“Like 2018 All Over Again”: 3 Huge Dividends Set to Soar as Rates Rise

Michael Foster, Investment Strategist
Updated: January 24, 2022

This stock market selloff has gone way too far—and it’s pumped up the dividend yields on some of our favorite high-yield closed-end funds (CEFs).

That means it’s time to buy. I’ll name three CEFs the panicked masses have mistakenly tossed over the side in a moment. Together, these three snubbed funds throw off an 8.7% average dividend. Plus they’re trading at a nice “double discount”: that is, the CEFs themselves are cheap and their holdings, which consist of top US and international stocks, are way oversold in this latest market fracas, too.

History Is on Our Side

When considering opportunities like this one, it pays to look at history.… Read more

How to Earn Up to 12x More Yield Than the Market

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

“Buy and hope” investing has never been more hopeless.

With bond yields doing a “moonshot” to 1.8%, they are now looking down at the S&P 500’s sad 1.3% yield. Still, let’s admit—these aren’t enough for us to be able to retire on dividends alone.

Plus, we’re seeing serious volatility as the Federal Reserve hits the Pause button on its money printer. Basic income investors are losing these annual yields in one trading session!

Fortunately, there are serious dividends beneath the surface of the market. Today we’ll highlight five stocks that pay more than 7%. This is a big upgrade.

Back to the “spike” in bond yields.… Read more

This 7% Dividend Is Available at a Rare “Double Discount” (That Won’t Last)

Michael Foster, Investment Strategist
Updated: January 20, 2022

Investors are way too pessimistic about the economy. And their gloom—driven by the mainstream press (as usual)—is setting us up for a rare “double discount” on closed-end funds (CEFs) throwing off 7%+ yields.

I say “double discount” because almost everyone is misreading some of the latest economic signals—and it’s causing them to sell stocks (and CEFs!) at exactly the wrong time.

That mistake—which is behind a large part of the drop we’ve seen in the markets since the start of the year—is discount No. 1.

And we’ll get discount No. 2 by shopping for CEFs that are also trading at undeserved discounts.… Read more

My Four-Year-Old is Smarter Than This Bond ETF

Brett Owens, Chief Investment Strategist
Updated: January 19, 2022

“Daddy. Can you come play with me in the playroom?” my four-year-old asked.

“Sure. I’ll be right in,” I said. “Once I get done unloading the dishwasher. Would you like to help me unload?”

“No thanks,” my daughter replied. No surprise, but one day I hope to catch her off-guard.

She walked to the playroom. Barely. And reappeared.

“Daddy. You’re taking for ages.”

For ages is the equivalent of forever in our house. I think. Then again, given her level of exasperation, she could be telling me I’m taking longer than forever.

She’d make a good bond trader. With long rates rising every day, few income investors want to hold any bonds for any amount of time.… Read more

How to Buy the Right Dividends in 2022 (for 53%+ Upside)

Brett Owens, Chief Investment Strategist
Updated: January 18, 2022

The last time the Federal Reserve tried to taper its money-printing ways, the S&P 500 dropped 20% in 11 weeks.

I’m not sure if the sequel is going to be any kinder to “America’s ticker,” the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY). It’s time to prepare.

The best time to sell speculative, profitless positions was last week. The second-best time is probably now, with Jay Powell set to stop his bond buying and start raising rates in the next couple of months.

I know many dividend investors are feeling smug, and rightly so. We made a bunch of money from Powell’s printing, and now our dividend darlings appear set to attract “basic” investors from the land of crypto and tech.… Read more

Don’t Fear the Taper: 2 Savvy Moves for 7.3%+ Dividends in 2022

Michael Foster, Investment Strategist
Updated: January 17, 2022

Today we’re going to make a couple crafty moves worthy of the canniest contrarian—and in doing so, we’ll grab reliable income plays other investors are snubbing (with outsized yields up to 8.6%).

These moves fly right in the face of the Federal Reserve’s planned rate hikes, potentially starting as early as March, but that’s the whole point: plenty of folks have let the fear of higher rates scare them off these investments. But as mainstream investors almost always do, they’ve taken things too far, nicely setting us up to grab these high yields and some price upside as 2022 unfolds.

Let’s start with our first move, which is into longer-duration bonds, and specifically closed-end funds (CEFs) that hold them.… Read more

Here Comes the “Dividend Magnet”: 43 Dividend-Growth Plays

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

It’s no surprise to us calculated contrarians—2022 is already looking like a volatile train wreck. With the Federal Reserve shutting off its money printer, cash is flowing away from the most speculative part of the stock market for the first time since early 2020.

Declines are likely to produce winners and losers. While profitless stocks are probably toast, dividend growers are likely to turn into darlings.

This is shaping up to be the year of the “dividend magnet.” If you don’t know what this is, here’s a crash course on the safest, surest way to make money from stocks in the months ahead.… Read more

Our Top Contrarian Play on Inflation (for 7%+ Dividends and Upside)

Michael Foster, Investment Strategist
Updated: January 13, 2022

These days, everyone’s in a tizzy about rising interest rates. But what if I told you that this panic is overblown—and it’s setting us up for some very nice windows to buy some top-quality high-yield funds throwing off payouts of 7% and up?

Why do I think it’s overblown? We’ll get into that below. But before we do, we should be careful to acknowledge that the early-2022 “crash” pundits are bleating about isn’t much of a crash at all:

You Call This a Crash?

The S&P 500 is down less than 2%, and while that isn’t great, it isn’t terrifying, either, especially when we zoom out just three months.… Read more

This 9.2% Dividend is Ready for Rising Rates and Fed Hikes

Brett Owens, Chief Investment Strategist
Updated: January 12, 2022

Well, that escalated quickly.

We contrarians have been ready for rising interest rates—and long-term rates have indeed begun the year with a moonshot.

The Federal Reserve has been a big buyer of US bonds since the spring of 2020. If it weren’t for this “whale” buying $80 billion in bonds per month, long rates would likely be higher already.

How much higher is anyone’s guess. But now that the Fed is “tapering” its monthly purchases from $80 billion all the way to zero, everyone is rushing to place bets. And income investors are speculating that a fair rate for the 10-year is higher than here.… Read more

A “Dividends Only” Retirement Plan (Just $500K Needed)

Brett Owens, Chief Investment Strategist
Updated: January 11, 2022

I was waiting in line at the California DMV recently, idly flipping through my phone, when I ran across this headline:

There Are More 401(k) and IRA Millionaires Than Ever …

Fidelity Investments—apparently happy to share its customers’ financial info anonymously—says it has more than 750,000 seven-figure 401(k) and IRA accounts.

A chunk of money is great, especially when we can leave it untouched and let it grow. That was no doubt the “secret” of 99%+ of these retirement millionaires. They socked away money for decades and rode the market higher. (They didn’t chase the crypto du jour!)

Soon it will be time to convert the pile of cash into cash flow that can pay the bills.… Read more