Is it time to tariff-proof our dividends (again)?

A couple months into the U.S.-China trade tensions, I said the key was to buy dividend-growth stocks: “Payout growth like that is proven to throw an updraft under share prices when the markets get skittish due to any kind of worry: trade spats, terrorist attacks, wars—you name it.”

Then I highlighted a trio of dividend growers–Life Storage (LSI), Ecolab (ECL) and Carnival Corp. (CCL)–that looked primed to swim upstream. Unpredictable fuel costs helped weigh on our Carnival pick, but even then, the combined total return of all three selections nearly doubled the S&P 500’s return.… Read more

If you’re like, well, everybody, you’ve been mulling these three questions lately:

Is this “tariff tantrum” the end of the bull market? Is it time to sell? Or buy more?

I’ll deal with the first question in a second. Meantime, let’s start with the second one: no, it is not time to sell. Because after all, we need to stay invested to keep our dividend checks rolling in.

What about buying?

Yes, it’s still a great time to buy—especially in one corner of the market where 6%+ dividends are everywhere: closed-end funds (CEFs).

In a moment, I’ll reveal a CEF whose yield recently soared to nearly 7%!… Read more

Is it time to tariff-proof our dividends (again)?

Let’s look at our favorite payers with respect to a potential trade war. Could tariffs derail the 7.2% gravy train I’ve put together for you? Let’s rewind to the last time protectionism flared in America, 17 years ago, to see how some of our stocks and funds performed during the last trade tiff.

On March 20, 2002, President George W. Bush whacked steel imports with tariffs ranging from 8% to 20%. The duties stayed in effect until December 4, 2003. The European Union was unamused and hit back with tariffs of its own.… Read more

Is your nest egg way smaller than a million bucks? Do you worry you’ll never be able to retire?

I know: who doesn’t have this fear, right? Especially in today’s twitchy market.

Good news: you absolutely can leave the grind behind. And probably sooner than you think.

You can do it on far less than a million, too—just $490K (and maybe less than that, depending on your circumstances). The best part: you won’t have to sell a single stock in retirement.

Choose Your Own (Retirement) Adventure

Today I’m going to show you two routes to our $490K retirement: if you’re near (or already in) your golden years, you’ll want option 1: a collection of steady dividend payers yielding 7% and up.… Read more

If this wobbly market has you parked on the sidelines, worrying the big 2019 rally might evaporate at any second, I have good news: this is still a great time to buy.

But you need to buy carefully if we want to maximize our upside (and protect ourselves from a 2008-style meltdown).

The solution?

Top-quality closed-end funds (CEFs) handing you dividend cash that more than doubles (and in many cases more than triples) what your typical S&P 500 stock pays. I’ll give you three solid CEF picks (selling at fire-sale prices up to 23% off) at the end of this article.… Read more

Needless to say, this week got off to a bad start for Bulls, before Monday morning even rolled around.

Selling pressure started over the weekend, when most investors probably weren’t even thinking about stocks. President Trump fired off a tweet on Sunday, suggesting the U.S. would raise tariffs on $200 billion Chinese goods from 10% to 25% on Friday and consider taxing another $325 billion of items.

A war of words ensued on both sides and the news kicked off a roller coaster ride in the global markets. The U.S. followed through with its threats on Friday and the Chinese have promised retaliatory trade actions.… Read more

As investors near retirement, they tend to favor bonds, which provide income and less drama than stocks. However, less drama means less potential upside. With retirees living longer than ever before—which means much more time for inflation to eat away at your nest egg’s purchasing power—it’s important to not go too conservative too early in life. And fortunately, today even 65 or 70 may be too early!

One suggested solution for our long life expectancy “problem” is to stay with stocks longer. But stocks can go down as well as up, and a big pullback can inflict permanent damage on a portfolio.… Read more

You’ve no doubt heard the “wisdom” that you’ll need a million bucks to have any hope of retiring.

If you’re like most folks, you’ve probably wondered how you’ll manage to save such a huge stash. Maybe you’ve given up and resigned yourself to working till you’re 100.

I can’t blame you. Because with the rising cost of everything these days, finding an extra seven figures during your working life seems like a massive mountain to climb.

This is why I’m writing you today. I’m going to show you two things:

1. A plan for saving a million bucks, if you want to, and …
2. Why you don’t need anywhere near a million dollars in the first place (thanks to three 6.8%-yielding funds that let you clock out on hundreds of thousands of dollars less, without selling a single stock in retirement, to boot!)

Did the latest tariff tiff set the stage for the next pullback in stocks? Will this bull market actually die of old age?

The macro picture is dicey and stock valuations are pricey, but we must stay invested. The stock market goes up about two-thirds of the time. Permabears miss out on compounding and it’s not as easy to be a part-time bear as it sounds.

To illustrate this let’s consider a study by Hulbert Financial. The firm looked at the best “peak market timers”–the gurus who correctly forecasted the bursting of the Internet bubble in March 2000 and the Great Recession in October 2007.… Read more

“Brett, where the heck do I find cheap dividends in this market?”

A desperate reader asks this question almost daily.

I’ll be honest: with the market up double digits this year, it’s been tough for me to sift out cheap “pullback-proof” 7%+ payers to recommend. (But not impossible: I’ve turned up two absurdly cheap funds yielding up to 10%; see below.)

“Pullback-Proof” Dividends Are Endangered—But Not Extinct

You probably noticed I said “pullback-proof” a second ago. By that I mean stocks with the secret ingredient everyone craves: high dividends you can pocket without the underlying stock melting away in a meltdown.… Read more