Last week, I told you about a supply shortage in one of the world’s most important metals… For the past several years, demand for this metal has been so high and supplies so thin, the market has had no choice but to tap a strategic Russian stock pile to cover the deficit. #-ad_banner-#But Russia’s reserves are almost gone… and if Russia hangs a “sold-out” sign on the door, then get ready for the price of this metal — palladium (a member of the platinum metals group or… Read More

Last week, I told you about a supply shortage in one of the world’s most important metals… For the past several years, demand for this metal has been so high and supplies so thin, the market has had no choice but to tap a strategic Russian stock pile to cover the deficit. #-ad_banner-#But Russia’s reserves are almost gone… and if Russia hangs a “sold-out” sign on the door, then get ready for the price of this metal — palladium (a member of the platinum metals group or (PGMs)) — to skyrocket.  Resource shortages like this are exactly the opportunities I look for in my premium newsletter, Scarcity and Real Wealth. With the demand for palladium soaring, and the global supply getting smaller every day, I think palladium is presenting investors with a good buying opportunity. But investing in palladium can be tricky… it’s not as well known as other metals like gold and silver, and it’s not nearly as frequently traded.  So how do you invest in it then? The easiest way is to invest in the metal is through an exchange-traded fund (ETF) like ETFS… Read More

Over the past few months, I have written extensively about the “new normal” in income investing. You see, as one of StreetAuthority’s leading income investing experts, it’s my obligation to let you know when the rules have changed. #-ad_banner-#​Nonetheless, I consistently get emails from readers, asking me where all of the high yielders have gone. “You are getting away from income investor basics. I am not interested in “total [yield]” or stocks with less than 7%-8% dividends.” — George W., North Carolina I want to devote… Read More

Over the past few months, I have written extensively about the “new normal” in income investing. You see, as one of StreetAuthority’s leading income investing experts, it’s my obligation to let you know when the rules have changed. #-ad_banner-#​Nonetheless, I consistently get emails from readers, asking me where all of the high yielders have gone. “You are getting away from income investor basics. I am not interested in “total [yield]” or stocks with less than 7%-8% dividends.” — George W., North Carolina I want to devote today’s issue to address George’s email, because understanding the reality about income investing in today’s market can mean the difference between market-beating returns and financial ruin. I understand that many of you, like George, want to see me recommend 10%-plus yielders each month — to which I can only respond, so do I. Unfortunately, high-quality stocks with yields even half this high are extremely rare. That’s because, right now, aside from historically low interest rates, American companies are undergoing a transformative shift away from dividends in favor of share repurchases. Don’t get… Read More

For many investors, it’s easy to ignore companies that don’t pay dividends. But sometimes it pays to dig a little deeper into a stock — especially when you realize some of those companies are actually spending their billions on share buybacks instead to reward shareholders. #-ad_banner-#​Why? Because these companies know that buybacks and dividends share one common trait — they’re both a transfer of wealth from the company to the shareholder. But unlike dividends, buybacks aren’t taxable to companies or their shareholders. That’s why I like… Read More

For many investors, it’s easy to ignore companies that don’t pay dividends. But sometimes it pays to dig a little deeper into a stock — especially when you realize some of those companies are actually spending their billions on share buybacks instead to reward shareholders. #-ad_banner-#​Why? Because these companies know that buybacks and dividends share one common trait — they’re both a transfer of wealth from the company to the shareholder. But unlike dividends, buybacks aren’t taxable to companies or their shareholders. That’s why I like to think of them as a sort of “tax-free dividend.” That’s just one of the reasons they’ve become more popular than dividends among shareholders and corporations alike… As I’ve pointed out several times in StreetAuthority Daily, companies have been increasingly choosing stock repurchases in lieu of dividends to create value for their shareholders for the past two decades. I explained more about how share repurchases transfer value in a previous article. Just look at how S&P 500 companies have been spending their excess cash, especially since 1998…… Read More

Once upon a time, high dividend yields were plentiful… so much so that they may have been taken for granted. And now, the tired adage, “You never know how good something is, until it’s gone” has never been more true. For the past few years, the market has been trending away from high-yield dividend payments. As I wrote recently in Dividend Opportunities, just seven stocks in the S&P 500 carry a dividend yield over 6%. On top of that, the average yield for S&P 500 companies is a measly 1.96%. But I’d like to… Read More

