Certain closed-end fund (CEF) investors are getting a little desperate for dividends. It’s tough to blame them for reaching for 5%, 6% and even 7%+ yields in a 2% to 3% world.

But by grossly overpaying for funds, they are risking too much capital to bank these payouts. If you own any of the five popular funds I’m about to call out, you should consider selling them immediately.

(There are bargain replacements, after all. I’m talking about funds trading as cheap as $0.88 on the dollar and yielding 7.2%. We’ll discuss specifics in a moment.)

“First-level” income seekers can be greedy one minute and fearful the next.… Read more

If you want to double—or even triple—your dividend income overnight, there’s an easy way to do it: buy stocks that pay special dividends.

And today I’ve got 3 totally ignored special-dividend payers for you. Each of these top-notch income plays throws off “hidden” payouts yielding up to 9.7%!

We’ll unmask all 3 as we roll through this article. We’ll also look at the almost comical reason why stocks like these get completely overlooked, and I’ll give you everything you need to get in on the next big special payout before it drops.

A $2-Trillion Cash Stash Looking for a Home

It happens like clockwork: a company announces a blowout quarter or a hike in its regular payout … and rolls out a big special dividend either days before or just after.… Read more

You may be surprised to hear that big hedge-fund honchos are struggling with the exact same question you probably are when it comes to tech stocks: are they pricey or cheap?

The good news? I have the answer for you—and a little further on, I’m going to name one fund that taps straight into that answer to hand you rich 5% dividends, plus the massive upside tech is renowned for.

But before we get to that, let’s look at why the biggest names on Wall Street disagree on this question, and the one dead-obvious indicator that many of them have walked right by.… Read more

Smart income investors know that the best REITs (real estate investment trusts) do just fine as rates rise. That’s been the case historically, and they’re rally again during this rate hike cycle too.

Why? Because elite landlords simply keep raising their rents.  These higher cash flows translate to higher dividends, and higher stock prices, regardless of what the Fed is up to.

For example, almost three years ago I recommended Medical Properties Trust (MPW) to my Contrarian Income Report subscribers. It was paying nearly 8% at the time – discarded to the bargain bin because the first-level types fretted that higher rates would harm its ability to collect rent checks from its hospital operators.… Read more

By most measures, 2018 has been a solid year for U.S. investors. Including dividends, the S&P 500 has generated a 10% total return in the first three quarters of the year.

However, trading volatility has steadily increased throughout 2018 and the Fed just enacted its third of an expected four interest rate increases this year. Sprinkle in some cautionary economic headlines coming out of Europe and the chances are increasing that stocks could experience a pullback between now and the end of the year.

Rather than worry or panic about any selling that could materialize in the near term, I’ve created a list of low-dollar stocks with secure dividends that could weather any potential storm.… Read more

Members of my CEF Insider service often tell me they’d love to know a lot more about the people at the helm of closed-end funds—the good, the bad and the ugly.

It makes sense: after all, when you buy a CEF, these folks play a huge role in whether you notch a big gain (and income stream) or, well, not so much.

An Insider’s View

As one of the few analysts who focuses solely on CEFs—especially smaller CEFs—I’ve had several conversations with managers at CEF companies from across the market.

A common theme? They’re all frustrated that the average investor doesn’t know the many benefits CEFs deliver.… Read more

Money-losing firm India Globalization Capital (IGC) found the magic formula. They put the 2018 and 2017 investing buzzwords side-by-side:

1. Cannabis, and
2. Blockchain.

The savvy marketers at IGC then introduced an energy drink infused with hemp, and wow, what a rush!

IGC Rises 10-Fold on Buzzwords

We level-headed contrarians should stay away from this circus. In fact, you need to be honest with yourself about the latest weed craze. If you’re tempted at all to buy this junk, it’s better if you change the channel.

Many marketers know that you and your peers are fixating on these parabolic charts. It’s going to end in tears, but they don’t care.… Read more

It’s the No. 1 fear that keeps retirees (and near-retirees) pacing the halls at night: that their nest egg will expire before they will!

It’s easy to see why.

After all, many of these folks will need to fund a retirement that’s much longer than their parents’ was: according to the Brookings Institution, nearly one in four men who were 65 in 2015 will live to 90. Women have better odds: over one in three.

That adds up to 25 years (or more!) out of the workforce.

And today’s retirees are clocking out as old retirement-income “go-tos” scrape bottom: the average S&P 500 stock pays out just 1.7% today, near 7-year lows.… Read more

A lot more investors have been emailing me lately, fearful of a market downturn. This tells me one thing: today’s market is a scared market.

But you don’t need to be scared. In fact, thanks to overhyped investor fears, you can easily lock in 7% dividends and prepare yourself for a downturn with less risk than you’d get buying stocks directly.

The key? The 5 unloved (for now) funds I’ll show you in a moment. First, though, you might be wondering why I say these funds are less risky than individual stocks.

For one, each of these 5 hold hundreds of assets, spreading your cash out in a way that a basket of a few stocks can’t.… Read more

If pricey stocks and low dividend yields have you frustrated, it’s time to consider publicly traded (and perfectly legal) “tax loopholes” that yield up to 9.8%. They’re as easy to buy as any stock or fund – in fact, they are stocks. They just happen to pay more.

Private equity investing is a proven way to print money. Problem is, it’s typically expensive for individual investors like you and me to get involved. Private equity minimums range anywhere from $10 million at the high end to “just” $250,000 depending on the fund. Frankly, that’s more than most normal retirement investors can or even should put in any one investment.… Read more