Big brand names can’t rely on their past “glory days” forever. Today we’re going to make sure you don’t hold any “household name has beens” in your retirement portfolio.

I’m talking about washed up brands like Tupperware (TUP). The yesteryear firm’s shareholders just received yet another brutal reminder of the fickleness of brands in 2019.

Earlier this month, I pointed out the danger in blindly diving into high yields like Tupperware’s, which only hit double digits because its stock had been pelted so badly. Mere days later, shares of the ubiquitous container company sank to new all-time lows as Tupperware did the inevitable.… Read more

Where are we to put our money in this levitating market—and how do we dodge the (many) overpriced stocks (and funds) ready for a fall?

Today I’m going to answer both questions, with one group of investments that are way overvalued—even though they look like bargains. Buy these “value traps” and you’re primed for a fast double-digit plunge (or worse).

Then we’ll move on to a group of 10 closed-end funds (CEFs) that are the opposite—most folks wrongly think these conservative, steady-Eddie buys are tapped out, but they’ve still got plenty of gains (and dividends up to 10%!) ahead.

Earnings and Share Prices Part Ways

I say “levitating market” because we’re seeing stocks soar—up 24% year to date—while that gain doesn’t, at first blush, seem supported by earnings: third-quarter profits are down 2.4% year over year, and have been down for three quarters in a row.… Read more

Interest rates are the talk of the bond world right now. They are going up for once!

Does this mean we should book profits on our fixed-rate bond positions? They have benefited greatly from sliding interest rates throughout 2019 (and that’s an understatement).

Most income investors are thrilled to see 4% or 5% returns from their bond funds. What they wouldn’t give for the eight-pack of “bond moonshots” we contrarians have enjoyed for 25% average returns!

How We Made 25% in 11 Months with Safe Bonds

Yet I’m sitting here at the Inside Fixed Income conference (the bores I endure for you, dear subscriber) in San Diego, California (well… never mind) hearing about the $74 billion now held in bond ETFs.… Read more

Real estate investment trusts (REITs) have momentum now. And don’t let their terrific 2019 scare you—next year is setting up to be even better thanks to Jay Powell’s gang of doves!

I’ll reveal three strong REITs for 2020 at the end of this article. Together they give you growing dividends that double (and even triple) the market’s payout. And to be honest, one isn’t exactly a REIT—it’s a REIT-owning closed-end fund (CEF) that drops a huge 6.5% dividend into your account every month.

REITs: The Ultimate Rate-Proof Play

First, no matter what Jay Powell says, you can take this to the bank: more rate cuts are on the table as the on-again, off-again trade war lingers and the president batters the poor fellow tweet by tweet.… Read more

I’m going to show you my favorite (perfectly legal) way to pay 0% tax on your dividend income.

To show you the big savings this could mean, let’s look at two fictional investors who are nearing retirement: Jane and Janet.

We’ll assume both are single, are earning $50,000 per year and live in a state with no income taxes. Now let’s assume Janet has taken the so-called “right” path, as suggested by her financial advisor, while Jane has steered her own course. A quick look at both will show how that “right” path can create a hefty tax problem.

Let’s say Janet put a million dollars in the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) because she’s been told that a low-cost index fund is best for retirement.… Read more

Are interest rates heading to zero in the US? Or, dare I say, negative range?

I don’t think so. But if they do, real estate investment trusts (REITs) are going to absolutely skyrocket. This year-to-date has been a sneak preview. Most REITs have seen their valuations expand with the market rally, but we haven’t missed out on all of them.

In a minute, we’ll discuss a trio of dirt-cheap REITs with attractive yields between 5% and 6%. But first, let me show you just how overstretched this market has become.

First, let’s look at the “Shiller PE.” This is the “second-level” price-to-earnings ratio, created by legendary economist Robert Shiller, that factors in average inflation-adjusted earnings over the past decade.… Read more

There’s a quiet shift happening in the market—and today I’m going to show you how to tap it for further gains. (And I’ll reveal a closed-end fund paying a safe 6.9% dividend, too).

What’s more, this simple move will help insulate your nest egg from a flare-up in the trade war (still very much on the table despite chatter about a “Phase One” deal with China) and other overseas dangers that could take investors by surprise—especially those who simply buy an S&P 500 index fund and hope for gains.

It starts with a pattern that’s emerged in the latest earnings numbers.… Read more

Most stocks that pay more than 10% are, honestly, trash. Their yields usually look big because their stocks have split once or twice “the wrong way.”

Take Tupperware Brands (TUP), for example. The party ended abruptly for these shareholders. I feel bad for anyone who was mistakenly holding these shares “just for the dividend.”

The yield has skyrocketed from the 3% to 4% range into double-digits. Which would normally be pretty sweet, except the reason for the 10%+ payout is a collapse in the stock price from $72 to $9-something:

The Tupperware Party Ends in Tears

“First-level” income investors tend to turn their brains off once they have identified the yield.… Read more

Real estate investment trusts (REITs) are on fire—and we need to be very careful not to get burned.

Yellow Light on Some (but not all) REITs

Look above and you’ll see what I mean—the Vanguard Real Estate ETF (VNQ), in blue, has topped the S&P 500 on price returns alone. That’s a monster run for income investments like REITs.

More REIT Gains to Come—But Be Cautious

Here’s the twist: there’s plenty more upside ahead—and you can thank the Fed for that. Its latest rate cuts will keep powering REITs higher, for two reasons:

1. Lower rates cut REITs’ borrowing costs, and these trusts (owners of everything from senior-care centers to cell towers) need lots of borrowed cash to buy new buildings and upgrade current ones.

It’s been a terrific year for one specific group of funds—and that means, if you’re one of many people who own them, you need to be very careful.

I’m talking about senior-loan (also known as floating-rate) funds, which have made big gains in 2019. That’s lulled many folks into a false sense of security, idly thinking these steady returns will roll in for the long term.

That’s a big mistake.

To see what I mean, look at the Invesco Senior Loan ETF (BKLN), which serves as something of an index for senior loans. It yields 5.2% and is up 7.3% in 2019.… Read more