Once upon a time, high dividend yields were plentiful… so much so that they may have been taken for granted. And now, the tired adage, “You never know how good something is, until it’s gone” has never been more true. For the past few years, the market has been trending away from high-yield dividend payments. As I wrote recently in Dividend Opportunities, just seven stocks in the S&P 500 carry a dividend yield over 6%. On top of that, the average yield for S&P 500 companies is a measly 1.96%. But I’d like to remind you that just because high-yields are increasingly scarce in today’s market doesn’t mean you have to settle. #-ad_banner-#​What I am getting at is that while high-yields are nice, they aren’t the end-all, be-all of dividend investing. To frame our conversation, let me pose this question: Would you rather have a stagnant 7% yield or a 5% yield that grows by 10% every year? While on its face a high dividend yield is very attractive, growing dividends can turn even lower-yielding stocks into big income producers over time. To see what I mean, look… Read More

In 2013, Warren Buffett’s holding company, Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-B), collected over $4 billion in “tax-free dividends.” These weren’t distributions from tax-exempt securities like municipal bonds. The dividends I’m talking about came from big, blue-chip companies like International Business Machines (NYSE: IBM) and United Parcel Service (NYSE: UPS). Now to be fair, these distributions weren’t dividends in the traditional sense. Buffett didn’t see any extra money in his bank account because of them. #-ad_banner-#​But don’t be fooled. Even though he didn’t get any cash, it doesn’t mean those… Read More

In 2013, Warren Buffett’s holding company, Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-B), collected over $4 billion in “tax-free dividends.” These weren’t distributions from tax-exempt securities like municipal bonds. The dividends I’m talking about came from big, blue-chip companies like International Business Machines (NYSE: IBM) and United Parcel Service (NYSE: UPS). Now to be fair, these distributions weren’t dividends in the traditional sense. Buffett didn’t see any extra money in his bank account because of them. #-ad_banner-#​But don’t be fooled. Even though he didn’t get any cash, it doesn’t mean those payments weren’t beneficial. In fact, each time Buffett’s holdings paid one of these tax-free dividends, the value of that stock went up — regardless of whether its share price increased or not… That’s because these tax-free dividends I’m talking about are actually better known as share buybacks. We call it a “tax-free dividend” because each time a company buys back shares, your stake in that company becomes more valuable due to the declining number of shares outstanding. The value you get from that transaction, is tax-free. Read More

Companies that have recently declared their first-ever dividend may be one of the best investing barometers in existence. At least that’s how Peter Hodson, a former hedge fund guru at Sprott Asset Management, feels. In fact, after more than 25 years in the investment management industry, he swears by it. There’s some logic to all this.  A company doesn’t have to pay dividends, it chooses to. And if a company that has never made payments before suddenly decides to start, then it’s probably a profitable company whose underlying business fundamentals are strengthening. Read More

Companies that have recently declared their first-ever dividend may be one of the best investing barometers in existence. At least that’s how Peter Hodson, a former hedge fund guru at Sprott Asset Management, feels. In fact, after more than 25 years in the investment management industry, he swears by it. There’s some logic to all this.  A company doesn’t have to pay dividends, it chooses to. And if a company that has never made payments before suddenly decides to start, then it’s probably a profitable company whose underlying business fundamentals are strengthening. No sensible management team will commit to millions in recurring obligations if the prospect of future cash generation looks iffy.  That’s true with any dividend increase, but particularly the first one. Anybody can make their 50th or 60th monthly mortgage payment without much thought. It’s buying the house and committing to the first monthly payment that takes some number-crunching and forecasting.  In much the same way, a company doesn’t enter into a new dividend without a confident outlook. Now, there are some skeptics… Read More

When it comes to beating the market, dividends have always reigned supreme. If you’d invested $100,000 in the S&P 500 back in 1982, it would have been worth $2.3 million by the end of 2011. If you would have invested that same amount in dividend payers, you’d have $4.3 million. Not bad. That’s where most investors stop… But if you’d invested the same amount of cash using a simple strategy that too many investors often ignore, then it would have been worth $6.7 million. Many investors searching for the best total returns will simply look for… Read More

When it comes to beating the market, dividends have always reigned supreme. If you’d invested $100,000 in the S&P 500 back in 1982, it would have been worth $2.3 million by the end of 2011. If you would have invested that same amount in dividend payers, you’d have $4.3 million. Not bad. That’s where most investors stop… But if you’d invested the same amount of cash using a simple strategy that too many investors often ignore, then it would have been worth $6.7 million. Many investors searching for the best total returns will simply look for stocks with high dividends. That makes sense. But dividends don’t tell the whole story — not even half of it. If you’re looking for more cash from your investments, you should be looking at all of the ways a company distributes its cash. Don’t get me wrong — dividends can be a great indicator of company health. From 1972 through 2011, members of the S&P that don’t pay dividends returned just 1.4% per year, turning a $1,000 investment into just $1,710 according to research by Ned Davis. Meanwhile, companies that pay dividends returned 8.6% annually — significantly more than those… Read More

