Author Archive: Michael Foster

Remember the panic selling in February? It all seems silly now—the economy is surging, companies are beating high earnings expectations and American consumers are more confident than ever.

And the stock market is finally catching on—the S&P 500 is up a solid 5.9% in 2018, and the momentum for stocks to go higher is clearly there.

You’re Not Too Late for the Biggest Profits

The good news? You can get into this raging bull market and still see a lot of upside.

Since the market is still a sliver off its all-time high (which it hit in January, before the plunge), we are nowhere near a top—especially since earnings have soared since then.… Read more

One of the most reliable income-producing sectors has been hit hard over the past year, handing you a terrific shot at outsized dividend yields running all the way up to 10%.

In a moment, I’ll show you two funds that let you grab these huge income streams at a big discount—and one that looks like a strong buy but is way overpriced and headed for a fall. You’ll want to keep that one as far away from your portfolio as possible.

The sector all three of these picks come from is utilities—one of only two sectors of the S&P 500 that’s down over the past year (the other being consumer staples), with a 2.6% overall decline.… Read more

If you want high dividends right now (and who doesn’t?), but you don’t want to overpay, there’s one place you need to look: utilities.

There are three ways to tap into this sector, but only one hands you the most upside and fattest dividend yields from these unloved cash-spinning companies:

1. Buy utility stocks individually
2. Buy ETFs specializing in utilities
3. Buy closed-end funds (CEFs) specializing in utilities

The third option is the best one. To understand why, we need to go back a few months.

Back on March 1, I recommended Reaves Utility Income (UTG), a utility CEF that yields 6.9% (spoiler: those big yields are common with CEFs and are a big reason why these funds are an awesome bet for income investors).… Read more

I’ve been thinking a lot about recessions lately.

It’s pretty hard not to, because warnings about recessions are coming from financial pundits and big banks with increasing frequency. Most recently, an economist at Citigroup warned in a research note that a recession was likely to come in the next 18 months, because the US Treasury yield curve is flattening.

This person isn’t a lone wolf.

Many economists, including a lot of wonks at the Federal Reserve, are fiercely debating whether our flattening yield curve is a sign that a recession is around the corner. And the fear is intensifying, since the difference between the yield on the two-year and 10-year Treasuries is a meager 25 basis points, the narrowest in over a decade.… Read more

With the recent market downturn, you might be worried that stocks are headed for trouble. Don’t be.

Because there’s one really good reason to be greedy now that the market has become fearful again, and it can be summed up in two words: earnings season, which “officially” kicks off when Alcoa (AA) reports its results on July 18.

So far, 2018 has been one of the best years for company earnings in history—and that trend is set to continue.

First, let me tell you why. Then I’ll give you 3 funds you can buy today to lock in the gains that this temporarily depressed market is set to hand us.… Read more

Still feeling the taxman’s sting from April? Then you probably need to consider getting some tax-free income.

Having an income stream the IRS can’t touch may sound like pie in the sky, but it’s a reality if you hold municipal bonds. That’s because the tax code provides an exclusion for these bonds, allowing most US investors to collect interest payments from them tax-free. And in many states, income from those bonds is exempt from state taxes, as well.

If you aren’t intrigued yet, then let me show you some numbers—and what they could mean to your portfolio.

If you’re in the highest tax bracket (37%) and you get a 6%-yielding municipal-bond fund, that income is the exact same as a 9.5% dividend from stocks.… Read more

It’s here again: another stock downturn.

But don’t worry, because today I’m going to show you a “1-click” way to profit from it (and collect a nice 6.8% dividend while you do).

The key? Dipping into an out-of-favor sector that outperforms when the market gets fearful. I’m talking about consumer staples, which is down a whopping 9.4% in 2018, far below every other sector in the S&P 500.

Consumer Staples Swoons

Usually, when volatility picks up, consumer staples outperform consumer-discretionary stocks. Yet that didn’t happen from February to April, when the market first began to tumble, and it isn’t happening now that the market is beginning to fall again.… Read more

If you’ve been holding cash and waiting for the perfect buying opportunity, your time to strike is now.

Because a very predictable market pattern has been repeating itself in the last few months—and is about to do so again.

Let’s recap.

First, there was the euphoria of January, followed by the panic selling of February and March, followed by renewed confidence in April, May and early June. But then, just a couple weeks ago, the market went back to panic mode. The reason is familiar: the looming trade war.

Back in February and March, President Trump threatened tariffs on goods from China, the EU and even Canada.… Read more

With over 500 closed-end funds (CEFs) on the market, how do you choose the best one?

It’s not an easy question to answer, because there are literally dozens of metrics any CEF investor should look at before buying.

But you don’t have to worry, because in a moment, you’re going to get the “guts” of the 5-point system I’ve carefully designed to pick winning CEFs for our CEF Insider service.

So why is it important to have a good system?

Because if you don’t, you could find yourself holding an empty bag—like investors who bought the Virtus Total Return Fund (ZF) at the start of the year because they were seduced by its 15.3% dividend yield.… Read more

Cash payouts of 8% and more (often paid monthly), plus price upside of 10%, 20%, sometimes even higher.

That’s what you get with closed-end funds—and you can often get it in just one buy!

But as terrific as these off-the-radar funds are, you still need to be careful: of the 500 or so CEFs available to us, only a handful are worth your attention. Others give you mediocre returns, at best. And some can drain away your cash fast!

And in a year that’s been challenging for just about all asset classes, the worst CEFs are showing their stripes, with the real laggards down double digits, and for good reason—their portfolios (as measured by net asset value, or NAV) can’t generate the performance they need to push their share prices higher.… Read more