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What if I told you we’ve got a shot at grabbing 2 cheap funds that kick out huge dividends—I’m talking 7.5% and higher—and those payouts are tax-free too?

What I’m talking about might be the last bargain available to us in this (overheated) stock market. Stocks’ roll higher since the Liberation Day tariffs were put on hold has meant fewer income opportunities from S&P 500 names (as yields and share prices move in opposite directions).

That’s added even more appeal to the tax-free dividends (two, in particular) we’re going to talk about below. They deal in municipal bonds, which are issued by state and local governments to fund infrastructure projects.… Read more

The market-at-large is expensive by historical metrics. So let’s look past the pricey, low-yielding ETFs in favor of cheap dividend stocks.

That’s right, good ol’ value investing bargains. With high yields too! We’re talking about divvies of 5%, 8% and even 11% that we’ll discuss in a moment.

The spring market dip sure was brief, wasn’t it? The S&P 500 sank into near-bear territory in roughly a month, then snapped back just as quick.

Now? If We’re Buying the Market, We’re Buying Even Higher

In doing so, Mr. and Ms. Market took valuations to high levels. The S&P 500’s forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 22.1 remains in rarefied air, last reached during the COVID rebound, and before that, the dot-com bubble.… Read more

Remember a few months ago, when the “buy Europe” trade was red hot?

Well, if you’re like me, you’re wondering where all the hype went! Now “buy America” is back on, but European markets are still sky-high—well ahead of their American cousins.

That spells trouble for anyone with a portfolio that’s still tilted too much toward Europe.

So today we’re going to look into where things are headed (hint: back to the US in a big way!). We’ll also delve into three funds with European exposure (two of which are closed-end funds sporting double-digit dividends) that I urge you to hold off on now.… Read more

The US is quietly monetizing its $36 trillion deficit (printing money to pay for it). Just around the edges.

For now.

Which supports more upside for this 69% dividend that is powered by Bitcoin. And Uncle Sam’s money printer.

Yes, Fed Chair Jay Powell is stubbornly sticking with high rates. Vanilla pundits claim a “hawkish” Fed is supportive of the US dollar. Yes, but—let’s look past Powell’s hollow words for his actions!

Behind the scenes, the Fed is quietly “buying” up to $25 billion monthly from Treasury auctions. Without Fed involvement, less demand would mean higher rates to attract buyers.… Read more

We’re more than halfway through Year 1 of Trump 2.0, and I stand by what I said before Inauguration Day: This administration has ushered in a stock picker’s market.

In other words, investors who make smart moves into, and out of, individual dividend payers will do the best in the coming three-and-a-half years.

That puts holders of SPY, which must hold the entire S&P 500, in a jam. The S&P 500 trades at a nosebleed 25-times earnings, and SPY has no manager to shift away from overbought names and toward overlooked bargains. That’s dangerous ground.

With that in mind, let’s run through four tickers (all of which, yes, are SPY holdings) I urge you to avoid—or dump if you’re sitting on them now.… Read more

When it comes to closed-end funds (CEFs), many investors are always focused on one thing: the dividend.

It makes sense: CEFs pay 8.5% yields, on average, according to data from my CEF Insider service.

But sometimes it pays to look beyond those big payouts, because by doing so, you could find a CEF with a track record so strong that its total return (dividends and gains combined) beats that of a CEF with a high yield.

I don’t know about you, but I’m willing to take more of my return in the form of price gains if it means, say, doubling my money in five years!… Read more

Worried about a market pullback?

Let’s discuss seven sturdy dividends with yields up to 8%. These are “low beta” stocks which means they stand tall when the market sinks. Low beta stocks may still go down, but they tend to regress less than average.

And generally speaking, the lower the beta, the more cushion to the downside. The lower a stock’s beta, the less volatile (the less it moves) compared to a benchmark (like the S&P 500). It’s really easy:

Beta more than 1 = more volatile than the market.

Beta less than 1 = less volatile than the market.

Then we want to pair low beta with high dividend yields.… Read more

Volatility is back! And we contrarians know what to do: Get ready to buy.

And we don’t have to try to time the depths of the next selloff, either, because the three 7%+ paying, “volatility-loving” dividends we’re going to talk about are perfect for this market.

They’re all closed-end funds (CEFs) that see their cash streams grow when markets get skittish. Their secret? They sell covered-call options on their portfolios.

This is a smart, low-risk way they can generate extra income—and send it our way as 7%+ dividends. That’s because these funds charge investors a “premium” for the “option” to buy their holdings at a fixed time and date in the future.… Read more

Monthly bills are no problem for careful contrarian readers banking 8.8% yields in monthly divvies. Let’s discuss this rare but excellent dividend breed, the company or fund that pays monthly instead of quarterly.

Only 6% of dividend payers dish monthly. The rest are quarterly or annually, which will likely not be in time to cover your upcoming cell phone bill.

My monthly email from carrier Verizon arrives in a day or two. Another $267.26 will be debited from my account automatically on the 20th of August.

Fortunately, Verizon notes that there is “nothing I need to do” thanks to AutoPay.… Read more

Here’s something most people forget about interest rates: The Fed does not call all the shots here.

This means that, in the coming months, we may see a setup where the Fed’s rate—the “overnight” rate at which financial institutions lend to each other—and the 10-year Treasury rate (pacesetter for business and consumer loans) part company.

Today we’re going to dig into a “stealth” 5.7%-paying stock that’s a perfect contrarian play on this situation. This one pays us every month, too.

Fed Cuts … and Rates Soar!?

I say that this “rate split” is possible because, well, it’s already happened in the last few months.… Read more