Author Archive: Michael Foster

If you’re stuck with measly dividends from stocks or Treasuries, closed-end funds (CEFs) are the answer.

After all, these funds yield an amazing 7%, on average, and they let you buy in at a discount (most CEFs trade for less than their net asset value, or NAV).

The One CEF Question I Get a Lot (and the Surprising Answer)

A reader or subscriber to my CEF Insider service will sometimes ask me: can I lose money with CEFs?

The technical answer is, yes, of course—as with any investment, you can lose money. Even when you put your money in the bank, there’s a risk of losing it if the bank goes under and the FDIC collapses.… Read more

New funds are rare in the closed-end fund (CEF) world. But there’s a new kid on the block throwing off a monthly 6% dividend. Today we’re going to run through this new fund to see if it might have a place in your portfolio.

6% Dividends and Netflix-Like Growth—in 1 Fund

I’m talking about the BlackRock Science and Technology Trust II (BSTZ), launched in mid-May of this year.

The unique thing about BSTZ is right in its name: it’s no stodgy income play: its portfolio is packed with some of the fastest-growing tech plays out there.

I’m not talking about Apple (AAPL), Netflix (NFLX) or Facebook (FB).… Read more

If you’re like many folks, you might be looking at your stock gains this year and dreading the tax bill headed your way in 2020.

That makes now a great time to consider the only (tax-) free lunch in investing: municipal bonds. I’ll name one play on these retirement-changing investments in a moment. This unusual fund yields an outsized 5.1% today and sets us up for a “steady as she goes” triple-digit gain, too.

First, let’s talk a little more about the tax side of “muni” bonds: these investments pay a 100% tax-free dividend (so their “real” yields could be much higher for you, depending on your tax bracket).… Read more

Buy funds with the lowest fees and you’ll retire earlier. That’s the so-called “wisdom” in investing, right?

Too bad it’s dead wrong.

Today I’m going to show you how. I’ll also name an incredible fund that racked up a monster 338% return in the last decade, crushing its “dumb” index-fund alternative by nearly 4 to 1!

Plus, this unsung income play pays a safe—and growing—8.6% dividend (paid monthly, no less). That’s enough to hand you $3,583 every month on a $500K nest egg.

Leaving $1,000,000 on the Table

Before we get to that, let’s look at how obsessing over fees can cause you to miss out on thousands of dollars—maybe even a million!… Read more

Today I’m going to show you a bargain-priced closed-end fund (CEF) that’s a standout now—not only because it’s a steal, but because it holds some of the best stocks on the market.

In fact, it takes its inspiration from one of the best investors of all time—Warren Buffett. And the fact that it pays a near 4% dividend yield doesn’t exactly hurt, either.

Before I reveal this fund, let me explain something.

When someone says a CEF is “cheap,” they’re usually referring to the difference between how much that fund sells for on the market (its market price) and the intrinsic value of its portfolio if it were liquidated now—known as the net asset value, or NAV.… Read more

We’re going to push aside overdone recession fears today, so I can show you one fund you can buy for triple-digit upside. And this unsung dividend play spins off a big income stream, too: a 10.6% yield.

It comes from a sector few people check for high yields: energy.

But this investor “blind spot” is why this 10.6% dividend opportunity exists. Read on and I’ll show you how to time your move (if you were to buy this fund or invest in energy generally).

First off, forget the jarring headlines you’ve seen about a corporate-earnings slowdown in the US. When you dive into the sector level, you see that the outlook is rosy in plenty of places, with energy leading the way, according to the analyst crowd.… Read more

Today I want to show you how you can retire on $405,000—and with just five buys, too! Put together, these five stocks and funds hand you a 7.4%-yielding portfolio that will pay you reliably for decades.

First, though, let’s quickly run through how our “5-buy” portfolio will work—and how it proves the so-called “experts,” who say you need a million dollars or more to clock out—are dead wrong.

A Million-Dollar Retirement … for $405K!?

To be smack in the middle of income in America, you need to bring in about $30,000 per year. So, at a 7.4% yield, you’d need to invest $405,000.… Read more

Today we’re going to dive into some of the proven indicators I use every day to forecast what’s next for the economy.

Then I’ll name an off-the-radar fund holding some of the best-known growth stocks in the US. It pays an 8% dividend and is set to gain as the economy does something too few people (and especially the media) expect it to—keep growing!

More on all of this in a moment. First, to really make the most of the opportunity we’re getting today, you need to be able to do what most people can’t—buy when everyone else is panicking.… Read more

You’ve probably heard of Michael Burry.

Played by Christian Bale in the film The Big Short, Burry famously made nearly a billion dollars betting against the housing bubble in the 2000s.

Now this legendary contrarian has a new target: funds.

He’s mostly panning passive exchange-traded funds (ETFs), but he’s got a lot of disdain to go around. In a recent interview with Bloomberg, Burry said that many funds are forming a bubble that’s getting bigger, whether they’re “open-end, closed-end or ETF.”

As a big fan of closed-end funds (CEFs)—including the top-quality 8.6%-yielder I’ll show you shortly—this comment stopped me.… Read more

In a second, I’m going to reveal three real estate stocks that are much better than buying rental property of your own.

Why? Because this trio:

1. Pays a 9.3% dividend, on average—with one yielding an incredible 11%. I think you’ll agree that this is a pretty tough return for most “real” landlords to get.
2. Takes zero work—you just buy these property-focused stocks and collect your dividends (and price upside!), and …
3. Gets you way more diversification than your typical basement apartment, semi-detached or “box in the sky” condo ever could.

You may have caught on that I’m talking about real estate investment trusts (REITs).… Read more