How These 7%-Yielding Funds Charge $0 in Fees.

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How These 7%-Yielding Funds Charge $0 in Fees.

Members of my CEF Insider service often tell me they’d love to know a lot more about the people at the helm of closed-end funds—the good, the bad and the ugly.

It makes sense: after all, when you buy a CEF, these folks play a huge role in whether you notch a big gain (and income stream) or, well, not so much.

An Insider’s View

As one of the few analysts who focuses solely on CEFs—especially smaller CEFs, with market caps of $1 billion or less—I’ve had several conversations with managers at CEF companies from across the market.

A common theme?… Read more

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This Amazing Fund Spiked 338% (and Pays 8.6% Dividends Monthly)

Buy funds with the lowest fees and you’ll retire earlier. That’s the so-called “wisdom” in investing, right?

Too bad it’s dead wrong.

Today I’m going to show you how. I’ll also name an incredible fund that racked up a monster 338% return in the last decade, crushing its “dumb” index-fund alternative by nearly 4 to 1!

Plus, this unsung income play pays a safe—and growing—8.6% dividend (paid monthly, no less). That’s enough to hand you $3,583 every month on a $500K nest egg.

Leaving $1,000,000 on the Table

Before we get to that, let’s look at how obsessing over fees can cause you to miss out on thousands of dollars—maybe even a million!… Read more

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Credit Crisis Concerns? These Are the Worst 1,894 Bonds to Own Now

We all love 7% yields here. But how do you feel about Sprint’s 7.88% bonds that mature in September 2023?

Well, the company might make it until then. Shares trade for pocket change at just over $6. Equity investors in Sprint (S), however, have been (wait for it) sprinting to the exits lately:

The Stock Feels the Weight of Sprint’s Debt

For a position this risky, I’d want to watch it closely. I’d also want to be able to sell it at the first sign of distress.

Unfortunately, that isn’t going to be possible. If you own the Sprint 2023’s, you’ve got company–$320 million to be specific!… Read more

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This Soaring 8.8% Dividend Is Cheap (you won’t believe why)

Today I’m going to show you nothing less than a “dividend unicorn”: a closed-end fund (CEF) yielding 8.8% that’s raised its payout 24% in just the last six months. (And yes, it’s primed for many more hikes, too.)

Get this: because of the weirdness of the CEF market, this cash machine is still cheap today—trading at 13% off its “retail” price!

Let’s dive in.

I’m talking about the PGIM High Yield Bond Fund (ISD). It’s a smaller CEF (with just $552 million in assets). That small size helps set up our chance to buy cheap—and I’ll say more about why this deal exists in just a moment.… Read more

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The Best Bonds to Buy for a Retirement Portfolio Right Now

Should we income investors buy any bonds right now? Bond prices have rallied, but the rear view mirror doesn’t help any new money we’re putting to work right now. Meanwhile interest rates are tanking, which tends to defeat the point of purchasing fixed income in the first place.

But, stocks are on a roller coaster ride. If you’re getting a bit nauseous with the violent day-to-day swings, you may appreciate a little stability to balance out your portfolio.

Whether you’re looking for dividends, sanity, or both, you’ve come to the right column. Let’s take a spin around Bondland and rank ‘em worst to first.… Read more

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The Fed Cuts, You Gain: An 8.4% Dividend That Grows as Rates Fall

The PGIM High Yield Bond Fund (ISD) trades at a huge discount that’s going to disappear soon.

Before I explain why, let me tell you something else about this fund: it boasts a huge 8.4% dividend yield. In other words, you’d get $700 per month—or $8,400 a year—in income on every $100,000 invested. And you should consider getting in now, because ISD is set to soar.

A New Fund

For years, ISD provided a solid and reliable return, thanks to its strategy. The fund would buy corporate bonds that expired in just a couple years (or less), so there was less risk of any company going bankrupt or defaulting.… Read more

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3 Hopeless ETFs Ranked From “Disastrous” to “Poor” (You likely own #1.)

Is last week’s rate-cut temper tantrum the start of a bigger meltdown?

That’s the big question—and today we’re going to do what we have to do to protect our nest egg—and set ourselves up for big gains (and dividends) in the long run.

That means we may only have days to prepare—maybe even hours.

The one thing we’re not going to do? Sell and go to cash.

Because I know I don’t have to tell you that “money under the mattress” pays no dividend—and isn’t even safe, for that matter: you’re guaranteed to bleed money after inflation!

No way.

Instead, we’re going to play it smart—deftly pruning our portfolio of laggards and shifting into a set of low-key dividends that will balloon our income (and nest egg) for decades to come.… Read more

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These 21 Safe Bond Funds Pay Up to 8.5% and Never Go Down

“Brett, give me some bond funds with big yields. And it’d be great if their prices never went down!”

My money manager friend was chasing the holy grail of retirement income. He wanted safe payouts from bonds to balance his clients’ stock exposure.

“How about the Artisan High Income Investor Fund (ARTFX)?” I replied. “It pays a steady 6% or so. And it never goes down.”

Same S&P Yearly Return, Less Heartburn

“The only problem is that it never goes up, either. And that’s prevented me from recommending it to my Contrarian Income Report subscribers.”

Our CIR portfolio holds eight bond funds today (versus ten stocks and stock funds).… Read more

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5 Dividend Stocks That’ll Keep You From Drowning in Retirement

Your 2% bonds are going to make you broke. You need to buy these safe, higher paying dividends instead.

We’ll get to these “real yields” (up to 9.3%!) in a moment. First, let’s recap. Treasury yields just took their biggest bath in weeks, sending the 10-year T-note to 2%. Less than a year ago, the 10-year was flirting with (a not exactly nosebleed) 3%.

And now that Fed chair Jay Powell has fallen in love with the doves (whether by choice or by force), he’s going to keep rates low for a long time. Which means bonds will have no place in a retirement portfolio geared towards income.… Read more

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Here’s Why Inflation Is Spiking (and How You Can Profit)

If you’re worried inflation will sideswipe your portfolio, well, you have good reason to be.

Because make no mistake, rising prices will be the story of 2018. And if you want to protect your portfolio, you need to act now. I’ll show you how a little further on.

First, let’s go toe to toe with the inflation boogeyman, and see what kind of punch we can expect him to pack this year.

A Growing Threat

Starting late last year, the consumer price index (CPI) jumped, and the increase is accelerating as we start 2018.

Prices Heat Up

Of course, that’s probably not news to you; it’s been covered daily in the media.…
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