4 Tax-Free “Layup Dividends” With 32% Upside

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4 Tax-Free “Layup Dividends” With 32% Upside

Where are we to turn for high, safe dividends these days? Certainly not 10-Year Treasuries, unless you think you can scrape by on their 1.7% yields.

I’ll save you the calculation: you can’t, because that yield matches the inflation rate to the decimal point.

Your “true” income? $0.

The S&P 500 isn’t much better: for a pittance more (a 1.84% average yield), you’re exposing your nest egg to this:

When a 1.8% Dividend Costs You 20%

But don’t, because I’ve got a better way—a low-key alternative I call a “layup dividend.” If you’re a basketball fan, you know what I’m talking about: the layup is the simplest shot in the game, where you simply “lay” the ball over the rim into the net.… Read more

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These 1-Click “Dividend Machines” Yield 8.8% with 56% Upside

Certain closed-end fund (CEF) investors are getting a little desperate for dividends. It’s tough to blame them for reaching for 5%, 6% and even 7%+ yields in a 2% to 3% world.

But by grossly overpaying for funds, they are risking too much capital to bank these payouts. If you own any of the five popular funds I’m about to call out, you should consider selling them immediately.

(There are bargain replacements, after all. I’m talking about funds trading as cheap as $0.88 on the dollar and yielding 7.2%. We’ll discuss specifics in a moment.)

“First-level” income seekers can be greedy one minute and fearful the next.… Read more

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The Tax Plan Tees Up 20%+ Yearly Gains From REITs, Forever

The IRS already allows REITs (real estate investment trusts) to avoid paying income taxes if they pay out most of their earnings to shareholders. As a result these firms tend to collect rent checks, pay their bills and send most of the rest of the cash to us as dividends.

But the IRS considers the dividends you and I receive from our REITs “nonqualified” dividends. This means they are taxed at our regular income rate.

Until now, that is. REIT investors will benefit from the tax breaks that “pass through” businesses will receive in the 2018 tax code. Investors will be allowed deduct 20% of their REIT dividend income (per U.S.… Read more

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Safe Tax-Free Bonds Paying 5%+ to Buy and Hold Forever

If you’re looking for tax-free yields, municipal (“muni”) bonds can provide you with 5%+ distributions that Uncle Sam won’t touch. With rates rising, it is a bit tricky to make savvy buying decisions at the moment. But income investors buying smartly today are banking 5%+ yields – and paying as little as 88 cents on the dollar!

For quick profits, it’s best to buy munis after mini-panics. They seem to happen every year or two, presenting us levelheaded contrarians with safe yields for cheap. (Most recently, readers who followed my advice and bought munis after an irrational “tax plan panic” enjoyed total returns up to 16.7% in just 12 months!)

Muni Selloffs Usually Precede Quick Profits

Today: Big Discounts Plus Demand Outpaces Supply

For longer-term income investors looking for steady monthly paychecks, the best time to buy munis is usually anytime – especially for those in a high tax bracket.…
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A 1-Click “Tax Hack” for 5.3% Tax-Free Yields

Most “high bracket” investors love the idea of tax-free muni bonds. But they aren’t sure where to buy them, and often end up using exchange traded funds (ETFs) as their vehicle of choice.

Bad idea.

Muni ETFs provide a smooth but unfulfilling ride. The popular iShares National Muni Bond ETF (MUB) for example has rewarded its investors with a drama-free decade. Prescient investors who foresaw the big crash of 2008 and piled into munis saved themselves a year of heartburn and earned $50,000 in Federal tax-free income on every $100,000 they saved from stocks:

MUB is Steady, But Unspectacular

Stocks, as usual, were better over the long run.…
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10 Steady Tax-Equivalent Yields Up to 10%

Municipal bonds are off to a slow start in 2018 – which is usually a bullish sign for these tax-free payers.

We last “pounded the table” on munis in December 2016. They were coming off their worst month since the Great Recession, and we discussed their tendency to rally when they are hated:

“It’s impossible to call a top in yields (or bottom in munis) without the benefit of hindsight. But we contrarians make our money buying when nobody else wants to – and the last time munis were this hated, they returned 30-38% over the next 12 months.”

Turns out that was the bottom in munis.…
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How to Buy Rate-Proof and Crash-Proof 8%+ Bonds

If you take the mainstream financial media at face value, you might be under the impression that all high yield bonds are in big trouble with interest rates on the move.

Wrong.

The best bond portfolios haven’t actually budged since the recent market insanity began. Take, for example, our favorite PIMCO play. Its net asset value (NAV, the actual market value of its holdings) held steady while the stock market was dropping sharply:

What Crash? This NAV is Steady

The fund’s price, meanwhile, eased down 2.2% from peak to trough. But we shouldn’t confuse price with value – we should focus on the latter, which is a more accurate measure for investing profits.…
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The Best 6%+ Yields for the New Tax Plan

As income investors react to the new tax plan, it’s a good bet that some are overreacting to certain aspects of it. They always do.

There’s confusion between high yielding fixed income, and pure junk. There’s also a flood of tax-advantaged paper about to hit the market, creating bargains for smart buyers.

The result? Yields up to 10%, with some price upside to boot!

Bargain #1: “Smart” High-Yield Bond Funds for 7.5%+

If you hold high-yield (often called junk) bonds, you may have noticed they’ve sold off as the Republicans’ tax talk became serious. They’ve taken down other assets, too – some for good reason, some not.…
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The Best 8% Dividends for a Bear Market

You’re not the only one worried about high stock prices.

The lurking (and perhaps overdue) bear has other income investors worried, too. So let’s talk about the best buys for those of you worried about a stock market pullback of 10%, or 15%, or more.

We’ll start with some stalwarts from our Contrarian Income Report portfolio that weathered the last storm. Ironically (and probably fittingly) it happened off the bat – we launched our service, and the S&P 500 promptly dropped 10%!

No problem for us, though. In fact, subscribers who focused on their own holdings rather than the financial news may have missed the broader carnage altogether.…
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