These 11.1%-Yielding CEFs Could Bankroll Your Retirement

Michael Foster, Investment Strategist
Updated: June 27, 2022

Thanks to the selloff, it’s possible to buy closed-end funds (CEFs) at such high yields that we can do what seemed unthinkable just a few months ago: build a CEF portfolio that will pay $5,000 a month in dividends on about $540k invested.

That’s an 11.1% average yield!

This, of course, is because many CEFs have been caught up in the selloff, and yields move inversely to prices. So a fund that may have yielded, say, 7% six months ago (which is about the long-term CEF average) is suddenly yielding a lot more now.

In addition, it’s possible to build an income stream this big with just three CEFs.Read more

A Nearly 13% Portfolio Yield, Paid Monthly? Come On.

Brett Owens, Chief Investment Strategist
Updated: June 24, 2022

Patience is the key to being a successful contrarian investor.

We buy when fear is widespread. Bear markets are our friends. Let’s sit back and let the market’s valuations come down to us.

I wrote very recently that the market is this close to sending out a market-wide buy signal. Let’s get ready to back up the truck.

Today, we’ll discuss targets for retirement income yielding a ludicrous 12.9%—after all, a self-sustaining portfolio that allows you to live off dividends alone can give you enormous peace of mind once you’re past your working years.

And if those dividends land in your mailbox or account every 30 days or so, matching your monthly bills…well, that’s even better.… Read more

This 7.9% Yielder Is Built to Thrive (Whether the Selloff Is Over or Not)

Michael Foster, Investment Strategist
Updated: June 23, 2022

While the pundits continue to (unsuccessfully) try to call the bottom of this Fed-spooked market, we CEF investors are doing what we always do: collecting our 7%+ dividends as we patiently move through to brighter days.

In fact, we’re doing more than that: we’re making some careful long-term buys as our fellow CEF investors—a conservative lot if there ever was one—toss out funds that are actually well suited to the higher-rate world we’re moving into.

I want to talk about one such fund today: it does something that has a lot of appeal in a market like this—it keeps you invested in the S&P 500, but with a twist: it hands you an outsized income stream that actually grows more stable as volatility picks up.… Read more

Did the Stock Market Bottom Last Week?

Brett Owens, Chief Investment Strategist
Updated: June 22, 2022

Have we seen the lows yet?

Well, we’re oversold and due for a rally. Overdue, really. (Stop me if you’ve heard this before…)

Assuming we get a bounce, I’m still inclined to sell any rips higher that we see.

Someday we’ll buy this dip. Heck, we’ll back up our dividend truck. I just don’t think it’s time yet.

First, I’d like to see market breadth begin to improve under the surface. This is often what typically happens before markets bottom. We see individual stocks begin to “act better” than the Dow or S&P. These leaders quietly establish their lows and begin to rally.… Read more

Here’s Our Trading Plan to Survive the Storm, Grab 7%+ Dividends

Brett Owens, Chief Investment Strategist
Updated: June 21, 2022

Look, I’m as ready for this selloff to end as you are. And when stocks drop—sending dividend yields skyward—I so badly want to back up the truck.

As value-focused dividend investors, buying dips is what we live to do. Sitting in cash is agonizing to me, as I’m sure it is to you, too.

But it just isn’t time yet. Which is why I’ve recommended just one stock this year in my Contrarian Income Report service, while urging my readers to stockpile cash. And after last Thursday’s dumpster fire, we’re sure glad we did!

We’ve also lightened up our portfolio over these last few months, including taking some nice profits on three bank stocks we sold in May:

There was nothing wrong with these three: they were just benefiting from the Fed’s injection of cash into the markets, and the gap between the 10-year Treasury (at which they lend to clients) and the Fed’s policy rate (at which they lend to each other).… Read more

This “Low-Drama” Portfolio Is Built for This Crash (and Yields 11.8%)

Michael Foster, Investment Strategist
Updated: June 20, 2022

Look, I know this inflation-panicked market is frustrating. But despite the endless doomsaying from the pundits, there is good news: if you’re investing for income and have a long time horizon, there are some big dividends (I’m talking 10%+ yields) waiting for us in closed-end funds (CEFs).

In a second, we’re going to dive into three such funds I’ve assembled into a low-drama “mini-portfolio” yielding north of 10%.

We can thank the selloff for this opportunity: when stock (and CEF) prices go down, yields go up. And our CEFs discounts to net asset value (NAV, or the per-share value of a CEF’s portfolio) fall to bargain levels.… Read more

Where to Find 10% Yields at 20%-30% Discounts

Brett Owens, Chief Investment Strategist
Updated: June 17, 2022

Get your dip-buying lists ready, because it’s almost time to pounce.

Just recently, I explained to investors that, as a contrarian, we only want to fully dive into the market when we have a clear edge—the kind of edge you get when Wall Street has fully capitulated:

“We only want to fully invest when the regular investor has thrown in the towel. And there are plenty of indicators that can tell us exactly when our time has come. Consider, for example, the closely watched CNN Fear/Greed Index, which sits at 26 as I write.”

That was just a week ago.… Read more

This 7.4%-Yielding Fund Profits as Rates Rise (and Pays Dividends Monthly)

Michael Foster, Investment Strategist
Updated: June 16, 2022

As difficult as this selloff has been for all of us, it has left some attractive (and discounted) dividends on the board, especially in high-yield closed-end funds (CEFs).

I know it’s tough to buy in a market like this, but the dividends we’re going to talk about today actually benefit from rising inflation, posting higher and higher cash flows as the CPI shoots higher and higher, too.

These are the companies we want to be in now, both to collect their high dividends through today’s tire fire and to profit when the market waters (inevitably) calm and investors finally take notice of these stocks’ sturdy cash flows.… Read more

Is This the Dividend Trade of the Decade?

Brett Owens, Chief Investment Strategist
Updated: June 15, 2022

Attention, growth investors! A quick stock market question for you.

(Dividend people, you are welcome to play, too.)

Take a quick peek at the chart below. The lines are revenue gains over the past twelve months for four stocks.

Three of them are top holdings in ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK). The fourth, well, is a contrarian special that careful readers already know. (Hint, hint.)

Which sales curve would you want to own?

Pick Your Growth Stock

Did you peek at the key? Of course you did. Well, were you surprised that Exxon Mobil (XOM) was running laps around these three laggards?… Read more

How My “Dividend Magnet” Strategy Delivered 148% Returns

Brett Owens, Chief Investment Strategist
Updated: June 14, 2022

Look, I know it’s heartbreaking to invest in this dumpster-fire market. Heck, even if you do everything right and only buy top-quality dividend stocks, they still seem to plunge a day (or two at most!) later.

This is why, in last Tuesday’s article (the first in a series on how my proven “Dividend Magnet” plan can boost your returns), I urged folks to keep a healthy cash pile to invest on the other side of this crash—and that time will come! I’ll tell you when we’ll fully deploy our hoard in my Hidden Yields dividend-growth service.

Meantime, we’ll continue to trade lightly—buying only in small lots and only for the long haul.… Read more