Author Archive: Michael Foster

Despite all the doom and gloom out there, there has never been a better time to retire.

I know that sounds absurd, but it’s true, especially if you plan to retire on dividends alone. With the 2022 crash crushing stock prices—and driving up dividend yields—it’s prime time to grab some outsized payouts for cheap!

But the blue chips that everyone buys are not the answer. Because even with the selloff, the average S&P 500 stock’s yield has risen to … 1.6%.

No way that’ll cut it, and Treasuries won’t cut it, either. Buying the 10-year at the current 3.8% yield only gets you $19K a year in dividends on your $500K—poverty-level income.… Read more

Savvy contrarians know that when markets crash, the most beaten-up sectors are often the ones that lead the (inevitable) surge higher.

It’s one of the most reliable trends in investing. With their valuations (and dividend yields) crushed, these stocks are tempting bait for bargain hunters who like to run against the herd.

The 2008 financial crisis is a great example. Financial stocks, which were pummeled as millions of mortgages went bust, went on to soar after the market bottomed in ’09. So did real estate investment trusts (REITs).

Which is why I’m looking to roughed-up tech stocks, and tech-focused closed-end funds (CEFs), to lead the way in 2023.… Read more

Despite last week’s market pop, there are still plenty of terrific dividend buys out there. But don’t waste your time with lame payers like General Mills (GIS), with its 2.7% yield. Or the miserly 2.2% you get from a so-called “Dividend Aristocrat” like McDonald’s (MCD).

Inflation is still at 7.7%! That’s far ahead of these pathetic blue-chip yields. We just can’t afford to own low payers like these any longer.

We need much more income if we want to achieve the dream scenario: a retirement funded entirely by dividends. That’s the path we’re going down today, with three closed-end funds (CEFs) boasting an incredible average yield of 10.5%.… Read more

Let’s use this November rally to “front-run” even bigger gains in 2023. Our target buys: closed-end funds (CEFs) throwing off high yields and trading at double-digit discounts.

We’re keen to move now because, with a 20%+ loss this year, stocks (and the CEFs that hold them) are way oversold. And with the market’s tendency to rise into year-end (the much-loved Santa Claus rally), now is a great time to buy.

One smart option here is a CEF called the General American Investors Company (GAM). GAM is one of the most reliable CEFs there is, with roots stretching back to 1927.… Read more

Jerome Powell’s latest trip before the microphone has opened up a surprising opportunity for us dividend investors.

I have three funds for you that are deeply discounted in the wake of the Fed chair’s press conference last week, following the release of the latest rate decision. Buying this trio now also sets you up for dividends ranging from 9.7% to a stunning 12.5%.

Before we get to them, let’s set the stage by zeroing in on exactly what happened last Wednesday, from the time the Fed’s decision and seemingly dovish statement were released until after Powell was finished speaking at the following press conference.… Read more

Today’s market is ideal for us to grab stock-focused closed-end funds (CEFs) paying outsized 10%+ dividends. Here are three (of many!) reasons why:

• CEFs’ dividend yields are through the roof: As I just mentioned, many equity CEFs pay double-digit yields today. And as members of my CEF Insider service know, most of these sturdy income plays pay dividends monthly.
  

• Deep discounts are everywhere: Of the 447 or so CEFs out there, the average fund trades at a 9.6% discount to net asset value (NAV). That’s near levels we saw in the darkest days of the pandemic! It’s totally overdone, which is why …

• Equity-CEF discounts have upward momentum.

Rarely do we get a buying opportunity in high-yielding closed-end funds (CEFs) like the one we have now. Thanks to the selloff, many CEFs trade at deep discounts and pay outsized yields upwards of 9% today.

With this market rally likely still in its infancy, we still have time to act here. But we don’t want to wait long, as this bounce has already started to whittle away CEFs’ discounts.

I’ve got three perfect funds for us to target below. This trio is intriguing because, taken together, they basically mimic an S&P 500 ETF, but with two key differences:

• They pay a 9.7% average dividend, so you’re getting more of your return in cash than you would if you bought an S&P 500 index fund (which would get you a mere 1.7% payout).

It’s nearly 2023, and we’re on the precipice of something that’s never happened in our lifetimes: a recession is coming—and when it does, it will surprise no one.

Believe it or not, that’s good news because it lets us buy stocks—and high-yield closed-end funds (CEFs)—cheap right now. We don’t have to wait months for the recession to subside.

I’ve got an 8.4%-yielding CEF for you to consider below. It’s discounted twice: once because the stocks it holds, which include S&P 500 standouts like Visa (V), UnitedHealth (UNH) and Amazon.com (AMZN), have sold off, and second because the fund itself trades at a rare discount.… Read more

These three little-known funds yield up to 13.5%—and their payouts are actually safer than they’ve been in years, thanks to the Fed-induced selloff.

Now is the time to buy them. Patient investors who do so will be nicely set up for annualized returns north of 14% in the long run, with most of that gain in dividend cash!

These three timely buys—all closed-end funds (CEFs)—are winners now because they let us buy stocks (and real estate, in the case of one of the funds we’ll discuss below) at a rare double discount: one discount on the CEF itself and another because investors have oversold many of the investments these funds hold.… Read more

A recession is on the way—and stocks are … rallying? It makes zero sense on the surface, but there is good reason for the bounce we’ve seen this week. And we’re going to play it with a 7.3%-paying fund that’s set to roll higher with a recovering market.

No, we’re not talking about an index fund like the SPDR S&P 500 Trust ETF (SPY). My colleague Brett Owens calls SPY “America’s ticker” for good reason: pretty well everyone owns it!

Instead we’re going with a fund that pays us a 7.3% dividend today. That’s more than 4-times SPY’s meager 1.7% payout.… Read more