Our “1980s Redux” Bond Strategy for 9.9% Dividends

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It’s back to the 1980s in the corporate-bond world—with yields through the roof. (I’m talking safe 9.9%+ payouts when we buy bonds through high-yielding funds like the one we’ll delve into below.)

If you were investing back then, you may recall that bond yields soared well into double-digit territory before falling back to earth:


Source: Economic Report of the President (2012), Government Printing Office

In other words, if you bought a corporate-bond fund in 1981, you’d have gotten a 14.2% return every year for the bonds’ duration, which in some cases was a decade. And you’d have gotten that return in cash.… Read more

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There’s one word that strikes terror into the hearts of mainstream investors: leverage.

But it really shouldn’t—and today I’m going to show you how to make sure you’re using leverage the right way, while minimizing your risk and tapping into some of the biggest gains (and dividends!) available to us today.

As you probably know, closed-end funds (CEFs) commonly use leverage to amp up their investment returns (and their dividends, which yield 6.5%, on average, as I write this). That’s fed their strong gains this year, as the Federal Reserve has kept interest rates low:

CEFs on a Tear

Source: CEF Insider

The CEF Insider Index Tracker has shown double-digit gains everywhere except in municipal bonds (which is normal, as we buy munis for their stability and tax-free dividends).… Read more

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Let’s shrug off today’s “dividend desert” and do something most folks think is impossible—ridiculous, even. We’re going to replace our monthly salary with a huge income stream from a group of closed-end funds (CEFs) that yield 7% or more (sometimes a lot more!).

The math here is simple: at a 7% dividend, you’ll have just shy of $3,000 ($2,917, to be precise) flowing into your account every month on a $500K investment. And yes, these dividends do flow your way monthly, right in line with your bills.

These CEFs have been paying these dividends for years, in some cases decades. And there are plenty of them, too: my CEF Insider service tracks 117 CEFs yielding over 7% and paying out every month.… Read more

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There’s one word that strikes utter terror into the hearts of many investors: leverage.

But it really shouldn’t—and today I’m going to show you how to make sure you’re using leverage the right way, while minimizing your risk and reaping the biggest gains you can.

As you probably know, closed-end funds (CEFs) commonly use leverage to amp up their investment returns (and their dividends, which boast an average yield of around 7%). That’s fed their strong gains this year, as the Federal Reserve rolled out three consecutive rate cuts:

CEFs on a Tear

The CEF Insider index tracker has shown double-digit gains across the board, with equity CEFs slightly outperforming the S&P 500’s 26% year-to-date gains.… Read more

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Many investors hear the word “leverage” and immediately get nervous—but the truth is, borrowed cash is actually vital to big closed-end fund (CEF) returns.

I’ll show you why—and how a huge misunderstanding about leverage will lead to big gains for CEFs this year—in a moment.

Before we get to that, though, we need to understand why this one simple word sends investors into a cold sweat in the first place.

A 90-Year Old Tale

The cloud hanging over leverage stretches back to the crash of 1929, and tales of stockbrokers who borrowed too much cash before the collapse and then leaped out their office windows.… Read more

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