Add “X” to Boost QQQ’s Yield From 0.5% to 7.3%

Our Archive

Search completed

Add “X” to Boost QQQ’s Yield From 0.5% to 7.3%

I’m an investor in Invesco QQQ, a fund that gives me access to Nasdaq-100 innovations like volumetric video technology.

My fellow hoops fans watching March Madness are seeing a million commercials for Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ). They feature flashy camera angles with average investors “dropping knowledge” about the tech stocks they are proud to own via this ETF.

In the spot, the investor humble brags about her “volumetric” video technology investment. English translation: The use of many cameras at different angles to make a sporting event look three dimensional on TV. (Last week, ESPN broadcast a professional basketball game for the first time using this technology.)… Read more

Read More

A 7.7% “Dividend Lifeboat” for a Tough Market

It probably won’t surprise you to hear that I’m hearing from a lot of investors who are concerned about protecting their portfolios, and their income streams, from the worrying times we’re facing today.

As the strategist of the CEF Insider high-yield investing service, I hear those worries, and I take them to heart with every CEF pick I make. And while talking portfolio strategy may seem a little inconsequential given the tragic events unfolding in the Ukraine, it’s vital that we do everything we can to look out for our families’ needs, especially now.

What’s more, by protecting and growing our income streams, as my colleague Brett Owens recently said, we can use our dividend dollars to help address some of today’s dire needs, whether it’s by donating to a charity helping the people of Ukraine or in the USA, by supporting family businesses that have been hit by the pandemic and, now, soaring prices.… Read more

Read More

Here’s an “Omicron-Resistant” Fund With a Safe 6% Dividend

The Omicron variant is here—what does it mean for us dividend investors?

Simple—we’ll simply do the same thing we did the last time COVID spooked markets: buy tech-focused closed-end funds (CEFs) with huge payouts!

Members of my CEF Insider service will remember that we did just that in March 2020, at the trough of the market’s initial pandemic plunge, buying the BlackRock Science & Technology Trust II (BSTZ) when it yielded 7.3% and traded at a 6.6% discount to NAV. We then rode it to a nice 21% total return in just two months!

BSTZ Gave Us a Nice Profit in the First COVID Panic

Our first hint that tech is the right thing to buy now is came in last Friday’s chaos, in which all countries saw their markets dip, but interestingly only the tech-focused NASDAQ 100 (QQQ) fell less than 2%

That’s telling, because if governments around the world institute new shutdowns, the last sector to suffer will be tech.… Read more

Read More

How ETF Investing Could Cost You Thousands in Gains (and 6%+ Dividends)

It’s a tired piece of “wisdom” you hear from personal-finance gurus over and over: you need to invest in low-cost, passive index funds to get the highest return.

Too bad it’s completely false!

Today we’re going to look at how obsessing over fees can cost you tens of thousands of dollars. Then I’ll name a fund that could get you big gains and pays a dividend north of 6%.

What’s more, this unusual fund, a closed-end fund (CEF), to be specific, gives you that steady cash payout while holding some of the biggest stocks out there—I’m talking about household names like Apple (AAPL) and Amazon.com… Read more

Read More

Ignore the Haters: These 6%+ Dividends Are Strong Buys Now

If anyone tells you that all the big dividends have been bought up in this inflated market, do yourself a favor: tune them out.

Because while stocks are up—and dividend yields are down as a result—there are still high, cheap payouts to be had out there. And we closed-end fund (CEF) investors know exactly where to find them. In a moment, we’ll nail down a couple of funds that are still attractively priced today, and they pay you 6%+ dividends, to boot.

That said, deals certainly aren’t falling out of trees in CEFs these days—we have to dig deeper to uncover them than we ever have before.… Read more

Read More

How to Ride This “Twilight Zone” Economy to 6% Dividends (and Upside)

As dividend investors, we don’t usually read the tea leaves in employment reports (that, after all, is the domain of economists!). But there is something happening in the working world that’s set to power the payouts, and prices, of a select group of closed-end funds (CEFs) for years to come.

That is this: people are spending less time in the office. But productivity isn’t falling. And of course, demand for workers is surging right now, setting the stage for pay hikes, bonuses, stock options—just about any way to put more money in workers’ pockets that you can think of.

Employment Roars.… Read more

Read More

Pick This 7.9% Dividend Over This Flawed 11.8% Yield

I had just spent my whole paycheck at Whole Foods. My wife was not amused.

“Brett,” she paused and trailed off, a telltale sign that I was in the hot seat.

“You don’t have to buy everything organic. Some stuff…” she searched for words, shaking her head.

I flailed for a life raft: “But isn’t organic good?”

“Some fruits, sure,” she conceded. “And vegetables. But not all of them. Like avocados, and bananas—they have thick skins, so it really doesn’t matter if they are organic or not.”

“And cookies. Cookies are a highly processed food. Why are you bothering with organic?”… Read more

Read More

This Dow 30 Fund Yields 6.4%, Trades for 95 Cents on the Dollar

As dividend yields and interest rates dropped in recent decades, income investors looked for ways to generate cash flow from stocks. Selling (“writing”) covered calls is one strategy that has gained attention.

It is certainly a conservative options strategy that most income investors think they should do. The math is compelling.

Here’s how it works. We would buy a dividend stock like Exxon Mobil (XOM) for its $0.87 per share quarterly payout (a 6% yield). Then we would write a covered call with a “strike” price just above the stock’s current level.

For example, XOM trades below $60 as I write.… Read more

Read More

3 Ways to Safeguard (and Grow) Your Dividends as Inflation Ticks Higher

Inflation worries are everywhere, so let’s dive into what’s behind them—and what we contrarian income-seekers should do right now. The three steps I’m about to show you could hand you a lot of fresh dividend income and price upside, too—even in this (still) overstretched market.

First up—is inflation a real fear right now? Let’s look at the numbers.

Inflation Rises Sharply …

That chart—and shortages of everything from microchips to ketchup—sure seem to indicate that a continued rise in prices is on the way.

But there’s a caveat: this chart compares today’s inflation rate to that of the crushed economy of last year, not to mention those supply-chain issues, which are likely to get ironed out as more of the economy reopens.… Read more

Read More

3 Clicks to $4,000 a Month in Dividend Income

There’s a “retirement shortcut” far too many people ignore—and it could let you hang ’em up a lot sooner than you think (and with a lot more income, too).

Retirement Investing: Most People Go Wrong at Step 1

When it comes to retirement investing, most folks lean heavily on dividend-paying S&P 500 stocks, particularly those with above-average dividend yields. And if you don’t want to manage a blue-chip stock portfolio on your own, no problem: Wall Street has you covered with the many ETFs it offers.

But this is the wrong route for a number of reasons—the main one being lame dividends!… Read more

Read More

Categories