When this closed-end fund (CEF) lowered its monthly dividend for the first time in 17 years, many income investors (understandably) panicked and sold.

Too bad for them. They missed out on 27% returns over the next 20 months.

Can a dividend cut actually be a good thing? Like life itself, it’s complicated—but my short answer is “yes.” Here’s when (and why).

CEFs are the exception to the “dividend cuts are bad” rule. In CEF-Land, payouts are taken from a fund’s portfolio, which is represented by a fund’s net asset value (NAV). Sure, the funds that we buy generally have income streams that are supposed to “power” NAV higher.… Read more

What are we dividend investors to expect in 2021? Let’s look to Washington, DC, where the switch on Jay Powell’s printing press is stuck in “high”:

Money Supply Surges—With No End in Sight

With Powell’s fiat money keeping (what’s left of) the Main Street economy afloat, you can bet that his “instant” cash will keep rolling in. He’ll have a willing partner in incoming Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who followed the same strategy when she was Fed chair:

New Boss Same as the Old Boss

This is a recipe for inflation once the economy gets back on its feet. Back in September, we discussed some stocks that make solid inflation hedges by hiking their dividends faster than prices (and inevitably, interest rates) rise.… Read more

There’s a grinding pandemic and stocks are still up 15%! It’s tough to believe, given the year we’ve all lived through, but here we are.

So what the heck do we do now? Is there more upside ahead or is another big plunge around the corner?

You’re not the only one asking this question—everyone is. And the media and Wall Street, as always, feel they have the answer. A quick glance at the CNN Fear and Greed Index shows that we’re at the top end of “greed”—not exactly in “extreme greed” territory but getting there.

Source: CNN Business

Usually, when the market has gotten too greedy, it’s time to get fearful.… Read more

Here at Contrarian Outlook, our beat is income, and we’re often asked for analysis on high-yield ETFs. Today, we’ll look at three funds paying up to 11% (yes, that’s no typo).

I appreciate the ETF popularity. They’re cheap. They’re tax-efficient. They’re  well-marketed. They’ve got cutesy tickers.

But income investors who blindly buy into the hype, unfortunately, are not getting the most dividend for their dollar.

The real dividend deals are found in ETFs’ lesser-known cousins, closed-end funds (CEFs), which often dish even bigger payouts (and a monthly cadence, to boot). CEFs can also trade at discounts to their net asset values, because they fly under Wall Street’s radar.… Read more

I’ve been hearing from a lot of readers who are sitting on some nice gains this year—and now they’re wondering if it’s time to sell.

Should you?

As with so many other things in 2020, it depends. What are you planning on selling? With many closed-end funds (CEFs), this is the time to buy more, as they haven’t fully priced in the vaccine- and stimulus-fueled recovery we’re likely to see in 2021. But with some CEFs, there are plenty of reasons to consider taking some money off the table.

Today we’re going to zero in on three such funds. They boast attractive portfolio holdings and high dividend yields—more than 8% in one case.… Read more

Thank you to our 1,581 Contrarian Income Report subscribers who attended our webcast last week! My publisher described it as a “firehose of information”—hopefully, that was a good thing!

We have you, our thoughtful reader and income investor, to thank for the inspiration behind the firehose. We fielded 45 questions before the event and another 127 on the call, for a total of 172. Amazing.

As promised, I have read each and every question (as has our excellent customer service team). In the weeks ahead, we’ll discuss as many as I can find white space for. Let’s start with six today.… Read more

Stocks are up, the economy is in shambles and lockdowns are making a comeback. But people are also being vaccinated as I write this, just 12 months after we learned that COVID-19 was even a thing.

How do we invest through this transitional market? I’ve got a three-point plan for you that works in any economy—not just the Twilight Zone one we’re living in now.

Step 1: Start With “Tollbooth Stocks” and Build From There

Tollbooth stocks are the kinds of companies we safety-conscious dividend investors love: they hold the infrastructure—think pipelines, warehouses and data networks—big players like, say, Amazon.com (AMZN) must have to operate.… Read more

Markets are betting on the federal government pumping $908 billion in stimulus into the economy. If that cash wave rolls out, it’ll boost the group of funds I want to talk to you about today. They pay dividends of 6%+ and trade at big discounts to their true value now.

The Current Stimulus State of Play

First up, while the final stimulus bill is still being negotiated by Congress, it seems likely we’ll get a version similar to what’s been released already when a compromise is reached. So let’s take a look at what’s on offer.

Before we go further, I’ll say that the government’s new stimulus bill looks more effective than the CARES Act passed in the spring.… Read more

Real estate investment trusts (REITs) as a group have been kicked to the curb this year. The sector has returned negative 1.3% including dividends—third-worst among the S&P 500’s 11 sectors, and miserable showing compared to the index’s 16.5%.

But note that I said “as a group.” Some landlords are doing just swell.

The secret to REIT picking, right now, is to identify the companies that are still collecting payments like it’s 2019.

Here’s NAREIT’s most recent rent-collection data, covering rents collected between April and September—all of our newly completed “shutdown” and “re-opening” and “just kidding, we’re closing again” months.

Source: Nareit

You’ll notice that NAREIT didn’t bother calculating some categories.… Read more

With 2020 coming to a (merciful) close, it’s a good time to take a moment to cast an eye over our dividend portfolios.

One thing to pay particular attention to: the amount of cash you’re holding. Because if you’re like many investors I’ve talked to recently, you’re holding too much of it—and that can cause a steady wealth drain that bleeds away thousands in returns every year!

Taking Money Off the Table—at Exactly the Wrong Time

Of course, having a healthy cash cushion is always a good thing. The trouble for most folks, though, is that they’ve been growing the amount of cash they have outside the market just as stocks have taken off.… Read more