Worried that potential impeachment trials are going to pressure your retirement portfolio? It’s a fair concern. So, let’s talk about ways to protect our stocks and bonds from political drama.

First, let’s dispel the myth that the news drives the markets. Markets are smart, and they usually “sniff out” eventual outcomes before they become obvious to the broader public. They benefit from the wisdom of crowds, watching as individual market participants who “know something” put their money where their mouth is by buying or selling.

My favorite example is from World War II. Former hedge fund manager Barton Biggs, author of the excellent Wealth, War and Wisdom, notes how the stock market amazingly identified in real-time that the Battle of Midway was the turning point of the war for the US.… Read more

If you’re like most income investors right now, you’ve got one eye on this twitchy market—and the other on red flags like slumping manufacturing numbers, chaos in DC and even the dreaded inverted yield curve.

I’m worried, too. But our best play here is not to sit in cash. With your mattress full, you’ll be forced to stand by as inflation drains your savings.

Worse, you’re certain to miss the next rebound. Because that’s the real mistake perma-bears always make: staying out of the market too long!

That’s why the smart move here is to buy. But we’re still going to take out some portfolio “insurance” by focusing on “crash-resistant” stocks.… Read more

If you’re like many folks, you might be looking at your stock gains this year and dreading the tax bill headed your way in 2020.

That makes now a great time to consider the only (tax-) free lunch in investing: municipal bonds. I’ll name one play on these retirement-changing investments in a moment. This unusual fund yields an outsized 5.1% today and sets us up for a “steady as she goes” triple-digit gain, too.

First, let’s talk a little more about the tax side of “muni” bonds: these investments pay a 100% tax-free dividend (so their “real” yields could be much higher for you, depending on your tax bracket).… Read more

A blue-chip dividend portfolio pays about 2% today. Put a million bucks into a bucket of these stocks and you’ll bank just $20,000 in yearly dividends. That’s barely extra change–on a million invested!

There’s a better way. I prefer to focus on stocks and funds that simply aren’t as familiar as the big names to most investors. They do offer growth potential. But most importantly, they don’t sacrifice yield for perceived safety. In fact, they yield roughly 3x to 4x the blue-chip stocks, providing a lot more retirement-income cushion in years where the market stalls.

Most people love the idea of this Perfect Income Portfolio, yet millions of retirees across the country find themselves piled into the same group of overowned, overpriced blue chips because the “traditional wisdom” says that’s what retirement is supposed to look like.… Read more

Buy funds with the lowest fees and you’ll retire earlier. That’s the so-called “wisdom” in investing, right?

Too bad it’s dead wrong.

Today I’m going to show you how. I’ll also name an incredible fund that racked up a monster 338% return in the last decade, crushing its “dumb” index-fund alternative by nearly 4 to 1!

Plus, this unsung income play pays a safe—and growing—8.6% dividend (paid monthly, no less). That’s enough to hand you $3,583 every month on a $500K nest egg.

Leaving $1,000,000 on the Table

Before we get to that, let’s look at how obsessing over fees can cause you to miss out on thousands of dollars—maybe even a million!… Read more

We all love 7% yields here. But how do you feel about Sprint’s 7.88% bonds that mature in September 2023?

Well, the company might make it until then. Shares trade for pocket change at just over $6. Equity investors in Sprint (S), however, have been (wait for it) sprinting to the exits lately:

The Stock Feels the Weight of Sprint’s Debt

For a position this risky, I’d want to watch it closely. I’d also want to be able to sell it at the first sign of distress.

Unfortunately, that isn’t going to be possible. If you own the Sprint 2023’s, you’ve got company–$320 million to be specific!… Read more

Where are we to turn for high, safe dividends these days? Certainly not 10-Year Treasuries, unless you think you can scrape by on their 1.7% yields.

I’ll save you the calculation: you can’t, because that yield matches the inflation rate to the decimal point.

Your “true” income? $0.

The S&P 500 isn’t much better: for a pittance more (a 1.84% average yield), you’re exposing your nest egg to this:

When a 1.8% Dividend Costs You 20%

But don’t, because I’ve got a better way—a low-key alternative I call a “layup dividend.” If you’re a basketball fan, you know what I’m talking about: the layup is the simplest shot in the game, where you simply “lay” the ball over the rim into the net.… Read more

Today I’m going to show you a bargain-priced closed-end fund (CEF) that’s a standout now—not only because it’s a steal, but because it holds some of the best stocks on the market.

In fact, it takes its inspiration from one of the best investors of all time—Warren Buffett. And the fact that it pays a near 4% dividend yield doesn’t exactly hurt, either.

Before I reveal this fund, let me explain something.

When someone says a CEF is “cheap,” they’re usually referring to the difference between how much that fund sells for on the market (its market price) and the intrinsic value of its portfolio if it were liquidated now—known as the net asset value, or NAV.… Read more

An “early alert system” for double-digit stock growth is hiding in plain sight. And right now, it is warming up for 50 stocks we’re about to talk about. I’ll share their names and tickers in a moment.

This signal preceded 384% to 1,000%+ total returns for a pair of seemingly plain-Jane companies. Better still: It’s a signal that all of us are privy to. In fact, thousands of companies write press releases at least once a year announcing these “alerts” to the world for all to see. Whole websites are dedicated to them.

Honestly, you can’t miss ’em.

This alert system isn’t limited to naturally high-growth areas such as tech, either.… Read more

We’re going to push aside overdone recession fears today, so I can show you one fund you can buy for triple-digit upside. And this unsung dividend play spins off a big income stream, too: a 10.6% yield.

It comes from a sector few people check for high yields: energy.

But this investor “blind spot” is why this 10.6% dividend opportunity exists. Read on and I’ll show you how to time your move (if you were to buy this fund or invest in energy generally).

First off, forget the jarring headlines you’ve seen about a corporate-earnings slowdown in the US. When you dive into the sector level, you see that the outlook is rosy in plenty of places, with energy leading the way, according to the analyst crowd.… Read more