How Big Do You “Prefer” Your Dividends? 7%? 8%?

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Mere “common stocks” fell 18% in last year. But these preferred shares are set to do better. Especially for contrarian income seekers like us.

I’m talking about safe 7% to 8% yields. Backed by good old fashioned cash flows. With double-digit price upside, too, as these share prices bounce back after a rough run.

A quick primer if you’re new to preferred stocks. They are part stock, part bond—and all yield, as we’ll see in a minute.

Preferred stocks trade around a par value and deliver a fixed amount of regular income, just like a bond. They don’t have any voting rights, which also is like a bond.… Read more

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As contrarian income seekers we buy when yields are high and prices are low. Today, we’re going to explore a three-pack of dividend funds that pays 8.5%.

This is “retire in style” income. We put a million dollars in these plays and get paid $85,000 per year. Plus, we keep our principal intact.

And wait, there’s more. The cheapest of these three funds is currently trading for just 89 cents on the dollar. Yes, that’s an 11% discount to the value of its underlying holdings.

Too good to be true? Or bottom-fishing bargain? Let’s explore my preferred dividend strategy and these three dividend machines.… Read more

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One of the market’s most secure, steady sources of generous yield is going through a rare turbulent moment. But these 7% to 8% yields—paid monthly, no less!—are selling at discounted prices we only see once every five years or so.

Is it time for us contrarians to consider “backing up the truck” to load up on these monthly dividend machines?

Why “Preferred” Dividends are This Cheap

“Preferred” stocks are stock-bond hybrids that rarely make Wall Street’s highlight reels. We like it that way, because these funds pay.

These underappreciated secrets don’t usually suffer this bad, either.

You Rarely See Preferreds Get Clobbered This Bad

The reason preferreds are usually so steady is that they simply collect income.… Read more

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As Wall Street loses its mind over a long bond that pays a lousy 1%, we level-headed income investors are going to stay calm. And 7.7% on.

Yes, we “prefer” (hint, hint) dividends that are 7X the weak 1% yield the wonks are clamoring about. I’ll get to the specifics on these retirement makers—which we can buy as easily as common stocks—in a moment. First, let’s appreciate their dividend grandeur.

The Fed is content to sit on a near-zero benchmark rate until at least next year if not 2023. Compounding the problem is that yields on traditional blue chips, while always insufficient, are a downright mockery right now—the 1.55% current yield on the S&P 500 is its lowest point in 15 years.… Read more

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Is this a quick (buyable) blip? Or the next bear market?

While the Wall Street suits guess away, we can do better than the buy and hope crowd. After all, why hope when we can secure our retirement with sustainable cash flows? I’m talking about yields of 6%, 7% or even 8% or more that barely blink when the markets melt down.

These investments are easy to buy. In fact, we purchase them just as we would a mere “common” stock. But here, we’re looking past the obvious to purchase these preferred payouts (yielding 7.4% on average, we’ll talk tickers in a moment).… Read more

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Preferred stocks are hands-down the most ignored investments in this crisis. That’s too bad, because they’re one of the best ways to get a high, safe income stream. And you can supercharge their dividends by purchasing these “dividend unicorns” through preferred-stock closed-end funds.

Before I go further, let me say that if the term “preferred shares” has your eyes glazing over, I get it: most people feel these investments are too obscure to bother with. But stick with me, because preferreds are actually perfectly suited to today’s contradictory economy, with its high numbers of bankruptcies and a rising stock market.… Read more

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You’ve probably heard that less than half of active funds beat their index, and a low-cost index fund is your best bet for long-term investing.

Well, today I want to show you why that is 100% wrong. I’ll also reveal 15 funds paying dividends from 5.6% to 7%, while crushing their index, too.

First, the facts.

When it comes to mutual funds, it’s true that the vast majority of them do not beat their indexes. It’s also true that most funds of all types that invest in common stocks don’t beat their index.

But there’s more to investing than stocks. Much more.… Read more

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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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Don’t be fooled: imitating the picks of famous stock pickers is a road to retirement ruin.

I get it: gurus like Warren Buffett, Dan Loeb and Ken Fisher are the cream of the crop.

Too bad the big cash wads these guys toss around limit them to the lamest dividend investments. And you can bet almost all of them are missing out on one stock that’s paying a lucky group of investors an incredible 32% dividend!

Let’s dive straight into why following the pros’ lead is a big mistake. Then I’ll give you three ridiculously cheap stocks to grab for massive dividends—before their prices take off into the stratosphere.… Read more

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Think you can’t retire on anything less than a million bucks?

Many people would answer that question with a “yes.” If you’re one of them, I have great news: the “million-dollar myth” is just that, a myth.

I’ll tell you why in a second. Then I’ll reveal 4 buys throwing off a safe cash dividend yielding 8.5%—letting you fund your golden years on a lot less.

(These 4 are the tip of the iceberg, by the way. At the very end of this article, I’ll give you 20 more retirement lifesavers paying gaudy 8% average dividends, as well!)

A Million-Dollar Retirement … on $470K!?Read more

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