Far too many investors ignore dividends, especially in a bull market. It’s easy to see why: with stocks racking up yearly double-digit gains, it’s tough to get worked up about a sub-2% payout (which is what most S&P 500 names pay).

But a crisis flips the script, making safe cash dividends a lot more attractive. And luckily for us, there’s one ignored corner of the market where we can grab payouts that triple what the typical stock dribbles out.

That would be in municipal bonds, or “munis,” for short. They’re a kind of debt instrument issued by local governments throughout the US.… Read more

Is the bottom in?

Or is the market merely “sniffing glue” (as one of my friendly financial advisors aptly put it to me)?

No matter where you are currently handicapping the market, we have a proven playbook for buying big payers after a crash like the one we’ve just seen. We’ll consider the winners coming out of the 2008 crash, as well as the types of stocks that have performed well in post-pandemic China. Let’s get right into it.

Post-Crash Tip #1: Think Big

I love small companies. I lasted exactly 13 months in corporate America before fleeing to the world of small business and startups.… Read more

Right now, most investors I hear from want three things in a dividend stock:

1. Low volatility.
2. A worry-free income stream to draw on during this crisis.
3. Market-beating gains in the long run.

Sounds like a pipe dream, I know. But these three things are a lot easier to get (even these days!) than most people think. The telltale sign of a stock that delivers them is something most folks overlook: the dividend.

Specifically, I’m talking about the rate of dividend growth. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that a fast-rising payout is the No. 1 driver of share prices.… Read more

When it comes to protecting—and growing—your dividends (and portfolio) in these trying times, there are two sectors you should watch like a hawk: technology and energy.

Both are standouts in this crisis, but in completely different ways. Energy, for example, is a big reason why the second-quarter earnings outlook for the S&P 500 looks so grim:

Take a look at the chart below and you’ll see that energy is by far the biggest loser. Along with a few other industries, it offsets other areas where profits are forecast, such as tech, utilities and healthcare—all three of which are also great spots to shop for big dividends now.… Read more

Bull market, bear market, it doesn’t matter: Underappreciated, under-covered companies always manage to make a splash.

That’s how my Hidden Yields service delivers portfolio doublers every five or six years. The market has clusters of dividend growth stocks that are too boring for the financial media or most analyst firms to lavish with coverage, and that don’t yield nearly enough for income hunters to take notice. Yet time and time again, these stocks turn into total-return machines that can rip off 15% in annual returns, rain or shine.

And the current bear market is providing a rare opportunity to pinpoint these payout powder kegs.… Read more

Right now, thousands of Americans are making a mistake that threatens to lock in the losses they’ve suffered in this downturn.

Worse, these folks will be stuck on the sidelines in the rebound, watching helplessly as other stocks soar and their holdings stagnate, or even drop further.

I’m talking about people who hold master limited partnerships (MLPs) and buy into the myth that these companies—owners of oil and gas pipelines and storage facilities—are simply “toll bridges,” making them a relatively safe play on energy.

Worse, many of these folks think MLPs can benefit from the huge glut of oil and gas building up around the globe.… Read more

A friend of 30+ years gave me a ring last Friday afternoon to check in on the family. Unfortunately for him, I popped back with a little more “real life” than he was ready for!

Other than catching up, he shared that his 401(k) plan was now liquid, thanks to his company being acquired. Having a cash portfolio at times like these is a fantasy that few investors actually experience.

“I’ll share what I wrote to my CIR subscribers today. For long-term positions, don’t be afraid to have up to half of your portfolio in cash right now. I think we’re going to see nice buying opportunities in the months ahead.”… Read more

I know it’s hard not to worry about your portfolio, and income stream, these days, but we will make our way through this crisis. When we do, your holdings will bounce back—and likely faster than the market if you hold strong dividend stocks.

And, when the time is right, I expect we’ll get a chance to snap up some huge dividends for dimes on the dollar. I’ll keep you posted on when we’ll move—and what to buy—in my Contrarian Income Report service.

(These are the types of dividend bargains that are only available once a decade. I’m talking about the post-crash worlds of 1987, 2002, 2009 and, coming soon, late 2020.)… Read more

Has the market bottomed, or are we headed for another leg down before we can start to even think about any upside? It’s a debate that will be with us for a while yet.

But maybe not in every corner of the market. Because there’s a funny thing happening with closed-end funds (CEFs): for some of these high-yield investments, the recovery has already come.

Let me explain.

In a selloff, a CEF can get hit in a couple ways, namely from the market and from investors. In the case of regular stocks, these are the same. But for CEFs, there’s a key difference: while CEFs trade on the open market, like stocks, they have a fixed number of shares (hence the name“closed-end funds”).… Read more

Successful dividend investing can actually be pretty simple. Don’t trade for years, perhaps for a full decade, and then buy super high-quality dividend stocks at bargain basement prices.

One set of trades every decade. Not bad.

It’s the way of the world. There’s always something brewing. From the “original crash” of modern times, 1987, to the tech bubble bursting in 2000 or the financial world nearly collapsing in 2008.

Now, it’s 2020, and the world is again ending. We’ll make it to the other side, of course, but between here and there we are going to have a fantastic opportunity to buy blue-chip dividends.… Read more