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Markets went off the rails this week, as the 10- and 2-year Treasury yields invert.

In fact, the 10-year Treasury bond yield just slipped to 1.627%, which was below the 1.632% yield on the 2-year.  That was the first time that’s happened since 2007.

Even the yield on the 30-year bond just fell to an all-time low of 2.02%, which was below its former record low of 2.0889%.

What’s nerve-wracking is that such a development in the 2/10 has occurred ahead of every U.S. recession over the last 50 years, sometimes leading by as much as 24 months, says Fox Business. … Read more

What if there was a way you could tap this market correction to grab the biggest S&P 500 stocks cheap—all while hedging your downside and getting a 7.2% dividend yield?

It’s not only possible, but you can do it in one single buy. More on that in a moment.

First, I’m pounding the table on stocks—and in particular funds like the one I’ll show you shortly—for one reason: there’s a huge disconnect between the drop in the market that we’ve seen lately …

Investors Miss the Memo

… and what S&P 500 companies are telling us.

And that is that far more firms than expected are crushing the Street’s forecasts.… Read more

“I did read that. I thought about you, B.O.”

While other people may be known for their hobbies, or their families, my publisher thought of me when a Vanguard fund re-opened!

I’ve yapped about the Vanguard Dividend Growth Fund (VDIGX) before. I rarely mention (let alone endorse!) mutual funds. But VDIGX is notable for two reasons:

1. I plow 100% of my 401(K) contributions into this fund, and
2. It’s a pretty good option as far as retirement plans go.

Why this fund? Because in my “Brett Inc.” company plan, I have a set list of Vanguard funds to choose from. This is “set and forget” money so my goal is to maximize long-term returns.… Read more

I want you to think about your very first reaction when you flick on the TV and see the Dow has crashed 300, 500—even 800 points. It feels like you’re drowning, right?

It’s physical, like a gasp after falling into a cold lake. Your first instinct is likely to reach for the closest “life preserver.” For most folks, that means panicking and flipping holding after holding over to cash.

You’ve probably made this mistake. You might’ve made it last Christmas, when many investors, burned by last year’s selloff, threw in the towel …

… just in time to miss the 18% total return stocks have delivered since!… Read more

Volatility is back! With the market whipsawing again, you’re likely seeing more red in your portfolio these days.

At times like this, you might be tempted to give in to emotion and sell. That’s understandable—self-preservation is, after all, our most powerful instinct.

But keep your nerve. Because now is the time for contrarians like us to get greedy for yield—and upside.

Here’s why: American companies’ earnings are strong, their revenues are rising, and there are no indications of a recession anytime soon.

I’ll go through these points one by one, because it’s important to see how the data disagrees with the panicky noise the media publishes these days.… Read more

If you’re a serious dividend investor, you should never trust a stock screener.

They might be OK for blue-chip stocks like Pfizer (PFE) and Procter & Gamble (PG). But these stocks don’t pay enough to properly fund a retirement portfolio powered by dividends anyway.

The big problem with screeners is that they get tripped up when yields get serious. They handle the 2% and 3% payers alright. They’ll spit back a fairly accurate dividend payout ratio based on earnings, and give you price-to-earnings metrics that are fair enough.

But high-yield structures like REITs and BDCs? Forget it. They break the machines.… Read more

Municipal bonds are the perfect play for this trade-war obsessed market—they’re far more stable than your typical stock and they pay bigger dividends, too.

And today I’m going to show you how to tap the very best “munis” for a 4.3% average dividend yield.

That’s just the start.

One of the three “steady Eddie” buys I’ll show you below even pays an outsized 4.7% dividend. Plus, it trades at a discount to its “true” value, adding to its already legendary stability and setting us up for some nice gains, too.

Turning a 4% Yield Into 5.8%

Here’s something that’s often overlooked about muni bonds: their payouts are tax-free to most Americans.… Read more

Nine weeks ago, our fellow income investors were concerned about rising tariff tensions and falling stock prices. (Sound familiar?) So, in late May, we discussed seven dividend payers (yielding 6% on average) that wouldn’t go down if stocks-at-large kept dropping.

The broader markets soon reversed, as they usually do when pessimism is running high. But our defensive dividend machines did even better. Five out of my seven “never go down” plays beat the S&P 500. On average they returned 12.5% (including their big dividends) over the last nine weeks. A percent a week or better will sure boost your retirement account quickly!… Read more

Is last week’s rate-cut temper tantrum the start of a bigger meltdown?

That’s the big question—and today we’re going to do what we have to do to protect our nest egg—and set ourselves up for big gains (and dividends) in the long run.

That means we may only have days to prepare—maybe even hours.

The one thing we’re not going to do? Sell and go to cash.

Because I know I don’t have to tell you that “money under the mattress” pays no dividend—and isn’t even safe, for that matter: you’re guaranteed to bleed money after inflation!

No way.

Instead, we’re going to play it smart—deftly pruning our portfolio of laggards and shifting into a set of low-key dividends that will balloon our income (and nest egg) for decades to come.… Read more

I run into a lot of investors who think retirement investing is a two-act play.

In Act 1, when you’re younger, you try to balloon your nest egg with high-risk growth stocks that pay little (and often no) dividends.

Then, in Act 2, as you near—and enter—retirement, you pivot to the big dividends you need to pay your bills.

Trouble is, this approach exposes you to far too much risk, so today I’m going to show you a better way.

Your Best Play: Big Dividends and Growth—Right Now

I’m talking about 10 funds that can hand you dividends up to 9.8% right now, plus annual returns of 10% or more.… Read more