Members of my CEF Insider service and I always look for big dividends we can collect for the long haul. I’m talking 8%+ payouts here, many of which come our way monthly. (This is possible with CEFs, and these funds’ discounts to net asset value, or NAV, give us some nice upside to go along with those payouts).

By thinking long term, we give our CEFs’ discounts the time they need to close, propelling their share prices higher. (There are exceptions to this, however, such as with covered-call CEFs, which do better when markets are volatile—we tend to swing in and out of these as volatility ebbs and flows.)… Read more

While vanilla investors worry along with the herd, we contrarians are buying. And oh, the yields we have available!

As I write to you today, I’m staring at no less than 29 income funds that yield more than 8%. Twenty-nine paying more than eight!

For retirees with a million-dollar portfolio, this is $80,000 per year in dividend income. Actually, more, because some of these funds pay up to 13%.

Why would we sell when this is the best time to buy in years? I explained this while yapping with Moe Ansari on his Market Wrap program. Moe asked me: “We hear all the ‘Doom and Gloomers’ out there.… Read more

In September, the S&P 500 logged its worst performance since 2002. And after further pain to start October, stocks touched on a two-year low.

Many investors are convinced that the worst will be over soon, and then they can get right back to the business of reaping 25% to 50% a year in Big Tech stocks the way they used to in the good ol’ days.

Fat chance.

The sheer volume of naïve investors out there, full of excuses and wide-eyed optimism about the market, is staggering.

They say the war in Ukraine that began last winter was a once-in-generation conflict, and it’s only a matter of time before Big Tech comes roaring back…

They shrug at 500-point declines in the Dow, pointing out that at least things aren’t as grim as they were during the financial crisis or the dot-com crash…

And when all else fails, they point out that, hey, at least we aren’t living through another Great Depression.… Read more

At CEF Insider, we focus on digging up strong 8%+ yielding closed-end funds that are based here in the US. Even our international picks have a solid base in America!

The 2022 mess has vindicated this strategy and helped protect our dividends from the many messes beyond America’s borders, like the collapsing UK economy, continued COVID-19 shutdowns in China and, of course, Russia continuing to prosecute its despicable invasion of Ukraine.

To be sure, America isn’t an island: all these problems have a knock-on effect on our economy, too. Not to mention the Fed, which is raising rates faster than almost any other central bank in the world.… Read more

Generally, recessions are bullish for bonds. Which makes this 3.8% bond yield a “best recession bet.”

Why are we talking bonds in a year where they have all been crushed? Well, that’s the reason. The cure for poor bond performance is the high yields that are now staring us in the face. We look forward, not backward.

If you took our cue and used cash under your mattress as a bond proxy for the year, then you are sitting pretty. Because now, we finally have attractive fixed-income yields!

Granted, safety is the key here. Remember, we are picking an economic slowdown as our catalyst.… Read more

One thing we always demand in a stock is a megatrend-powered dividend that grows. And there aren’t many megatrends bigger than the soaring need for (and tight supply of) food.

I’ll share three tickers from three different parts of the food business—a fertilizer maker, a crop trader and a seller of packaged foods here in the US—in a second.

These “megatrend” plays have grown their payouts fast, driving quick pops in their share prices. (Pick No. 3 could easily 3X its payout tomorrow without breaking a sweat!) The best part is that these payouts have staying power through inflation, recession, geopolitical mayhem, you name it.… Read more

This selloff has set up a very rare opportunity to bag 12%+ yields in closed-end funds (CEFs). I’ll reveal three names and tickers you’ll want to target now in just a second.

This chance to kickstart a steady 12%+ income stream exists because CEF buyers are a conservative bunch, so these funds’ downdrafts have been amplified this year. (This also means that income-hungry CEF buyers tend to buy back in quickly, driving these funds to fast upside after a drop).

The upshot here is that all 500 or so CEFs in existence are sporting an average discount to net asset value (NAV, or the value of their underlying portfolio) of 7.5%—making them cheaper than they’ve been in nearly a decade.… Read more

“Why are they interviewing this guy? He doesn’t know… anything.”

I paused the Netflix pseudo-documentary and searched for a quick, thoughtful response to my wife. As the resident investment strategist of the house, my reputation was on the line.

“The dude made a lot of money on GameStop (GME). I think. Or he lost a lot. They’ll tell us at the end.”

Eat the Rich: The GameStop Saga is a fast, fun watch. You will remember the story:

• Hedge funds were massively short GME (more than 100% of its shares were sold short).
• Internet bros and gals learned this and started buying.

Dividends are one of the most important features of any investment in my portfolio. But it’s crucial to also examine the sustainability of a stock’s dividend before you invest your hard-earned cash.

For instance, a high-yield stock might offer a dividend of 10% … but who cares if its share price falls off a cliff, or it eliminates that once-generous dividend in the months ahead?

There are a ton of data points at our fingertips in a digital age that can help us invest wisely. But the sheer volume of facts and figures can be overwhelming, and obscure what really matters.… Read more

I hate to hear about investors using “rules” like the 60/40 portfolio (where you devote 60% of your holdings to stocks and the rest to bonds) to invest their hard-earned cash.

The problem with “rules” like this one is that they lack the ability to adjust to changing markets, like the mess we’ve been living through this year, which has walloped stocks and bonds in equal measure.

Advisors See the Light on Oversimplified “Rules” Like the 60/40 Portfolio

It seems like advisors and the business media are finally accepting this hard truth. Recently, banks like Goldman Sachs (GS) and JPMorgan Chase & Co.… Read more