Contrarian Outlook

The other day, we broke down how return of capital (ROC) can be both good and bad for investors in 8%+ yielding closed-end funds (CEFs). But in the case of high-quality CEFs, ROC is, contrary to what...

The thing most people love about closed-end funds (CEFs) is, well, pretty straightforward: the dividends! With these income plays kicking out average yields of 8.7%, they really can go a long way to...

Merry Christmas, my fellow contrarian! Did Santa bring you a tax-advantaged dividend this morning? The municipal bonds funding the Las Vegas Valley Nevada Water District would have made a great...

I think it’s clear by now that Trump 2.0 is going to look different from Trump 1.0. Some areas, like tariffs, look similar to the first time around (though we expect more of them in the second term)....

Not many people know this, but if you really want to diversify—deftly balancing and rebalancing to maximize (and protect) your gains, you need to invest in closed-end funds (CEFs). Doing this with...

The suits on Wall Street will say that $460K isn’t enough to retire on. Well, that “modest” nest egg will earn $64,860 in dividends alone when invested in this simple 7-CEF portfolio. CEFs are the...

As I write this, the S&P 500 is sitting on a 28% total return for 2024. And of course, that could shoot even higher if we get the traditional Santa Claus rally. Obviously, that’s been great for...

I’d like to share my simple “Made for 2025” Dividend Plan with you. It’s a simple, safe strategy that identifies dividend stocks with payouts set to surge higher. As these divvies pop, so do their...

At times like these, I’m reminded of a quote from Howard Marks, the most successful value investor you’ve likely never heard of. (Warren Buffett is a fan.) Marks’s monthly “Oaktree Memos” are well...

It looks like 2024 will end with a big gain for investors in US stocks, with the S&P 500 up 28% year-to-date, even better than my (admittedly optimistic) expectations: I saw a roughly 15% gain...

Trump 2.0 will feature Wall Street-approved suit Scott Bessent as Treasury secretary. Bessent will advocate for financial deregulation and increased lending. Easier and faster money. Which will be a...

We income investors don’t talk about international stocks nearly enough. That’s too bad, because there are ways we can use them to build a massive income stream and make our investments safer,...

Are higher interest rates and lower bond prices a sure thing for 2025? Mainstream financial pundits say yes. Which gives us thoughtful contrarians pause. Their narrative against bonds is assumed....

We’re now well on our way to Trump 2.0, and I’m getting a lot of questions from readers about where things head from here. I see the new administration as overall bullish for stocks. But the truth...

This has been a great year for stocks—and a great year for our 8%+ yielding closed-end funds (CEFs), too. That makes sense: Many CEFs invest in stocks, and many more hold bonds issued by publicly...

Small-cap stocks should benefit from the new administration. We’ll discuss four under $20 with yields between 7% and 15.1%. The Trump 2.0 Trade is rolling and small caps are soaring because they are...