Two-in-five. That’s the number of mutual fund managers that have actually beaten the market over the past five years, according to the S&P Indices Versus Actives Funds Scorecard. Why, you might ask, do these “experts” so often fail to beat the market? Reasons vary widely, but there’s one simple thing these managers often fail to account for… a stock’s “Total Yield.” #-ad_banner-#And though there’s ample evidence to prove that this investing strategy beats the market — you’ll hardly ever hear about it in the mainstream financial press. I’ve been talking about the benefits of a Total Yield strategy for months… Read More

Two-in-five. That’s the number of mutual fund managers that have actually beaten the market over the past five years, according to the S&P Indices Versus Actives Funds Scorecard. Why, you might ask, do these “experts” so often fail to beat the market? Reasons vary widely, but there’s one simple thing these managers often fail to account for… a stock’s “Total Yield.” #-ad_banner-#And though there’s ample evidence to prove that this investing strategy beats the market — you’ll hardly ever hear about it in the mainstream financial press. I’ve been talking about the benefits of a Total Yield strategy for months now. In short, the strategy looks at all the ways a company rewards shareholders. It not only accounts for dividends, but also two other payment metrics: stock buybacks and debt reduction. (I talked about the importance of each of these “extra” payment methods in detail here and here.) It’s simple. Investing in companies that use all three of these shareholder-friendly practices can mean the difference between merely keeping pace with the market and beating it. To show you what I mean, I’d like to reveal one of my favorite Total Yield stocks. Since I recommended it to readers of my… Read More

Previously, I told StreetAuthority readers about two of the most famous land deals in history. And while most history buffs know the story behind the Louisiana Purchase and the cession of Alaska to the United States by Russia, my point in relating those two stories was to illustrate the timeless wealth potential of real estate that still makes for a smart investment to this very day. #-ad_banner-#I recently retold the story of another famous land deal to readers of my premium income newsletter, High-Yield Investing, to further drive home the point. I’d like to share that story with you today… Read More

Previously, I told StreetAuthority readers about two of the most famous land deals in history. And while most history buffs know the story behind the Louisiana Purchase and the cession of Alaska to the United States by Russia, my point in relating those two stories was to illustrate the timeless wealth potential of real estate that still makes for a smart investment to this very day. #-ad_banner-#I recently retold the story of another famous land deal to readers of my premium income newsletter, High-Yield Investing, to further drive home the point. I’d like to share that story with you today — and tell you about how regular investors can gain exposure to some of the most valuable real estate in the world without having to risk enormous amounts of capital… Neither of these two famous land purchases I recounted earlier compares with the real estate coup that was orchestrated by a man named Peter Minuit in May 1626. Legend has it that Minuit, a representative of the Dutch West India Co., bartered some goods worth 60 Dutch guilders to local Indians in exchange for what is now the island of Manhattan. Now, this tale is part truth and part folklore. Read More

For the past few months, I’ve been telling readers of my High-Yield Investing newsletter about the secrets of America’s privileged. You see, wealthy folks in the U.S. invest differently than most of us. And I believe it’s worth examining their investing habits and taking a cue from their practices. #-ad_banner-#After all, America’s privileged have their wealth for a reason… It’s one thing to accumulate wealth, but they’re also incredibly successful at preserving and growing it for years on end. I personally know about the perpetual income of America’s privileged because it’s also been in my family now for three generations. Read More

For the past few months, I’ve been telling readers of my High-Yield Investing newsletter about the secrets of America’s privileged. You see, wealthy folks in the U.S. invest differently than most of us. And I believe it’s worth examining their investing habits and taking a cue from their practices. #-ad_banner-#After all, America’s privileged have their wealth for a reason… It’s one thing to accumulate wealth, but they’re also incredibly successful at preserving and growing it for years on end. I personally know about the perpetual income of America’s privileged because it’s also been in my family now for three generations. Ever since I can remember, money was never a source of worry in our family. I don’t recall hard times while growing up. I know there were recessions… and I had friends whose fathers had been laid off. But somehow, we were isolated from the same hardships. You see, my grandfather came upon the perpetual income of America’s privileged 30 years ago and it has changed the way our family has lived ever since… Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not claiming I come from a family of America’s privileged. We’re ordinary folks. The kind you meet every day. Both… Read More