I hate to say it, but right now, thousands of investors are putting their portfolios on autopilot right when they need to take control the most.

I’m talking about the boom in “passive” investing, or bypassing stock picking and plowing your cash into low-fee exchange-traded funds (ETFs) instead.

Some income-starved investors are going further, piling into ETFs that hold stocks with either above-average yields or strong dividend growth.

A Brilliant Strategy … Until It Isn’t

In theory, it’s a smart move. After all, companies that pay—and better yet regularly hike—their dividends have a history of outperforming stocks with no payout at all.… Read more

No matter who wins the November election, infrastructure stocks should get a bounce. We’ll talk best plays in a minute – but first, let’s recap the rhetoric.

Clinton says she’ll push for a five-year $275 billion plan that, with loans and leverage, would total up to $500 billion. Trump says he’ll double that.

Of course I wouldn’t buy any stock based on a politician’s promise alone. But many industrial companies pay yields at the high end of their historical averages. Some are compelling values, especially when you consider that the global manhunt for yield has driven most payout percentages down near multi-year lows rather than highs.… Read more

A prudent investor takes advantage of market dips. He buys oversold assets when the market panics—and stays the course during recoveries.

Unfortunately, prudent investors looking to add to their portfolios now can’t capitalize on a panicking market. This year saw two great buying opportunities: first in February when the market freaked out over global economic growth, and then again in July when Britain voted to leave the European Union. The Brexit vote only delivered a 4-day window to buy at a discount, and even then the sale was paltry—from peak to trough, the S&P 500 only fell about 5.3%:

Quick Dip, Limited Buying Opportunities

To buy this market during the downturn, you would’ve needed to act fast—and at the time many hesitated to buy in because they feared Brexit was a global catastrophe.… Read more

A few months back, I advised you to stick to your guns and avoid the temptation to “sell in May and go away.”

I hope you followed that advice, because it looks like investors who were duped by this tired old slogan are going to miss out on gains. Here’s how the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) has performed since May 1:

Now the herd is wringing its hands over the presidential election, worried that the fallout from the circus-like race will trigger a lasting market downturn.

But recent history says they’re off base here, too. Because once the vote is over, markets typically gain ground in the first year of a new presidential term.… Read more

REITs have been on a wild ride in 2016. With some names up over 50% year-to-date just a few months ago, the recent correction has come as a bit of a shock. Some REITs have fallen by 10% in the past month, and more declines are feared for many names.

In this situation, investing in REITs requires care and selectivity. We can’t just buy any REIT, or the Vanguard REIT Index Fund (VNQ), because we may be buying overpriced stocks that are destined to fall further. On the other hand, we want to get into this sector now – before the global manhunt for dividends sends these prices soaring.… Read more