total returns of 69% and up—fast. First, here’s what I mean when I say investors are looking at the wrong numbers.

These days, all we hear about is the yield-curve inversion we’ve seen a couple times over the last few weeks, where the yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell below that of the 2-year.

It’s certainly worth paying attention to, because the inversion of the 10- and 2-year Treasury yields does predict recessions—though the timeline tends to be around 18 months and maybe even longer than that.… Read more

Insider buying can be a great indicator for us income investors to buy alongside management. After all, when the big bosses reach into their own pockets to purchase their own payout streams, it’s a signal that they are confident in more than just the next dividend.

They believe their stock has upside, too. Often this results in total returns (including dividends) up to 214%. I’ll show you some examples, and also break down some current “buy” signals, in a moment.

First, let me make sure we are not mixing up insider buying with insider trading. They are two different things.… Read more

As broke investors worry more and more about a stock market crash, billionaires are quietly loading up on their favorite dividend paying stocks. Investing for growth and income, these “country clubbers” know how to 4X their yields without taking on any additional risk.

Who would you rather invest with? Obviously, the rich guy or gal versus the hopeful retiree sweating out every stock tick.

Wealthy people collect assets that, over time, help them accumulate more and more wealth. Average investors, meanwhile, clutch to their stocks like they are lottery tickets. They buy shares and “hope” that they go up every minute of every day.… Read more