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Income investors have mined just about every corner of the market for yield. Blue-chip dividend stalwarts like Microsoft (MSFT) and Exxon Mobil (XOM) are downright expensive at this point thanks to a growing crowd of yield hunters. Those seeking more substantial yields have guzzled the alphabet soup, jumping into REITs, MLPs, BDCs and CEFs.

To quote the Barenaked Ladies, “It’s all been done.”

But in my hunt for less appreciated sources of high yield, I’ve come across three stocks that the financial media barely discusses, and that most investors don’t even know about.

What really sticks out about these stocks isn’t just their yields – which range between 7% and 12%!… Read more

Today I’m going to show you two business development companies (BDCs) that were great buys once but now need to be banished from your portfolio right away.

They’re all good companies, but recent market fervor has caused them to be way overpriced. And while the bull run has been good for all BDCs, there is still one I still see as underpriced relative to its potential. More on that in a moment.

This Popular Name Is Headed for a Fall

First, we need to talk about Main Street Capital (MAIN), one of the best-performing BDCs out there … and one of the world’s most crowded trades.… Read more

If you’re betting that President-elect Trump’s economic policies will ignite corporate profits—and share prices—I have two words for you: be careful.

In a moment, I’ll show you how I’m investing in the early days of the Trump era and name 3 rare finance-sector bargains that are terrific buys now.

First, let’s look at how much things have changed (and not) since Election Day, starting with the S&P 500, which has jumped 6.0%. However, most of that came in the first month: since December 8, it’s basically gone nowhere.

“Trump Bump” Hits a Wall

That leaves the market trading around 17.1 times forward earnings, according to FactSet, well above the five-year average of 15.1 and the 10-year average of 14.4.… Read more

Inflation hasn’t been a problem for a long time. In fact, central banks around the world have been fighting deflation, as low growth, pessimistic expectations and slumping oil prices kept prices in check since the 2008/09 crash.

That’s changing, and more people—from economists to everyday consumers—see inflation heating up. That makes now a great time to buy into an asset class few investors pay attention to. I’ll explain why, and name two of my favorites, in a moment.

First, back to inflation: according to the New York Federal Reserve, consumers now expect prices to swell by 2.8%—the highest reading since the middle of 2015.… Read more

Not every high yield asset is in danger as rates rise. While some stocks paying 3% may feel the Fed’s pressure, there’s a higher subset paying 8% that should do just fine.

If you’re looking for dividends you can actually retire on, you should familiarize yourself with business development companies (BDCs). They tend to pay big yields because they are required by law to dish most of their profits back to their investors as dividends.

BDCs themselves are investment companies that provide funding to small- and mid-size companies (which typically have a difficult time acquiring funding from larger financiers). BDCs were brought to life in 1980 by Congress to spur U.S.… Read more

“Efficient market” proponents are wrong – you can bank returns of 10%, 12% or more from stocks regularly.

But you need to ignore common Wall Street “wisdom” and follow a simple 3-step formula that I’ll outline for you in a moment.

Most individual investors don’t make anything close to 10% per year because they practice “buy and hope” investing. They pick up shares and root for them to appreciate in price. With no specific plan outlining how they are going to profit from their stocks, they are doomed.

Even “tangible” fundamental drivers like higher sales or profits are no guarantee that you will profit.… Read more

I’m sure you’ve heard that you can’t beat the market. It’s the prevailing wisdom—and it’s why passive index funds are more popular than ever.

But by that logic, picking stocks is pointless. And actively managed funds? You’ll find no joy there, either, because most managers underperform … and charge you outrageous fees for doing so.

That pretty much leaves us with one option: stick all our cash in a low-fee passive fund like the Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI) and call it a day, right?

Wrong.

The truth is, there are literally hundreds of funds out there that have been outperforming the market for a long time. … Read more