Despite all the doom and gloom out there, there has never been a better time to retire.

I know that sounds absurd, but it’s true, especially if you plan to retire on dividends alone. With the 2022 crash crushing stock prices—and driving up dividend yields—it’s prime time to grab some outsized payouts for cheap!

But the blue chips that everyone buys are not the answer. Because even with the selloff, the average S&P 500 stock’s yield has risen to … 1.6%.

No way that’ll cut it, and Treasuries won’t cut it, either. Buying the 10-year at the current 3.8% yield only gets you $19K a year in dividends on your $500K—poverty-level income.… Read more

Thank you, bear market. Thanks to a terrible 2022, we have four dirt-cheap dividend payers dishing up to 9%.

These are cash cows I’m talking about. Companies that gush free cash flow and shovel it back to us in the form of big yields.

Earnings are accounting numbers. Cash flow is real life.

And it’s not out of deals, either—in fact, over the past few days, I’ve kept increasingly close watch over a four-pack of cash cows with high yields of up to 9% and deliciously low prices.

But given a still-dangerous market environment, we need to focus on quality.… Read more

Income investors can, in many ways, be even harsher critics than growth investors.

That’s because while some traders can delude themselves into believing the fancy growth stories of biotech or software startups … for “risk off” investors interested in dividends, the numbers matter.

And when a company isn’t measuring up, it shows.

There’s no greater proof of that than tools company Stanley Black & Decker (SWK). The stock has stumbled dramatically over the last year as supply chain pressures brought about the pandemic were compounded by rising raw material costs.

Thanks to weak margins and flat revenue, the stock is down a gut-wrenching 56% or so year-to-date.… Read more

Savvy contrarians know that when markets crash, the most beaten-up sectors are often the ones that lead the (inevitable) surge higher.

It’s one of the most reliable trends in investing. With their valuations (and dividend yields) crushed, these stocks are tempting bait for bargain hunters who like to run against the herd.

The 2008 financial crisis is a great example. Financial stocks, which were pummeled as millions of mortgages went bust, went on to soar after the market bottomed in ’09. So did real estate investment trusts (REITs).

Which is why I’m looking to roughed-up tech stocks, and tech-focused closed-end funds (CEFs), to lead the way in 2023.… Read more

“Hey Brett. How’s the weather out there in California?”

My usual reply is “warm and sunny.” Simple. Gives the asker what they expect and keeps the pleasantries moving along.

If I was one for small talk, I would be tempted to mix in a confusing and way-too-detailed response. Like this:

“The weather? Well, Sacramento hit a low of 27 degrees in the early morning hours of February 24. And we cooked at an extreme 116 degrees on September 6. It has been quite the 12 months!”

Twelve months? Who cares about 12 months? Well, bond funds do.

Last week, we highlighted the iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT): “It (TLT) boasts a 4.1% yield and has some serious upside potential.”… Read more

Now is the best time to roll out our favorite dividend “hack.” It’s a sneaky-smart strategy that lets us “time” the market for soaring dividend payouts (and a steady drip of price gains, too).

Our plan consists of two simple steps, which we’ll look at now. Then I’ll name two stocks that are perfect for this strategy. Both look set to roll out big dividend hikes soon.

Step 1: Buy Just as a Payout Hike Is Announced

We’ll start by “timing” our buys just as dividend hikes are announced. That’s a veteran move because a company’s stock almost always rises with its payouts—a predictable pattern I call the Dividend Magnet.… Read more

Despite last week’s market pop, there are still plenty of terrific dividend buys out there. But don’t waste your time with lame payers like General Mills (GIS), with its 2.7% yield. Or the miserly 2.2% you get from a so-called “Dividend Aristocrat” like McDonald’s (MCD).

Inflation is still at 7.7%! That’s far ahead of these pathetic blue-chip yields. We just can’t afford to own low payers like these any longer.

We need much more income if we want to achieve the dream scenario: a retirement funded entirely by dividends. That’s the path we’re going down today, with three closed-end funds (CEFs) boasting an incredible average yield of 10.5%.… Read more

Real estate investment trusts (REITs) are retirement makers right now. Many are paying dividends that are three or even four times the market average.

Plus, these landlords are cheap. They are trading at multiples of cash flow that make them bargains compared with the S&P 500.

Why are these deals available? Rising rates.

In the near term, higher rates mean higher costs of capital for REITs, and more competition for income (as bond yields rise, too). That has knocked real estate stocks down—which is great news for us dividend investors, because it means they pay more.

Today, we’re going to look at a surprising three-pack of REITs that yield 3x to 4x the broader stock market and are outrunning not just the sector over the past few months, but the much better-performing S&P 500.… Read more

Every Thanksgiving, I get together with my in-laws. They’re nice enough people … but if I’m being honest, some of them aren’t particularly interesting.

Conversations are invariably limited to just two or three topics. In fact, some people just have two or three particular stories they trot out.

I just sit there and nurse my second or third glass of wine, and try to look interested.

The stock market is kind of like that in 2022. There simply aren’t a lot of things to say about the stock market – rising rates and inflation have gutted Big Tech and other growth-oriented names, while commodity stocks and defensive plays reign supreme.… Read more

Let’s use this November rally to “front-run” even bigger gains in 2023. Our target buys: closed-end funds (CEFs) throwing off high yields and trading at double-digit discounts.

We’re keen to move now because, with a 20%+ loss this year, stocks (and the CEFs that hold them) are way oversold. And with the market’s tendency to rise into year-end (the much-loved Santa Claus rally), now is a great time to buy.

One smart option here is a CEF called the General American Investors Company (GAM). GAM is one of the most reliable CEFs there is, with roots stretching back to 1927.… Read more