16 “All-American” Dividends Yielding Up to 18%

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Remember a decade or so back, when we heard over and over again that the coming decades would be all about China?

If you ignored that prediction and stuck with well-established US investments (especially dividend-paying US stocks and funds), you made a smart move. (We’ve done the same since we launched our CEF Insider service back in 2017.)

Our conviction continues to be that the USA is the best place to find top dividend payers—including our favorite high-yielding closed-end funds (CEFs).

I’ll give you 16 such US-focused CEFs to consider in a moment—as well as specific looks at two 17%+ (!)… Read more

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Let’s kick off 2024 with great news: despite the Santa Claus rally, there are still some sweet dividend deals on the board—many hiding in plain sight.

In a second, we’ll name names and dive into my 2024 outlook, including my forecast for a 2024 recession and exactly what we’re going to be looking for in dividend payers (and growers) this year.

First, let’s tee up 2024 by reviewing the game tape from the last quarter of ’23.

Buying Fear Drove Fast Double-Digit Gains in Late ’23

Readers of my Contrarian Income Report service will recognize the Gabelli Dividend & Income Trust (GDV), one of the picks we grabbed when panic was running high in October.… Read more

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With the S&P 500 up double-digits this year, the media is at it again—cranking up worries that we’re headed for another crash.

“Stock-Market Crash: Expert Shares Huge ‘Red Flag’ Signaling Recession,” says Business Insider. “Will the Stock Market Crash? This Hedge-Funder Thinks So,” declares New York Magazine.

And on it goes.

I suppose it makes sense, given that the S&P 500’s roughly 19% gain so far this year is a lot more than its typical return. Thing is, 2023 does not exist in a vacuum divorced from history, and just a tiny bit of history shows we’re not yet in a bull market, and stocks are not overheated, despite their recent gains.… Read more

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Mr. and Ms. Market are manic. Always have been, always will be. My fellow contrarian, they reminded us of this fact yet again.

Fortunately we were zigging while the broader crowd was zagging.

The herd’s “FOMO panic” last week pushed many of our stocks higher. Vanilla investors covered their ill-timed short positions and scrambled to buy bargains. Like the dividend deals we bought in October!

Did you miss out? Have cash suddenly burning a hole in your pocket? If so, no worries, a few select dividend deals remain.

I’m talking about yields up to 12.3% and discounts up to—get this—46%.… Read more

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Last week in this column, I said it was time to buy. Today, we’ll clarify that timeline.

Buy and hold forever? Nah. Not now. Maybe never again!

To everyone that shook their head at this careful contrarian last week, thinking there is too much uncertainty in the world, well, I agree with you. The “threatdown” is real—which is why I’m not interested in holding names until the end of time.

We have conflict in the Middle East, a still-hawkish Federal Reserve, spiraling government debt and stubborn inflation. The news isn’t pretty.

That said, precarious markets create short-term and medium-term opportunity.… Read more

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Sixty percent gains, needless to say, are nice!

They can be the difference between a comfortable retirement and, well, one where we’re a bit too concerned about losses.

A million dollars is plenty to retire on dividends. But isn’t $1,600,000 even better?

With a million, an 8% yielding portfolio dishes $80,000 per year in dividends. Nice.

But that 60%-higher portfolio pays $128,200. Even nicer.

Why am I teasing 60%? Because we have the best opportunity to bank big gains—from safe dividend stocks, no less!—since the fall of 2020.

The opportunity is here thanks to a form of “quiet QE” from the Federal Reserve.… Read more

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Few people would put the words “artificial intelligence” and “big dividends” in the same sentence—but those folks have never heard of closed-end funds (CEFs)!

These “yield machines” are perfect plays on the surging AI megatrend for three reasons:

  • Big dividends: Thanks to CEFs, we can “download” big cash payouts from stocks that pay low (or no!) dividends themselves. Getting our payouts in cash, rather than paper gains, is priceless in the sometimes-volatile world of AI investing.
  • Lower volatility: Speaking of volatility, as most equity CEFs invest in various sectors—not just tech—we get some extra insurance over folks who try to “cherry-pick” the AI trend themselves.

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$600K can be enough money to retire on. Even as early as age 50!

The trick is to convert the pile of cash into cash flow that can pay the bills. I’m talking about $50,400 per year or more in dividend income on that nest egg, thanks to 8.4% yields.

These are passive payouts that show up every quarter or, better yet, every month. Meanwhile, we keep that $600K nest egg intact. Or, better yet, grind that principal higher steadily and safely.

Got more in your retirement account? Cool—more monthly dividend income for you!

We’ll talk specific stocks, funds and yields in a moment.… Read more

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Retiring on dividends. It’s the income investors’ dream, right?

It sure beats working for the rest of our lives!

Check out this July 2023 income summary, courtesy of Income Calendar, a nifty tool we built to project dividend income. I loaded up a 10-stock portfolio, featuring popular payers we discuss in these pages:


Source: Income Calendar

This is an “equal opportunity” collection of both picks and pans. Please, don’t run out and buy Global X Nasdaq 100 Covered Call ETF (QYLD) just for its impressive 12.2% annualized yield. Let the Nasdaq bubble pop, at least!

QYLD buys the Nasdaq index and sells covered calls to generate income.… Read more

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We’re halfway through 2023, and many closed-end funds (CEFs) have ridden this year’s market updraft while delivering huge dividends to members of my CEF Insider service.

Yet we contrarian income seekers are still in a strong position, as traditionally slow-moving CEF buyers tiptoe back into the market, giving us extra time to pick up our favorite CEFs at deep discounts to net asset value (NAV).

In the June issue of CEF Insider, which will be released tomorrow, we’re going to discuss specific portfolio picks that are best positioned to profit from the trends I see unfolding over the rest of the year.… Read more

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