Articles

Today we’re going to look at a stock you probably own now (or have in the past)—Visa (V).

Truth is, this “go-to” S&P 500 name has a BIG secret:

Its “measly” 0.68% dividend yield is nonsense. In fact, I’d go as far as to say it’s a complete misdirection. 

Buy—or worse, avoid—Visa based on that low yield and you’ll completely miss out on a terrific stock I see completely crushing the market in the years ahead.

Because here’s the real truth about “Big V”: It actually yields 5X what the free stock screeners say it does—and no one realizes it.… Read more

Business development companies (BDCs) have gained popularity in recent years, but they still don’t get as much attention as they should. Which is too bad, because they pay life-changing (no exaggeration here) dividends.

The two we’ll look at below yield more than 12.9%. In other words, drop $10,000 in and you’re getting $1,290+ back in dividends every year.

That makes BDCs useful tools for retirees. They’re also a “best friend” to what I’ll call “middle market” companies—those that are too big to borrow from a local bank but too small to interest big, institutional players like, say, a Goldman Sachs (GS).… Read more

Generally speaking, we like monthly dividends better than quarterly payouts. I mean, why wait 90 days to get paid when “every 30” is possible?

Here’s another great thing about monthly divvies—they often have big fat annual yields attached to them.

For example, today we are going to discuss a batch yielding between 8% and 19.8%. On a modest $500,000 in savings, these monthly machines will dish between $40,000 and $99,000 per year!

If we randomly select a few monthly dividend payers, chances are we’ll earn (way!) more. Here’s the difference between the stock market’s monthly dividend stocks and the major indices:

Dividend heroes or yield traps?… Read more

I’m regularly struck by something American investors always seem to take for granted: The many choices we have available to gain financial independence.

And investors in closed-end funds (CEFs) make the most of these choices. These high-yielding funds kick out 8%+ dividends on average, and the portfolio of my CEF Insider service, which helps investors make the most of CEFs, pays even more, with its 18 holdings paying a rich average yield of 9.4%.

Plus, these funds offer stock-like upside, which makes them pretty much tailor-made for delivering financial freedom.

We’ll sketch out how two specific CEFs can help you find your way to an earlier, richer retirement in a bit.… Read more

In this uncertain geopolitical environment, give me the sure dividend bet—like Texas running out of juice.

The state’s grid operator, ERCOT, has dished a record number of “conservation alerts” this year. Texans crank their air conditioners while new neighboring data centers guzzle electricity around the clock.

The grid is strained. The population is popping. New residents, factories and AI campuses are all plugging into the state’s aging grid at once. The math is no longer “mathing” and it’s about to get worse. ERCOT projects power demand will jump 62% by 2030—yikes!

And Oncor, the state’s largest utility, believes that is way too conservative.… Read more

Own a portfolio stocked with S&P 500 stocks? Or maybe an S&P 500 index fund?

It’s okay if you do. We won’t judge (well, maybe a little bit!). But answer me one question (without checking your brokerage account).

How much in dividends will you collect in November?

If you’re like most people, you don’t know. And if you do, you have a much better handle on your quarterly paying holdings than most (or maybe you’re using our AI-powered dividend tracker, Income Calendar!).

It’s understandable if you can’t come up with this number off the top of your head. Let’s drop a fictional $100K into five major Dow Jones Industrial Average stocks—Coca-Cola (KO), Procter & Gamble (PG), UnitedHealth (UNH), International Business Machines (IBM) and Boeing (BA)—and see what Income Calendar comes back with.… Read more

I know, I know. This levitating stock market feels like a bubble that will burst any day.

So I get it if you’re nervous. And that’s actually a good thing. It pays to be wary when everyone else is throwing money at any asset—stocks included.

My take? Well, it might surprise you, but it’s this: We’re not in a bubble—AI-driven or otherwise.

But I get the fear—which is why we’re going to look at a two-step move that addresses it. This “best of both worlds” play gives us yields up to 8.2% and a hedge if, say, bullish analysts (like me!)… Read more

Closed-end funds (CEFs) are the last bargains left on the board. CEFs are often confused with mutual funds and ETFs, but they are different because they often trade at discounts to their net asset values (NAVs).

For contrarians like us looking for deals, this is key.

CEF trading is relatively thin. This created inefficiencies, such as select CEFs trading for as cheap as 95 or even 90 cents on the dollar.

Plus, some of them dish big dividends—like these five.

Eaton Vance Tax-Advantaged Dividend Income Fund (EVT)
Distribution Rate: 8.1%

Let’s start with the Eaton Vance Tax-Advantaged Dividend Income Fund (EVT)—a CEF that buys not just common stocks, but also preferred stocks, that distribute qualified dividends.… Read more

The AI data-center buildout is all over the news, and for good reason: It’s quite literally upending the economy.

That’s set up plenty of opportunities for us income investors to cash in. But in a moment, we’re going to talk about one specific fund we need to sell yesterday. It yields a sharp 9.9% now. The problem? It’s nearly 2X overvalued!

It’s easy to see what’s catching investors’ attention on the data center front: Investment in AI’s computing backbone is on track to contribute more to US economic growth than the American consumer.

To say that this is incredible is an understatement.… Read more

The manic market just dumped business development companies (BDCs), again. These three dividend stocks paying up to 11.7% are poised to bounce back when sanity returns.

BDCs, which lend money to small businesses, are on the “outs” with the Wall Street suits after multiple soft jobs reports. The spreadsheet jockeys fret about an unemployment-induced economic slowdown and miss the real story: small businesses are making more money than ever thanks to AI.

Here is what’s actually happening in the Main Street economy:

• Employers—especially nimble small business owners—are implementing AI to streamline and even run their operations.
• With AI tools, fewer humans are needed.