Let’s say you’re looking to retire and want to bring in the average American salary in your golden years.

It’s a good goal—and more than enough cash for many retirees, especially if you live outside places like, say, San Francisco, where the average one-bedroom apartment rents for $3,300 a month (!)

So how much are we talking about here?

As of March 2017, the average US worker took home $896.60, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Assuming 50 working weeks a year, that’s $44,830.

Okay, so we need to get $44,830 in pre-tax passive income. Where are we going to get it?… Read more

The hotel industry is one of the more underappreciated income segments of the market thanks to low-yield big names like Hilton (HLT) and Choice Hotels (CHH) that operate and franchise hotels. Today, we’ll explore the dividend-rich side of hospitality via a trio of hotel REITs (real estate investment trusts) yielding up to 7% that invest in upper-echelon hotel and resort real estate.

The hotel industry is booming as America’s economic recovery continues. In 2016, hotel revenues across the board climbed more than 4% to hit nearly $200 billion – a record high. Meanwhile, STR and Tourism Economics forecast that U.S. hotels will continue chugging up the mountain over the next few years.… Read more

Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) can be an easy “one-click way” to diversify your dividends. Instead of grinding on the viability of any single payout stream, why not build a basket of them?

But be careful – some pooled payouts are all bad and don’t even keep up with the broader market. In a minute, we’ll review ten dividend dogs masquerading around under the perceived “diversification safety” that ETFs provide.

Make no mistake, there’s a recent rush to ETFs. The 2016 U.S. Exchange Traded Funds Study by Greenwich Associates shows that institutional investors, including pension funds, are increasingly pouring their money into ETFs, from 18.9% of all ETF assets in 2015 to 21.2% last year.… Read more

Today I’m going to show you why the pundits have this market rally all wrong—and how a group of little-known investments called closed-end funds (CEFs) are the best way to cash in as stocks head higher from here.

Why do I say higher?

Because as I wrote back on March 30, this market is rising for the right reason: soaring earnings.

According to FactSet, first-quarter earnings are up 12.5% for S&P 500 companies that have announced so far, and earnings per share revisions are far more likely to skew upward than downward.

Simply put, American companies are making cash hand over fist.… Read more

The ideal “no withdrawal” retirement portfolio is a diversified one. Since you’re reading this, I know you know stocks. But how comfortable are you buying bonds – especially the more obscure issues (which provide the best yields and value?)

Probably not as comfortable as you are with good ol’ dividend paying stocks. But here’s the good news – it doesn’t matter.

You can diversify your portfolio, bank safe 9% yields and hire one of the best bond managers on the planet. For free, to boot! It just requires a bit of contrarian thinking – and knowing which publicly traded funds these guys are managing behind the scenes.… Read more

Today, I’m going to show you some of my favorite REITs—and a novel way of buying them that lets you do so for 18% off!

But first, there’s one sector you need to avoid: financials.

In fact, you needed to avoid it two months ago, as I warned back on February 28.

What’s happened since then? Nothing good.

Financials Come Up Short

This underperformance you see in the above chart isn’t surprising, considering financials were up over 30% by the end of February—and you can see from this chart that they reached their top just when I called it:

Snapshot of a Correction

What’s going on here?… Read more

The annual “sell in May and go away” period for stocks is nearly upon us, and many investors are worried about Wall Street starting to take profits from the market’s go-go run since November. Me? I’m looking for high-quality, high-yield dividend plays that you can buy in May – or June, or July, or whenever – and never sell.

Today, we’re going to discuss two 7%-plus yielders that fit any “no withdrawal” portfolio perfectly.

They are preferred stocks – wonderful “hybrids” that offer aspects of both stocks and bonds. Preferred stocks can trade on an exchange just like any common stock, but they trade around a par value and dole out a fixed regular payment just like a bond.… Read more

If you’re interested in getting into the S&P 500, it seems like a good time to do so. Earnings are rising, GDP growth is strong, the unemployment rate is falling, and wages are heading upward.

There’s just one problem: as I wrote a few months ago, the S&P 500 is a lousy bet.

There are a couple reasons why, the biggest being the income problem. If you buy into the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) or the Vanguard 500 Index Fund (VOO), you’re going to get a dividend yield of less than 2%. So buy $500,000 worth of those funds and get a whopping $791 monthly in cash dividends.… Read more

Amazon.com (AMZN) is eating everything retail alive – including most retail REITs. As a result, the entire sector is selling at fire prices – leaving us with a select handful of underappreciated bargains.

Why the panic? Amazon has completely transformed retail over the past decade or so, starting with books, but expanding into just about every corner of the traditional retail market – clothes, electronics, home goods and even staples like toilet paper and laundry detergent. The company gobbled up $98 billion in “electronics and other general merchandise” sales across all of 2016 – an expansion of nearly 30% that shows Amazon’s growth in e-tailing is still rampant.… Read more