The $47,120 Mistake: Why 60/40 Portfolios Are Losing in the Tariff Turmoil

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The $47,120 Mistake: Why 60/40 Portfolios Are Losing in the Tariff Turmoil

It’s as predictable as night following day: Stock markets crash, and we almost immediately hear more about the so-called “60/40 rule” as a way for investors to protect themselves.

Don’t fall for this overdone “rule of thumb” (which, as the name says, recommends putting 60% of your portfolio into stocks and 40% into bonds).

Today we’re going to look at a much better way—one that pays you 9.7% dividends and delivers far better performance, too.

2025 Is 2022 Redux for the 60/40 Crowd

Today’s setup reminds me of what I heard near the end of 2022, when stocks were crashing. Back then, many advisors were dredging up this old idea to help ease worried investors’ fears.… Read more

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3 Funds for 8.8% Dividends and Upside Potential in Trump 2.0

With the new administration now in full swing, market events are coming our way at a furious pace.

One thing that’s clear about the next few years? Volatility is likely to tick up, especially with stock valuations stretched. Now more than ever, we need to be diversified, so we’re set up to offset any shocks to any one sector while we collect our high closed-end fund (CEF) dividends.

So that’s what we’re going to do today. And CEFs are the best tool to do it. Through just three funds (see tickers below), we’ll give ourselves access to some of the top blue-chip stocks, real estate investment trusts (REITs) and high-yield bonds out there.… Read more

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REITs Are Set to Bounce in 2025 (and a 7.8% Payer I See Leading the Way)

Real estate investment trusts (REITs) are making a comeback from their post-pandemic downturn—and with the sector still lagging the stock market, we’ve got a chance to buy at attractive discounts.

And we’re well set up to add some 7%+ dividend yields—that have started to grow lately—as we do, not in REITs directly, but in REIT-focused closed-end funds (CEFs).

REITs’ Lag Has Been Dramatic, But the Winds Are Shifting

While the S&P 500 has enjoyed a 14.0% annualized return over the last five years, as of this writing, REITs, as measured by the performance of the benchmark SPDR Dow Jones REIT ETF (RWR), have returned a paltry 2.6% annualized over the same period.… Read more

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3 Big Dividends (Yielding 7.9%) Built for Post-Election Drama

Well, that was fast. As you no doubt know by now, stocks gave back their post-election bump nearly as fast as they took it. Now they’re more or less where they started pre-election.

There’s a story behind this “pop and drop” that showed me something we need to bear in mind more and more as we head into 2025 (and a new presidential term): The need to diversify our portfolios, not only within stocks but (especially, with more volatility likely) beyond them.

And that need for diversification goes for our holdings of high-yielding closed-end funds (CEFs), too.

Now, market veterans will no doubt be quick to say that these short-term moves are just noise, and in the long term it doesn’t really matter who is the president.… Read more

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3 Funds to Beat Post-Election Volatility, Deliver 8%+ Dividends

With more volatility likely as we move past the election and into late 2024, retirement planning might not be top of mind for you right now.

I get it.

But with investing—income investing, especially—it’s critical to keep the long term in focus. And over the long term, the direction of the markets is up.

When we invest in closed-end funds (CEFs), we get an extra advantage: High income, which often comes our way monthly. The average CEF yields 8% now. That’s roughly the long-term average annualized price gain of the S&P 500, depending on the timeframe you look at, delivered to us in dividend cash every year.… Read more

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3 Funds to Beat Post-Election Volatility, Deliver 8%+ Dividends

With more volatility likely as we move past the election and into late 2024, retirement planning might not be top of mind for you right now.

I get it.

But with investing—income investing, especially—it’s critical to keep the long term in focus. And over the long term, the direction of the markets is up.

When we invest in closed-end funds (CEFs), we get an extra advantage: High income, which often comes our way monthly. The average CEF yields 8% now. That’s roughly the long-term average annualized price gain of the S&P 500, depending on the timeframe you look at, delivered to us in dividend cash every year.… Read more

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How a 7% Dividend Yield Became Oversold

I have to laugh when I hear a pundit say that individual investors can’t beat the S&P 500 (and you and I both know this is something we hear quite regularly!).

Truth is, it’s not that hard. Heck, you really only have to choose an ETF from a different sector, like real estate investment trusts (REITs)!

REITs Beat Stocks in the Long Run

As you can see, these “landlords”—shown by the performance of the benchmark SPDR Dow Jones REIT ETF (RWR) in purple above—have easily outpaced the S&P 500 for the 20 years following the ETF’s inception back in 2001.

That outperformance occurred even with the subprime-mortgage crisis (which was obviously real estate focused) and the pandemic selloff (which hit REITs particularly hard, shuttering malls, warehouses and offices across the world).… Read more

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This 8.3% Dividend Is Cheap (And Will Rise on Overblown Rate Fears)

Since last week, markets have been hamstrung by the fear that inflation is going to hang around. So we (naturally!) are going to make a contrarian play on this overdone worry.

How? By picking up high-yielding closed-end funds (CEFs) focusing on real estate—particularly real estate investment trusts (REITs). Many of these are discounted now.

I’ll show you why this timely move is our route to locking in a steady (and monthly paid) 8.3% dividend in just a moment

First, let’s break down the so-called “bad” inflation number that came out last week, because there are some quirks about it that are easy to overlook.… Read more

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This Discounted 3-Fund Portfolio Crushes Stocks, Pays 7.7% in Cash

At my CEF Insider service, I regularly write about the most effective ways to get big dividends—often double-digit yields—from closed-end funds (CEFs) holding some of the world’s best stocks.

I’m talking about companies like Microsoft (MSFT), Apple (AAPL) and Visa (V) here—three common holdings among equity CEFs.

But you can’t just dial up any of these high-yielding funds (CEFs typically yield north of 7%) and call it a day. To get the most out of your CEF investments, you need to invest a bit of time and effort.

Well, how about this: I’ll save you the work and show you a simple three fund portfolio you can create today that gets you a 7.7% income stream and the confidence to hold these funds for decades to come.… Read more

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Think You Don’t Have Enough to Retire? These 8%+ Dividends Change the Math

Today we’re going to build ourselves an outsized income stream with just three funds. Buy all of them and you’ll end up with an average yield of 8%+, with payouts rolling your way every month.

Investing doesn’t get much simpler than that!

You’ll also get strong diversification: The three funds we’re about to uncover hold stocks, bonds and real estate. Combined, give you exposure to thousands of assets across the country.

Maximizing Your Savings Potential

Before we go further, let’s put an 8% payout in perspective: If you have $1 million saved, it translates to $80,000 annually, or over $6,600 per month—a substantial amount that could either supplement or even replace your current income.… Read more

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