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There are three funds hiding in plain sight that do something everyone thinks is impossible: pay huge dividends—with yields up to 7.2%—and deliver outsized 24%+ total returns, too.

I know I don’t have to tell you what an inflation-fighting weapon a return like that would be these days.

These are no less than the world’s three best-performing closed-end funds (CEFs) over the long term, and today we’re going to rank them from third to first to see if any (or all!) of them have a place in our investment portfolios.

“World’s Best” CEF #3: 24% Annual Returns for Years and Years

The least impressive CEF on the list, the Columbia Seligman Premium Technology Growth Fund (STK), has “only” a 23.7% annualized return, based on its market price, over the last five years, with a dividend that’s held steady throughout that time (and yields 5.1% today).… Read more

Real estate investment trusts (REITs) have become quite popular with income investors in recent years. And why not? These “retirement makers” are required to give 90% of their profits to their shareholders as dividends.

So, if you’re looking to retire on dividends, REITs are a natural place to look.

Problem is, their popularity comes at a price. The Vanguard Real Estate ETF (VNQ) yields just 2.5% today—pretty lame by its standards:

The Problem with Popularity: VNQ Pays Just 2.5%

A disappearing dividend isn’t the only problem with VNQ. Like most ETFs it tends to overweight the largest REITs, which typically translates into both lower overall yields and slower dividend growth.… Read more

Rising inflation? We closed-end fund (CEF) investors aren’t panicking—we know we can flip rising prices into 7% dividends and 37%+ gains!

Our strategy is simple—pick up CEFs focused on one specific corner of the economy. In fact, if you’re holding a selection of our CEF Insider service’s picks, you’re probably doing this already!

Our Contrarian Income Play Explained

Let’s start with the latest inflation numbers. As measured by the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) index, inflation clocked in at 4.4% on a yearly basis in September, up from 4.2% in August. The story many see behind this is that supply constraints have cut the number of products on store shelves, causing prices to soar.… Read more

This time last year, my most opportunistic subscribers took advantage of a rocky September and October—and secured annualized returns up to 117% with safe dividend plays.

We have a similar setup this year, with the September swoon “refreshing” stocks-at-large and paving the way for some spectacular moves higher. Is your portfolio ready to capture these unfolding riches?

And no, I’m not talking about crypto. We don’t need to trade Bitcoin, Ether or any “coins” with a dog’s face to meet our profit targets.

We’ll get to today’s hottest “dividend trades” in a moment. First, let’s understand why this strategy worked so well last year (and is likely to work again now).… Read more

Crypto? We contrarian income investors don’t need it.

Gambling in Bitcoin, Ether or any “coins” with a dog on the front is pointless when we can dial in a safe dividend strategy for annualized returns up to 117%.

This sneaky-smart plan is secure. It’s repeatable. And oh, by the way, it is flashing a B-U-Y signal today.

When we last used this “rinse and repeat” strategy a year ago, we bagged price gains up to 38% in as little as four months, plus dividends as high as 8.3%! Thanks to our short holding period, these gains translate into 117% profits on a yearly basis.… Read more

You know we’re in a pricey market when even obscure high-yield plays like closed-end funds (CEFs) are pricey!

But we can still find deals in this space, which is hands-down my favorite field in which to hunt for big payouts. In focus today: one totally overlooked fund (from an equally overlooked management firm) throwing off a hefty 7.6% dividend.

This deal can’t last—with yields so low on everything from government bonds to large cap stocks, investors will inevitably seek out this hidden high yielder. And we’ll be in with an early position when they do. (We’ll also delve into two other funds from the same management firm that you need to avoid at all costs.)… Read more

When the taper tantrum finally hits, these five dividends—up to 12.9%—are likely to directly benefit.

Right now, their profits are being artificially suppressed by the Fed. Once this constraint is lifted, their bottom lines are going to boom.

The Fed is currently buying $80 billion in government bonds every month. Yes, Chairman Jay Powell wants to kick this addiction, but thus far he can only bring himself to “think about it.” Eventually, he will try to cut back on this bad habit. This opens the door for us laypeople to profit and bank some big payouts.

Treasury yields are based on supply and demand.… Read more

There’s no doubt inflation is eating into our wealth, but luckily we have a solution—closed-end funds (CEFs)!

These unheralded income-and-growth plays are the answer to the wave of inflation we’re all living through, with 6.9%+ payouts that outrun surging consumer prices and crush the typical stock’s paltry 1.3% yield, too.

Members of my CEF Insider service know this well: that 6.9% figure is exactly what our 17-fund portfolio yields today, with the highest payer of the bunch throwing off an outsized 8.1% payout as I write this.

And that’s before we even talk about gains! Investors who’ve been with us since launch in early 2017 have enjoyed a tidy 11.9% annualized return (with dividends reinvested), a gain that consistently leaves inflation in the dust.… Read more

I saw this headline float across my Bloomberg Terminal recently…

There Are More 401(k) and IRA Millionaires Than Ever

(Disclosure and digression: My “Terminal” is Bloomberg.com on my phone. I can thank my long wait at the DMV for my California REAL ID for this story.)

Fidelity Investments—apparently happy to share its customer’s financial info anonymously—says it has more than 750,000 seven-figure 401(k) and IRA accounts.

A chunk of money is great, especially when we can leave it untouched and let it grow. That was no doubt the “secret” of 99%+ of these retirement millionaires. They socked away money for decades and rode the market higher.… Read more

Today we’re going to discuss the secret to double-digit annual returns every year, forever, with secure real estate investment trusts (REITs).

We income-seekers love REITs for a simple reason: high dividends! The typical REIT yields twice as much as the average S&P 500 stock. That’s mainly because these trusts receive reliable recurring revenue—they simply collect the checks that roll in every month, take out enough to maintain the buildings and then send the rest to us.

And some REIT dividends are true standouts in today’s low-yield world, like the 5.5% thrown off by warehouse landlord W.P. Carey (WPC).

WPC is a two-time winner in our Contrarian Income Report service’s portfolio, having returned a tidy 28% in dividends and gains in 12 months in its first tour and a steady 16% return in 14 months (and counting) in its second.… Read more