16 Big Dividends We’re Avoiding Like Right Now

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Few people pay much attention to the management team of a closed-end fund (CEF). But it’s becoming a much more critical factor driving CEF upside (and downside!), as well as these funds’ 8%+ dividend payouts.

I was reminded of this recently by a story that’s unfolding in the UK, where two asset-management firms are struggling a bit to hire CEOs. One is Scotland-based abrdn plc (SLFPF), whose shares have risen just 2.6% annually in the US on average over the last decade.

Compare that to a roughly 10% average year-to-date return enjoyed by the other major asset managers abrdn is competing with, and you get a good idea of what’s happening here: abrdn isn’t doing well enough to attract the best talent.… Read more

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The 2019 rebound has done a lot to revive most people’s portfolios. But there’s a new trap you need to dodge as the market ticks up: the risk you’ll stumble into an overbought stock (or fund).

But don’t take that to mean stocks are pricey—far from it! The S&P 500 is barely up from the start of 2018 and still far from its all-time highs, which is ridiculous when you consider last year’s near-20% earnings growth.

So it’s pretty easy to see that stocks are still ripe for buying.

But there is one sector I am worried about—and it brings me to the first of 3 closed-end funds (CEFs) I want to warn you about today.… Read more

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The 2019 rebound has done a lot to revive most people’s portfolios. But there’s a new trap you need to dodge as the market ticks up: the risk you’ll stumble into an overbought stock (or fund).

But don’t take that to mean stocks are pricey—far from it! The S&P 500 is barely up from the start of 2018 and still far from its all-time highs, which is ridiculous when you consider last year’s near-20% earnings growth.

So it’s pretty easy to see that stocks are still ripe for buying.

But there is one sector I am worried about—and it brings me to the first of 3 closed-end funds (CEFs) I want to warn you about today.… Read more

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If you feel good because your S&P 500 index fund has taken off like a rocket in 2017, you may not want to read this article.

Because the S&P 500 is, in fact, not doing well this year—at least not compared to its peers.

Don’t believe me?

Take a look at the SPDR S&P 500 ETF’s (SPY) performance relative to a global stock fund like the Vanguard Total World Stock ETF (VT):

The World Races Ahead

Not only is a global stock portfolio crushing the S&P 500, but US equities are actually dragging the world’s returns down.

Notice how, in the chart above, the Vanguard FTSE All-World ex-US ETF (VEU) is up 14.6%, versus VT’s 11.1% return for 2017?…
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