Remember early February’s stock-market rout?

I know. Seems like a weird question. It was just a few weeks ago, after all. But many folks seem to have forgotten how stocks fell 10% from their 2018 high in a matter of days:

Amnesia Sets In

As you can see, the benchmark SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) is already recovering, and stocks are now up 3.3% for 2018. That’s still well below the 8% climb we saw in January alone, but it’s a solid return, and it means more (formerly) skittish folks will likely trickle their cash into stocks, keeping the market buoyant.… Read more

I had to laugh when I saw this Barron’s headline last week:

“REITs Are Sending a Powerful Buy Signal”

My response? Of course they are! They have been for a while now!

If you’ve been following my articles on Contrarian Outlook, you know I’m a big fan of real estate investment trusts, with their outsized dividends (and dividend growth) and upside potential.

And now the press is finally paying attention.

It is satisfying when the pundits finally catch up to us. But the bad news is that it also means our shot at the biggest gains (and dividends) is likely on borrowed time as the headline-driven herd piles in.… Read more

Insider buying can be a useful tool in identifying stocks that may be ready to move. I typically don’t put much weight into analyst recommendations because they don’t have any skin in the game. But when CEOs and other executives – who know more about the company than you and I – put their money where their mouths are and make significant purchases, I listen.

And I’ve had my ear especially close to the ground over the past few weeks. Market chaos like what we’ve seen of late chums the water, turning insiders into frenzied buyers who think they can get a deal.… Read more

It’s all but official: the Federal Reserve will hike rates three times this year, and almost certainly four. If you want to protect your portfolio (and profit), now is the time to prepare.

I told you what’s driving this inflation surge—and how long it may last—in my article last Thursday.

Today we’re going to look at 2 high-yielding closed-end funds (with a massive 7.9% average income stream between them). But before we get to that, let’s kick in the doors on the most foolish myth in investing.

The Backward Fear That Handcuffs Investors

I’m talking about the ridiculous belief that higher interest rates are bad for stocks and corporate bonds.… Read more

Most of your friends are going to struggle to make any money in U.S. stocks for the next five to seven years. They’re battling not one, not two, but three major headwinds:

1. Low yields,
2. High valuations, and
3. Rising interest rates.

Historically, half of the stock market’s returns (or more, depending on the study you believe) have come from dividends. With the S&P 500 paying just 1.8%, the math isn’t promising.

An expensive market is also problematic because it makes rising multiples unlikely. The S&P index trades for 25-times earnings today – where can it really go from here but down?

Finally, rising interest rates are a concern for many income investors.… Read more

If you’re worried inflation will sideswipe your portfolio, well, you have good reason to be.

Because make no mistake, rising prices will be the story of 2018. And if you want to protect your portfolio, you need to act now. I’ll show you how a little further on.

First, let’s go toe to toe with the inflation boogeyman, and see what kind of punch we can expect him to pack this year.

A Growing Threat

Starting late last year, the consumer price index (CPI) jumped, and the increase is accelerating as we start 2018.

Prices Heat Up

Of course, that’s probably not news to you; it’s been covered daily in the media.… Read more

Let’s assume that higher long-term rates (3%+) are here to stay. Can REITs (real estate investment trusts) and high rates co-exist? Or must there be just one winner in this suddenly one-sided tug of war?

After all, as the 10-year Treasury’s yield has rallied, REITs have suspiciously suffered:

REITs and Rates: Oil and Water?

And the headline arguments against REITs during rising rate periods seem to make sense:

• REITs need cheap money to grow, and
• When risk-free assets pay more, income investors will buy them instead of REITs.

These knocks may apply to low-yielding shares, especially static payers, but they historically haven’t applied to firms (REIT or otherwise) that have been able to grow their payouts meaningfully as rates have risen.… Read more

If you’re like most dividend investors, you’re probably keeping a nervous eye on bond yields right now.

And, well, you should be—but only if you own low-yielding (or slow-growing) Dividend Aristocrats like, say, PepsiCo (PEP).

But if you buy (or already own) the 5 “undercover” high yielders I’ll show you at the end of this article, I have great news for you. You can ignore inflation, bond yields and the Fed and simply keep on collecting your fat dividend checks.

In fact, this overdone selloff has given us an open window to buy more!

Bond Yields: 1, PepsiCo: 0

Before we get to that, back to PepsiCo.… Read more

There’s one question I’ve been getting from a lot of folks lately. You may have wondered about it yourself.

It’s simply this: “Is the stock market even safe anymore?” Or another, less anxious, variation: “How can I bank fast returns while slashing my risk?”

I have great news. As I wrote back on February 8, this selloff was way overdone, and now is the time to be buying—not selling!

Better still, there’s a class of totally ignored funds that fits the bill, and many of them are screaming bargains now. That puts us in line for a big, quick price pop while they pay us up front with a massive income stream.… Read more

The market just dropped the big, ugly “C” word on us. “Correction,” that is. The old stalwart Dow Jones Industrial Average recently broke into correction territory, dipping just over 10% in two weeks before clawing a little bit of it back. Along the way, the VIX – you know, the “fear index” – spiked to its highest levels since the 2007-09 bear market.

But while many investors might see this sudden burst of volatility as a reason to run or duck for cover, I see it as a chance to go hunting in high-yield dividend stocks.

They call it a “correction” for a reason: It’s because something was broken, and a price decline fixes it.… Read more