Let’s be honest: despite today’s high interest rates, it’s still an income desert out there.

The 10-year Treasury yields 3.6%. That’s all right—much better than the 1% or so it dribbled out a couple years back. But it’s still not enough to really boost our investment income.

Which is why I’m urging all investors to take a close look at closed-end funds (CEF). You might’ve heard of these income plays. The key takeaway is that they offer much bigger dividends than stocks, ETFs or Treasuries: payouts north of 8% are common with CEFs. (The three we’ll get into below pay up to 10.4%, for example.)… Read more

It doesn’t get any better than monthly dividends. Getting paid every 30 days aligns nicely with our monthly bill schedule.

Today we’ll discuss three monthly dividend stocks yielding 5.4% to 14.6% per year. Yes, that’s right, 14.6% per year!

Worth it? We’ll discuss that shortly. First, an ode to the monthly payment.

Below I’d like to invite you to choose your own retirement adventure. These are the same dividend payments except the top set is paid only quarterly.

The bottom, meanwhile, is paid monthly.

Same total payments but a much smoother retirement ride with the monthlies.

Where do we find monthly dividend payers?… Read more

On the surface, investing through an index fund sounds great. It’s simple, cheap and, as you’ve likely heard over and over, few active managers beat their benchmarks anyway.

But we closed-end fund (CEF) investors know better. Truth is, there are lots of CEFs out there that beat their benchmarks while throwing off healthy dividends north of 8%.

And when you step beyond the world of stocks, into areas like corporate bonds, REITs and municipal bonds, benchmark-beaters are the norm with CEFs. That’s because those markets, which are much smaller than the stock market, give a savvy manager lots of advantages—like a well-stacked contact book—that a “robotic” index fund just can’t match.… Read more

The Federal Reserve tightened until it broke something: the small banks. Classic Fed!

Meanwhile, here at Contrarian Outlook, we’ve been waiting patiently for a big buying opportunity. Biding our time. So… is this our moment?

Bank runs are textbook “blood in the streets” moments. There’s fear. There’s loathing. This is usually our cue to spring into action.

So, should we contrarians simply “hold our noses” and buy?

Regional bank stocks haven’t been this cheap since the summer of 2020. Sure, Silicon Valley Bank has gone to zero. But many small businesses, mine included, still prefer to bank with the folks down the street.… Read more

There’s a “delayed reaction” dividend play (for tax-free 5% yields) waiting for us in municipal bonds right now—and it’s not going to last.

I know, I know. “Munis” don’t exactly get most folks’ hearts racing. But the fact that this corner of the market tends to lag behind stocks, bonds and the rest is exactly what’s behind our opportunity here.

Plus, we get to buy cheap and get our dividends monthly when we buy our munis through a closed-end fund (CEF). That’s because most muni CEFs pay monthly—including a 5.3% payer called the Nuveen Municipal High Income Opportunity Fund (NMZ), the particulars of which we’ll delve into below.… Read more

If there’s one thing we can be thankful for when it comes to the banking crisis, it’s this: at least it means fewer headlines about Fed rate hikes!

That’s actually a good thing for us, because, as the Fed statement hinted on Wednesday, the Fed is getting set to finally pivot. It’s the moment everyone has been waiting for all along! And it feels like almost no one is paying attention.

But we contrarian dividend investors are. And there are a couple of closed-end funds (CEFs) out there that are well-positioned to profit from the Fed’s quiet shift: the Nuveen S&P 500 Dynamic Overwrite Fund (SPXX) and the Nuveen Nasdaq 100 Dynamic Overwrite Fund (QQQX), which yield 7.8% and 7.3% respectively.… Read more

Is it time for us contrarians to “buy the dip” in bank stocks?

We’re drowning in big bank-scare headlines. Silicon Valley Bank (SIVB) knuckled under in days, Signature Bank (SBNY) wasn’t too far behind, and across the pond, Credit Suisse (CS) needed a buyout bailout from rival UBS (UBS).

The next bank run, however, won’t be with the big boys. Too big to fail, baby. Here, we’ll find not only government help but also secure yields of up to 5.1%—trading at a discount, no less.

Why the big guys? Well let me show you. Last week, my software firm received this email from one of our vendors:

“Brett, Just wanted to give you our new banking details.

Once folks get a taste of closed-end funds (CEFs), they typically rave about one thing: the dividends! Yields of 7% and up are common with CEFs, and they often come your way monthly.

We also love the fact that even though CEFs are a small corner of the market (with only about 500 or so out there), we can build a diversified portfolio with them: there are CEFs that hold US and international stocks, bonds, real estate—even private equity. You name it.

This broad range gets us around a problem most income-seekers face: being forced to stake significant sums in one, or a handful of, stocks just to get big payouts.… Read more

Federal Reserve Chairman Jay Powell is scared. First, it was UK pension funds. Now, the entire banking system has liquidity issues.

Fourteen years of quantitative easing is a tough habit to break! We are one year into the Fed’s attempt to tighten monetary conditions.

Should we buy bargains? Or sell now and go shopping later?

Fellow contrarians want to know! Our Contrarian Outlook customer service line has been hot. Today, we’ll put on our short-term thinking caps and discuss your dividend trading questions.

Q: Do you see any good buys among the regional banks where the “baby got thrown out with the SVB bathwater?”… Read more

We’re going to ride this Silicon Valley Bank (SIVB) fiasco to big dividend payouts—I’m talking yields up to 12.6%!—and quick upside, too.

I’ll walk you through exactly what we’re going to do below. Then I’ll name two unloved (for now!) dividends we’ll target.

We’re Not Dropping a Quarter Into GameStop II

One thing we’re not going to do is sell anything short—even though, as Bloomberg recently told us, the “shorts” cleaned up on SVB. All in, they pocketed $2 billion as “tech bros’” fav bank froze, then crashed.

We contrarian dividend players tip our hats to these daring degenerates. They rolled the dice and things broke their way.… Read more