This “Lame” 3.8% Dividend Crushes Stocks (and It’s Cheap)

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This “Lame” 3.8% Dividend Crushes Stocks (and It’s Cheap)

When it comes to closed-end funds (CEFs), many investors are always focused on one thing: the dividend.

It makes sense: CEFs pay 8.5% yields, on average, according to data from my CEF Insider service.

But sometimes it pays to look beyond those big payouts, because by doing so, you could find a CEF with a track record so strong that its total return (dividends and gains combined) beats that of a CEF with a high yield.

I don’t know about you, but I’m willing to take more of my return in the form of price gains if it means, say, doubling my money in five years!… Read more

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This Big Dividend Soared 120% (But It’s Still Cheap)

I know I don’t have to tell you this market is “pricey”—levitating from all-time high to all-time high. That’s got a lot of investors stuck on the sidelines, too afraid to buy until we get another dip.

That’s too bad for them, because sitting on your hands right now is a mistake.

Here’s the truth: Even at times like these, we should be buying—especially through discounted closed-end funds (CEFs), which are, in my view, the best income plays out there, with many paying 8% and more.

From Fear to Greed 

It’s hard to believe now, but back in April, the level of fear hit levels higher than we saw even during the COVID lockdowns or the 2022 rate-driven crash.… Read more

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3 Big Dividends to Buy (Up to 9.4%) as Trump 2.0 Reshapes Markets

In our Thursday article, we talked about a “quiet shift” in the markets, from growth stocks to value—and we named 2 CEFs yielding 9%+ that are primed to profit from it.

Yes, the recent jump in volatility is a big reason for that. So today, we’re going to look at another side of the rotation we’re seeing—a shift from passive investing to active.

Index Funds Are so 2023

As we move further into 2025, it’s getting clearer to me that we’re into a stock-picker’s market. Sitting in an index fund just won’t cut it.

That said, at my CEF Insider service, we’re still bullish on stocks (and stock-focused closed-end funds, many of which hand us 8%+ yields), and we’ll get into two stock-focused funds, along with another that holds preferred stocks—kind of a stock/bond hybrid—below.… Read more

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This 5.5% Tax-Advantaged Dividend Soared Overnight (How It Could Happen Again)

Every now and then in income investing, we get a sweet setup where a “boring” high yielder absolutely soars—practically overnight.

I recently saw such a scenario play out with a closed-end fund (CEF) called the BlackRock Municipal Income Fund (MUI). I bring it up now because what happened with MUI has a lot to teach us about how we can get stock-like gains from a so-called “boring” income play like this.

Despite its sleepy-sounding name, MUI is what I consider a “triple threat” investment because it can pay us in three different ways:

  1. Its dividend, which yields a high 5.5% and has been remarkably stable, even throughout the low-rate 2010s.

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How a “Boring” Bond Fund Crushed the NASDAQ, Paid a Massive 17% Yield

Closed-end funds (CEFs) are incredible wealth generators, combining huge (8%+, in many cases) dividends, with the potential for stock-like price gains.

But to make the most of them, you need to look at one essential indicator: the discount to net asset value (NAV, or the value of the fund’s underlying portfolio).

We don’t have to go too far into the weeds here: it’s just another way of saying that CEFs can, and often do, trade for less than their portfolios are actually worth.

That makes our approach straightforward: Buy when a CEF trades at an unusually deep discount—then ride along as that discount dissipates, driving the price higher as it does.… Read more

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Why Fund Fees Will Plunge in ’24 (and the High-Yielders That’ll Win Big)

ETFs, mutual funds—and, yes, high-yielding closed-end funds (CEFs)—all have one surprising new year’s resolution this year: cutting their management fees.

But unlike my resolution to stop eating donuts and work out three times a week, this is a resolution that managers of these funds will likely keep—setting their funds up for higher returns as a result.

Why? Because their feet are being held to the fire.

Activists Push for Big Fee Cuts

Truth is, there’s a quiet shift happening in the world of fund management, with more people clamoring for lower fees on all kinds of funds, including CEFs like those we recommend in my CEF Insider service, whose portfolio yields 9.0% today.… Read more

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These 3 “Dividend Dreams” Boast 268% Payout Growth, 12% Yields

Don’t lament the lack of a Santa Claus rally this year, because it comes with a bright silver lining: we dividend investors have more time to pick up big yields on the cheap.

Here’s why: America’s economy is still growing, with analysts booking forecasts for 3.7% earnings growth in the fourth quarter of 2022. What’s more, sales for S&P 500 companies are up 10%, and earnings have been rising all year.

Yet the market is still downbeat.

In other words, share prices are divorced from reality, and it’s only a matter of time before they correct. However, given the year we’ve had, it could still be a while before investors develop an appetite for stocks again.… Read more

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