This So-Called Inflation Hedge Is a Disaster. Buy This 8.9% Dividend Instead

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This So-Called Inflation Hedge Is a Disaster. Buy This 8.9% Dividend Instead

For some folks, it’s almost a reflex to buy gold when inflation hits or volatility ramps up. In times like those, they simply flock to the yellow metal—no questions asked.

But buying gold as a safe haven is a terrible idea, for one simple reason: it doesn’t work.

The dumpster fire year we’re living through now provides an excellent example of gold’s ineffectiveness as an inflation hedge: while inflation soared (it sits at 8.3% as of August), gold has gone the other way, plunging 6.4% since January 1.

That lousy performance isn’t just a one-off. Gold has actually fallen 7% in the last decade.… Read more

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When CEFs Do This, Big Profits Usually Follow (and 7%+ Dividends, Too)

If you’re like me, you regularly hear from friends who brag about how they’ve successfully timed the market in the past. What these folks will never tell you is the number of times they’ve missed the boat!

Take last week, when millions of folks were parked on the sidelines, terrified (thanks to scaremongering media reports) that the July CPI print would come in worse than expected, triggering a selloff.

Of course, we now know that the exact opposite happened—and I’m guessing you won’t hear from your friends who failed to grab that bounce!

Look, when other folks do manage to pull off this trick, I salute them.… Read more

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What’s Better Than 7%-8% Yields? A 17% Sale on Them.

Historically, for whatever reason, stocks have made most of their gains between November 1 and May 1. (Hence the phrase “sell in May and go away.”)

I won’t bore you with the statistical details because they don’t matter for our purposes. Every year is unique, and we treat each as such. But, for our contrarian edge, it is helpful that the onset of fall provokes fear in the hearts of mainstream investors.

The S&P 500 is acting like it’s about to slip off a cliff. It’s been a year since the market’s last meaningful correction. We’re in the fragile half of the year and, seasonally speaking, September and October tend to be particularly weak.… Read more

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These Funds Help You Retire Early With Dividends Up to 9.1%

By now I’m guessing you’ve heard of the FIRE movement—you may even know someone who’s following this “extreme” form of retirement saving.

An acronym for “financial independence, retire early,” FIRE advocates look to retire earlier than the traditional age of 65—and I mean way earlier. Some even clock out in their 30s!

They do it by building up a huge cash hoard over a period of years, then making steady withdrawals (with some going by the flawed 4%-withdrawal rule) to sustain themselves. Some keep working during their “retirement”; others clock out entirely.

I was thinking of the FIRE folks this week and wondering how they’d fare if they tapped into the wealth- (and income-) generating power of closed-end funds (CEFs), which boast monster yields, sometimes north of 10%.… Read more

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These 7 Dividend ETFs Yield Up to 10%

Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) sure are easy to buy. There’s an ETF for just about anything we can think of—stocks, bonds, commodities, growth, value, sectors, industries and, of course, high yield.

Dividends are our beat here at Contrarian Outlook. And ETFs keep us busy, because for every income investing angle, there is a popular dividend fund that we can easily improve upon.

I commend you for realizing that ETFs are not the final retirement solution. Convenient, yes. But we contrarians have more effective income tools available than ETFs.

Let’s walk through seven popular dividend ETFs (yielding a mouthwatering 5% to 10%), and tinker with each a bit to improve their future performance and their payouts.… Read more

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Warning: This 21% Dividend Is Way Too Good to Be True

Every so often, a CEF Insider subscriber asks if I see oil-related closed-end funds (CEFs) as solid income plays. You might be wondering the same, given the surge in oil prices—and oil stocks—since the start of 2019.

Today we’re going to answer that question. Along the way, we’ll uncover an energy CEF you need to steer clear of, no matter how you feel about oil.

Let’s start by making a quick run through history: what would have happened if you invested in energy CEFs over the last few years?


Source: CEF Insider

While the last three years have seen a decent average annualized return, and a negative return if you got in five years ago.… Read more

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