The 10-year’s yield up to 2.6%? Big deal – you and I still aren’t retiring off it!

Hence the appeal of closed-end funds (CEFs), which often pay 8% or better. That’s the difference between a paltry minimum-wage income of $26,000 on a million bucks in capital, or a respectable $80,000 annually.

And if you’re smart about your CEF purchases, you can even buy them at discounts and snare some price upside to boot!

Unfortunately this rising rate environment has income seekers scared of CEFs. Many of our Contrarian Income Report subscribers are writing in to ask if they should bail on our high paying vehicles.… Read more

Warren Buffett’s done it again.

Don’t look now, but year-to-date, Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A, BRK.B) stock is up 25% and is actually outperforming the incredible 20% a year, on average, it’s returned since 1964.

A Chart Any Investor Would Love

In a moment, I’ll show you an overlooked investment that lets you duplicate the moves of the world’s smartest investor—and you won’t have to buy a single share of Berkshire Hathaway to do it.

In fact, you’ll be able to pick up Berkshire and the companies it invests in for 19% less than you’d pay on the open market!

A Banking Boost

Berkshire’s year-to-date gain has come, in part, thanks to the financial industry’s recovery post-election.… Read more

If you’re cutting back on stocks because interest rates are rising, you’re making a mistake.

But don’t just take my word for it (after all, I am a dyed-in-the-wool dividend-stock fan). Ask Ned Davis Research, which released its latest research on the relationship between stocks and rates about a year ago.

The finding? When the Fed moved slowly on rate hikes, stocks dropped immediately after each announcement … but went on to gain 10.8%, on average, in the next 12 months.

And as I’ve mentioned before, when Ned Davis’s researchers took a longer view—from January 1972 through December 2014, a period that saw far faster rate hikes than we’ll likely see this time around—they found that dividend growers outshine any other kind of stock, and not by a little.… Read more

Few people know it, but you don’t have to buy a stock for the price you see on Yahoo Finance.

The truth is, you can buy some of the best large cap dividend payers for cheaper: and I don’t mean a little cheaper. I’m talking a 16% discount.

How?

Through a closed-end fund (CEF) that’s trading at a ridiculously high discount to its net asset value (NAV). That’s despite a strong track record, low expenses and an attractive 4.4% dividend yield.

Let’s break each of those things down one at a time, starting with the name of this unheralded investment.

It’s called Tri-Continental Corporation (TY), and it holds some of America’s safest and highest-quality stocks.… Read more

The investment mantra “Don’t fight the Fed” may soon be replaced by a timelier one.

Don’t fight Trump Tower!

The S&P 500 has returned 4.3% in the month since the election. But certain sectors (such as banks and energy) have climbed even higher, faster. While others (such as REITs) initially languished.

Some of these moves are due to correct. But we also have a set of spectacular dividend growers selling for their cheapest prices this decade. Let’s sort through these Trump trades to find the remaining pockets of value for yield and price upside.

Banks: Below Book No Longer

As recently as spring, some of the best banks on the planet were selling for less than their book value.… Read more

It’s as close to a sure thing as you can get: interest rates are headed higher.

The futures market tells the tale. Right now, it pegs the odds of a hike at the Federal Reserve’s December 14 meeting at near 100%:

Everyone Agrees: Rates to Rise

What’s more, futures markets expect interest rates to go up again in 2017. So if you invest in bonds in a market like this, you need to consider how you can protect yourself from higher rates.

I’ll show you a one-buy option that will do just that—and hand you a nice 6.9% yield in the process—in just a moment.… Read more

With the election in the rear-view—and Inauguration Day just a few weeks off—plenty of investors have asked me what they should do with their portfolios now.

I’ll name five bargain dividend growers that should be on your buy list in a moment. But first, here are 2 sectors—and 9 stocks—you need to handle with care.

Let These 4 Growth Rockets Cool Down

On October 3, I pounded the table on defense stocks, namely Raytheon (RTN) and Northrop Grumman (NOC), and infrastructure plays Cummins (CMI) and Parker Hannifin (PH).

I hope you followed that advice, because all four have beaten the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) since then.… Read more

You can take it to the bank: interest rates are going up.

Everyone from Janet Yellen to Donald Trump says it needs to happen. Traders betting through the Fed futures markets agree, pegging the odds of a quarter-point rate hike at the Fed’s December 14 meeting at 94.9%:

More hikes seem likely next year, if oil prices keep rising, taking inflation along with them.

Since higher rates are bad for high-yield assets, does this mean it’s time to give up and accept that 2% dividends are the only income you can expect in this market?

No way.

Because there’s an easy way we can protect ourselves from higher rates and still collect a nice 6.8% dividend yield.… Read more