Recession in 2026? Here’s My Take (and a 9% Payer to Profit)

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Recession in 2026? Here’s My Take (and a 9% Payer to Profit)

My prediction for 2026? Strange as it may sound, given the wild headlines we’re seeing pretty much daily, I’m calling for more of the same.

As I said a couple weeks ago, I expect around 12% returns from the S&P 500 this year.

That’s why we’ve been adding to the equity CEFs in the portfolio of our CEF Insider service. Today I want to talk about one of our holdings, in particular: a 9%-payer called the Liberty All-Star Growth Fund (ASG).

We’re zeroing in on this one because its discount to net asset value (NAV, or the value of its underlying portfolio) is the biggest it’s been in three years.… Read more

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Investors Hate This Market (and They’re Dumping This Great 9% Payer)

Today we’re going to talk about a subject that might seem a little outside the dividend plays we normally discuss.

But as you’ll see, this topic—a big shift in how Americans feel—is the main reason why some of our favorite high-yielding closed-end funds (CEFs) are woefully underpriced, like one equity-focused 9%-yielder with an incredible track record.

Let’s start with that unlikely topic: Happiness. It matters because, as we’ll see, how happy Americans are ties directly into investing behavior in very predictable ways.


Source: CEF Insider

This chart shows the results of the General Social Survey, from the University of Chicago’s National Opinion Research Center.… Read more

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2 Big Yields (up to 20.9%) That Are Traps Set to Spring (and a 9% Payer That Isn’t)

The bankruptcy of auto-parts supplier First Brands has hit a corner of the market known for high dividends. Does that make these assets bargains?

Maybe. But we need to be careful here, and avoid making the mistake of “reaching for yield”: that is, buying yields that are high for a reason: the stock price has plunged.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. The corner of the market I’m talking about is business development companies (BDCs), which loan money to small- and mid-sized firms.

Investors first got worried about BDCs a couple months ago, when the First Brands story broke. The news raised alarm about the private-credit market (where BDCs operate).… Read more

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Why Your Friends Are Losing $2,300 on Every $10K They Invest in Stocks

Selling on fear is a habit that’s so easy to fall into (especially now!). But giving in to it could cost you a lot: as much as $2,300 on every $10K invested.

And if you’re investing for income (as we are!), you face a double hit.

Not only do investors almost always get the timing wrong, but they cut off their income stream, too! When you’re holding our favorite income plays, closed-end funds (CEFs) yielding 8%+, it’s especially damaging.

I mention this now because I was reading a recent report from Morningstar that put the potential damage from this mistake into dollars and cents.… Read more

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This “Trump Insider” Is Throwing a Floor Under Stocks (and This 8.5% Dividend, Too)

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is arguably the biggest stock-market cheerleader in American political history. And that fact is throwing a floor under stocks in a way few people realize.

It’s another reason to buy stocks now—or better still, stock-focused closed-end funds (CEFs). Because when things get rough, we can count on Scott to temper policies that might otherwise ruffle the markets.

This sounds like a minor thing, but it’s key in a market like this, which I see as still having room to run, even though, yes, valuations are getting stretched.

The Stock Market Indicator

To get at the moderating effect of Bessent’s presence, we need to start with President Trump, who has a long history of caring about the stock market, even though his career was in private real estate.… Read more

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AI Bubble? No Way. Ignore the Naysayers With These 7.7%+ Dividends

I know, I know. This levitating stock market feels like a bubble that will burst any day.

So I get it if you’re nervous. And that’s actually a good thing. It pays to be wary when everyone else is throwing money at any asset—stocks included.

My take? Well, it might surprise you, but it’s this: We’re not in a bubble—AI-driven or otherwise.

But I get the fear—which is why we’re going to look at a two-step move that addresses it. This “best of both worlds” play gives us yields up to 8.2% and a hedge if, say, bullish analysts (like me!)… Read more

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Media’s “Hamster-Like” Attention Span Will Fuel These 7.9% Dividends

Tariffs. Inflation. Soaring interest rates. The financial press, of course, blares about all of them—day in and day out.

Truth is, they have to do this to get your attention. But it’s also unhealthy to your portfolio, as investing based on the headlines leads to traps like trading too much, selling at the bottom and buying at the top.

(This, as members know, is why we focus on high-yield closed-end funds and aim to hold long term. This lets us tune out the headlines and “automatically” reinvest our 8%+ average payouts in corners of our portfolio that are on sale at any given time.… Read more

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Why We Love to Buy “Freshly Cut” Dividends (3 Yielding Up to 13.6%)

If you invest for long enough, you may hear a skeptic of high-yield investments—such as 8%+ yielding closed-end funds (CEFs)—say something like:

“Sure, you’re getting a lot of income now, but what if that dividend gets cut?”

Today we’re going to answer that with a look at how a dividend cut can actually send a CEF (or any dividend investment, really) on a profitable run. We’ll do it by looking at three CEFs that followed this exact pattern: Cutting dividends and then going on to give investors huge returns for years and years.

These funds show that a dividend cut on its own isn’t reason enough to avoid an investment.… Read more

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3 Big Dividends to Buy (Up to 9.4%) as Trump 2.0 Reshapes Markets

In our Thursday article, we talked about a “quiet shift” in the markets, from growth stocks to value—and we named 2 CEFs yielding 9%+ that are primed to profit from it.

Yes, the recent jump in volatility is a big reason for that. So today, we’re going to look at another side of the rotation we’re seeing—a shift from passive investing to active.

Index Funds Are so 2023

As we move further into 2025, it’s getting clearer to me that we’re into a stock-picker’s market. Sitting in an index fund just won’t cut it.

That said, at my CEF Insider service, we’re still bullish on stocks (and stock-focused closed-end funds, many of which hand us 8%+ yields), and we’ll get into two stock-focused funds, along with another that holds preferred stocks—kind of a stock/bond hybrid—below.… Read more

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You Ask, I Answer: Are These 8% Dividends Too Pricey?

I recently got some reader feedback that made me realize something: When it comes to our favorite income investments—8%+ yielding closed-end funds (CEFs)—there are still a lot of misconceptions out there.

It’s key that we put those right, because they’re causing some investors to miss out on CEFs, and the big (and often monthly) dividends they provide. And I know I don’t have to tell you that in turbulent times like these, high payouts like those are a lifesaver.

This reader wrote in response to a recent piece I wrote about how CEFs can be better than ETFs, pointing out two things:

  1. The three CEFs I mentioned in the piece have higher expense ratios than passive funds.

… Read more

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