Author Archive: Michael Foster

Markets are betting on the federal government pumping $908 billion in stimulus into the economy. If that cash wave rolls out, it’ll boost the group of funds I want to talk to you about today. They pay dividends of 6%+ and trade at big discounts to their true value now.

The Current Stimulus State of Play

First up, while the final stimulus bill is still being negotiated by Congress, it seems likely we’ll get a version similar to what’s been released already when a compromise is reached. So let’s take a look at what’s on offer.

Before we go further, I’ll say that the government’s new stimulus bill looks more effective than the CARES Act passed in the spring.… Read more

With 2020 coming to a (merciful) close, it’s a good time to take a moment to cast an eye over our dividend portfolios.

One thing to pay particular attention to: the amount of cash you’re holding. Because if you’re like many investors I’ve talked to recently, you’re holding too much of it—and that can cause a steady wealth drain that bleeds away thousands in returns every year!

Taking Money Off the Table—at Exactly the Wrong Time

Of course, having a healthy cash cushion is always a good thing. The trouble for most folks, though, is that they’ve been growing the amount of cash they have outside the market just as stocks have taken off.… Read more

If you’re like most people these days, you’re desperately searching for any kind of meaningful dividend stream.

Finding one is no easy task. The S&P 500, after all, yields 1.5%, on average. Treasuries? With their 0.9% yields, they’re not even worth talking about.

With the old income go-tos off the table, plenty of folks are looking further afield. Some are boosting their holdings of high-yield bonds through exchange-traded funds like the SPDR Bloomberg Barclays High Yield Bond ETF (JNK). Others are going with more esoteric investments, like high-yielding business development companies (BDCs), which you can tap through the UBS Etracs Business Development Company ETN (BDCS).… Read more

What exactly are we to do in this levitating market? Buy more? Pull back? Do nothing?

I get why most folks are uneasy these days—they’re seeing the stock market, and particularly tech stocks, heading into the stratosphere, while the economy that supports them is a mess. Stocks can’t hang in midair forever, the thinking goes. Eventually they’ll plunge to earth.

A (Pleasant) Surprise in a Lousy Year

Don’t buy this argument. Because in the weird market we’re in, stocks can not only hover but actually rip higher and hand us growing dividends, too. Let me show you what I mean, starting with the economy.… Read more

There’s no doubt in my mind: five years from now we’ll look back at this time and say it was a golden opportunity to buy dividend stocks.

Those who bought in will be sitting on big gains (and income streams!). Those who sat on their hands will kick themselves.

I don’t want you to be in that latter group, which is why, in just a second, I’ll point you to a 6.9%-paying fund that’s perfectly positioned for serious gains in 2021 and beyond.

Dividends Back in Vogue

I know I don’t have to tell you that the dividend landscape has been bleak since March, with plenty of “sacred cow” dividend payers, like Disney (DIS) and Ford (F), dumping their payouts entirely.… Read more

Something shocking just happened: Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin cut off a $454-billion program the Federal Reserve uses to keep the bond market running.

A disaster, right?

You’d think so. After all, we’ve heard time and time again that the Fed will do whatever it takes to support the bond market through the crisis. Now a big source of cash needed to do that is gone.

The bond market’s response was even more surprising: crickets.

The junk bond–tracking SPDR Bloomberg Barclays High Yield Bond ETF (JNK) and iShares National Muni Bond ETF (MUB) held on to post-election gains after Mnuchin’s decision was announced.… Read more

Stocks are up—and so are coronavirus cases. And right on cue, I’m hearing from plenty of investors asking if now is the time to sell and lock in their gains.

No way. It’s actually a good time for us contrarians to buy. Here are five reasons why I see stocks rallying into the end of the year—and rolling higher still as we move into 2021.

Market Driver No. 1: Rising House Prices 

When house prices rise, homeowners feel wealthier. And when people feel wealthier, they tend to buy stocks.

It’s true that big-city properties are struggling to hold their own, but homes in the suburbs and rural areas are appreciating at a rate we haven’t seen in years.… Read more

There’s a dangerous dividend trap setting up out there. It’s easy to fall into, and if you make this mistake, you could do fatal damage to your nest egg—and income stream—in 2021.

It’s a classic error called “reaching for yield.” It happens when investors put too much weight on an investment’s current dividend yield without considering what’s behind that payout. More and more folks are making this blunder today.

I know what you’re thinking: “Michael, I can easily sidestep a mistake like that.” That’s easy to say, but it can be hard to resist when you’re confronted with, say, a 5% payout that seems safe at a time when income go-tos like Treasuries and stocks pay a meager 0.8% and 1.5%, respectively.… Read more

There’s a way for us dividend investors to tap the news of a COVID-19 vaccine for huge payouts of 10% and up. And we’ll position our portfolios for serious price upside, too.

I know the vaccine news has a bit of a “horse is out of the barn” feel to it. After all, the market and shares of the vaccine’s producer, Pfizer (PFE), have already popped (though the rally has taken a bit of a breather lately). But you’re not too late. With the three investments I’ll show you below, you could grab healthcare dividends much bigger than the 3.9% Pfizer pays now.… Read more

If there’s one thing you can be sure of in investing, it’s this: alarmists—whether they’re bulls or bears—almost never get it right. And playing the contrarian angle is a great way to grab big gains and 7%+ dividends.

Think back to the days before the election: brokerages were warning of unprecedented volatility following the big day. I heard from some investors who sold most of their holdings right before voters went to the polls, terrified that uncertainty over the results would cause a crash.

Then something weird happened. The election ended, the result was close—and stocks surged.

Close Race = Big Gains

Why did everyone get it wrong?… Read more