One of the biggest risks you’ll face as an investor is the temptation to listen to people at the extremes.

In income investing, these so-called “gurus” break down into two camps. The first are the indexers, who argue that all you need to do is buy a fund like the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO), which, as the name suggests, simply tracks the S&P 500. Sure, the yield is a crummy 1.5%, but you need to stick with it, work for 40 years, save as much as you can, and live off the low payout.

Unfortunately, if you follow this “advice,” you’ll have to save north of $4 million if you want a $50,000 dividend stream to live on without selling down your holdings.… Read more

An income-focused money manager friend of mine bragged to me about what he did for one of his clients.

Namely, he’s used his Contrarian Income Report subscription to smartly help her turn a modest nest egg of about $390,000 into monthly income payouts that should last…well, virtually forever.

Three years ago, he explained how he used my “retire on monthly dividends” strategy to help this nice grandmother. Here was the situation:

“She brought me $387,000 … and wants to take out $3,000 per month for 10 years.”

Well, so far, so good for Grandma.

She’s now 38 months into her $3,000-per-month dividend gravy train.… Read more

Many people are desperate for any decent yield these days, which is making oil and gas funds (with payouts that can stretch into the double digits) look attractive.

But the trouble with buying these funds now is that you’re putting yourself at risk of price drops far bigger than any yield you might collect. That’s a worst-case scenario for anyone in retirement or hoping to clock out in the next few years.

Another thing to consider is that the argument for investing in energy funds is based on the recent improvement in oil prices, which appears to be accelerating.

Recent Oil-Price Moves Mislead …

I’ve seen a few pundits point to a “boom” in oil prices, selectively choosing time periods like the one above, to argue in favor of jumping into energy stocks and funds.… Read more

Everything is expensive—except for these dividend payers.

These bargains are left on the board because they fell so far, so fast in 2020 that the market’s subsequence bounce couldn’t quite pull them out of the gutter.

So, yields of 8.9% remain, with 89% price upside attached to them to boot. This “sure bet” sector is consolidating as we speak. Make a note of it, because when this breather wraps up, these dividend stocks could really soar.

We’ll talk specifics on these out-of-favor plays in a moment. First, let’s appreciate why this “free dividend money” is sitting out there for us to scoop up.… Read more

There are dozens of huge yields out there that no one ever talks about. I’m talking about payouts 6-times (or bigger) than the pathetic 1.5% dividend the typical blue-chip stock pays.

Swapping Dividend Yield for Shareholder Yield 

These big “hidden yields” really are hiding in plain sight. The key to finding them is to set aside dividend yield for a moment and focus on shareholder yield.

Shareholder yield is a simple measure that goes beyond dividends to show you the big-picture view of what you’re pulling in from a stock—including another way companies pay us that doesn’t get nearly enough press (or at least nearly enough positive press!).… Read more

Don’t listen to the index-fund crowd: it is possible to beat the market year in and year out—and you can do it while grabbing big 7%+ dividends, too!

There are three steps to pulling off this feat:

1. Go with a high-yield closed-end fund (CEF): many of these funds return more than their benchmarks on the regular! AND because they pay 7% dividends, on average, you get a large portion of your gain in cash!
2. Look beyond stocks: Other markets, like corporate bonds and municipal bonds, are far less “democratic” than the stock market: in other words, the big players get the pick of the crop!

Dividends are back. And here are 54 secure payouts that are due for a raise between now and March.

The S&P yields a lousy 1.6% as I write. It’s sad to imagine a hefty million bucks in stocks could toss off a mere $16,000 in annual income. So, we income investors need a better play.

And that, my friend, is where these rising dividends come in. They are a “double threat” because we have two ways to win:

1. The current yield, which (in many cases) will clear the 1.6% I mentioned. Plus,
2. The price appreciation that comes along with the dividend increase.

Another year, another COVID relief package—$1.9 trillion worth this time. As the old saying goes, “A trillion here, a trillion there, and soon you’re starting to talk about real money!”

But what does this latest cash injection into the economy mean for our closed-end fund (CEF) returns in 2021? Let’s take a look, starting with the big-picture view.

The Extra Debt Is Manageable

The No.1 worry with all of this is that, with all the borrowing the government has done (a total of $6 trillion has been spent on stimulus so far), we’re going to be left with a crippling debt crisis.… Read more

The yield on the 10-year Treasury is exhausted after its epic run to nearly 1.2%. It’s due for a breather.

Anyone who buys the long bond today can still “lock in” a 1.1% yield. But remember, this bounty won’t escape the tax man. Any interest income we earn from Treasuries—no matter how sad—is subject to federal and state taxes.

So, if we’re multiplying your nest egg (let’s use $500K) by 1.1%, we must remember that the final answer is probably not $5,500 in annual income. Because if we’re raking in income from any other sources, we should lop off a chunk of this for taxes.… Read more

Long-term interest rates have awoken. The trend toward higher Treasury yields is likely just getting started, which makes 2021 an “inflection year” for us income investors.

And what better way to celebrate the paradigm shift than to buy dividend payers that are likely to double (or better!) in the months and years ahead?

Sure, some fixed-income plays are going to be punished. That’s a topic for another time. Today, we should focus on shareholder-yield darlings that see their profits increase in an outsized manner when interest rates climb.

I’m talking about stocks that will shower us with:

• Current yields today,
• Dividend raises tomorrow,
• Generous stock buybacks, and (most importantly)
• Share prices that will climb dramatically.