Holding low-yielding shares? Here’s how to boost dividends up to 35%—no buying or selling needed.

We’ll use boring ol’ SPY—SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY)—as our first example. The fund yields a sleepy 1.1%, yet it’s the most owned ticker in America.

Here’s how we fix SPY’s yield problem.

On Monday, I received an email from OptionSignals, the timing system I developed for Contrarian Outlook readers who write covered calls and sell puts to generate income. OptionSignals tells us when it is a promising time to write calls or sell puts on an index, fund or individual stock.… Read more

I have to laugh when I hear the phrase “return to the office.”

I mean, COVID started more than five years ago. With the turnover in Corporate America since then, we can hardly call what’s happening now a “return.”

Most of those “returning” aren’t even the same people!

Nonetheless, the, shall we say, revenge, of the office is real. My wife and I saw it firsthand when we went to an open house here in Sacramento a few months ago. Staring into the front room, labeled “home office,” my wife said, “Programmer.”

“They’re hoping for a rentback,” said the realtor.… Read more

Brand new dividends are often the best divvies to buy. Here why.

Companies typically initiate a new payout when they are serious about it. This means not only is management going to make sure the dividend is adequately funded, but they are also likely to raise it in a year.

Perennial raises command our attention because these growing payouts tend to pull their stock prices higher. This is the “Dividend Magnet” phenomenon we often discuss and highlight in my Hidden Yields research advisory. The most lucrative stocks to buy today are the ones that are growing their payouts the fastest tomorrow.… Read more

Today we’re going to talk about a unique fund that’s soared 69.4% so far this year—but despite that huge run, it’s still not a buy.

That said, there is a route to a buy here that I think will surprise you.

So what’s the name of this high-flyer? ASA Gold and Precious Metals Ltd. (ASA). It doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue, and the fund itself isn’t very well-known.

The details: ASA has a bit more than $600 million in assets under management, making it small compared to most ETFs, CEFs’ more popular cousins. As you can likely tell from the name, ASA focuses on gold and other precious metals.… Read more

Fire Powell? Keep him around? The question never seems to go away—and the markets, fueled by the so-called “TACO” trade (“Trump always chickens out,” as the acronym goes), are shrugging it all off.

But what if Trump calls Wall Street’s bluff? Luckily, there are not one but three ways for us to hedge ourselves from the “TACO trade” going cold. Below, we’ll look at all three and I’ll name my favorite of this trio. Plus we’ll grab ourselves tidy dividends of 7%+, too.

Powell Has Been On His Way Out (or Not!) for Months

If you’re experiencing déjà vu, it’s because this same story happened back in April, and it sent stocks plunging back then.… Read more

Money market accounts still offer 5%, but these rates won’t last. Short-term yields are dropping, fast.

With the “safe 5% party” ending, you and I should skedaddle to the “11% yield afterparty” now. Fear not, my fellow contrarian—I have an extra dividend VIP pass for you.

Fed Chair Jay Powell’s tenure is in the homestretch. Whether or not ol’ Jay makes it to the finish or gets hauled off prematurely, the Chair is a lame duck as far as the markets are concerned.

Traders are pricing in two Fed cuts over the next nine months. Meanwhile, the industry projects money market rates to plummet to 3.8% by year end, with the 2-year Treasury yield also trending down, currently at 3.9%.… Read more

There aren’t many things we can say for certain these days, but there is one: We dividend investors are far better off than the mainstream crowd!

Consider the poor souls holding “America’s ticker”—my name for the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY). I call it that because, well, pretty well everyone owns it. These folks white-knuckled it through the April “tariff tantrum” and are now on a knife edge as the ETF bobs around near all-time highs, boosting the odds of yet another sharp drop.

Of course, pullbacks are a constant in investing (and something we contrarians love to tap for bargains!).… Read more

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

Quarterly payers are the norm. But monthly dividends…. Yeah, that’s that stuff.

Today we’ll chat about five monthly divvies that yield between 5.8% and 16.3% per year. That’s right, these stocks pay early, often and heavy.

What’s wrong with a plain ‘ol quarterly dividend? Let’s consider using my Income Calendar dividend projection tool. If we put $100K into each of the top five stocks in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, here is the lumpy, inconsistent and sad income picture we are looking at:

Dividends From Top 5 Dow Stocks

Source: Income Calendar

Lumpy and, let’s be honest—lame.

Instead let’s consider our five monthly payers.… Read more

Think back three months: The market was in the throes of the “tariff terror.” Us? We were doing what we always do: sifting out overly beaten down closed-end funds (CEFs) with huge yields.

Today, the stock market is doing the opposite of what it was back then—levitating from all-time high to all-time high. And we’re still finding bargain-priced dividends. Right now, some of the best ones are in corporate-bond CEFs.

Let’s keep at it now by zeroing on two corporate-bond CEFs that are still undervalued—though one much more than the other. On average, they yield north of 9%.

I mention the April tariff crash for a reason: In an April 17 article (published as trade confusion reigned), I focused on two oversold PIMCO corporate-bond funds that, at the time, yielded 10.1% between them.… Read more