I’ve said it at least a hundred times, and I’ll say it at least a hundred more… the vast majority of the world’s best high-yield stocks are NOT based in the United States… Don’t believe me? Consider this… Of the 118 companies that pay dividend yields of more than 12%, only 25 of them are based in the U.S. Although the number fluctuates daily, that means roughly 79% of the world’s highest yields are found outside the United States. #-ad_banner-#Unfortunately, most investors don’t consider foreign stocks when they’re looking for dividend investments. They automatically dismiss other countries as “risky” and… Read More

I’ve said it at least a hundred times, and I’ll say it at least a hundred more… the vast majority of the world’s best high-yield stocks are NOT based in the United States… Don’t believe me? Consider this… Of the 118 companies that pay dividend yields of more than 12%, only 25 of them are based in the U.S. Although the number fluctuates daily, that means roughly 79% of the world’s highest yields are found outside the United States. #-ad_banner-#Unfortunately, most investors don’t consider foreign stocks when they’re looking for dividend investments. They automatically dismiss other countries as “risky” and “unproven.” That’s a mistake. Just because a company is located outside the U.S., it doesn’t mean it’s risky. In fact, sometimes investing in foreign countries can actually be safer than investing here at home. Let’s face it, the past 14 years haven’t been kind to American equities. From the start of the millennium to December 31, 2013, the S&P 500 returned just 64%, including dividends. That’s equivalent to a pathetic 3.6% annualized return — barely enough to keep pace with inflation. Meanwhile, problems in Washington are only making matters worse. A ballooning national debt, the “fiscal cliff,” and billions of… Read More

For the past year, I’ve shown you how to generate hundreds or even thousands of dollars in income a week without relying on dividends.  Using my “Instant Income” strategy, subscribers collected $130 from a $1,100 investment on SodaStream (Nasdaq: SODA), a company that produces and sells home beverage carbonation systems, last August — for a 11.8% return in just 44 days. And last October, we collected 15.7% in 44 days from a trade on AmTrust Financial Service (Nasdaq: AFSI), a property insurance provider. #-ad_banner-#If you’re a regular StreetAuthority Daily reader or one of my Income Trader subscribers, you’re familiar with… Read More

For the past year, I’ve shown you how to generate hundreds or even thousands of dollars in income a week without relying on dividends.  Using my “Instant Income” strategy, subscribers collected $130 from a $1,100 investment on SodaStream (Nasdaq: SODA), a company that produces and sells home beverage carbonation systems, last August — for a 11.8% return in just 44 days. And last October, we collected 15.7% in 44 days from a trade on AmTrust Financial Service (Nasdaq: AFSI), a property insurance provider. #-ad_banner-#If you’re a regular StreetAuthority Daily reader or one of my Income Trader subscribers, you’re familiar with my strategy. It involves selling puts on undervalued, high-quality stocks.  The strategy works very well.  On average, my readers are collecting 7.9% in “Instant Income” every 48 days. And so far, we’re 35 for 35  when it comes to closed trades. But today, we’re doing something different. I want tell you about my latest income research… and it doesn’t involve dividends or selling puts. Around the office we call it the “Maximum Income” project. It’s one of the best ways I’ve found to generate thousands of dollars in cash from hundreds of stocks… including those that you already own. I’m… Read More

If you were asked what the scarcest commodity on the planet was, you might say gold or oil. But it’s neither of these. Nor is it platinum or copper or one of the rare earth metals. If you guessed fresh water, you’d be close… #-ad_banner-#The scarcest commodity on Earth is something nobody will ever make more of. Yet demand for it is growing at a rapid clip. I’m talking about land. The wealthiest families in the world own land. Lots of land. And while most people wouldn’t think of land as a “commodity,” it is, by definition, one… Read More

If you were asked what the scarcest commodity on the planet was, you might say gold or oil. But it’s neither of these. Nor is it platinum or copper or one of the rare earth metals. If you guessed fresh water, you’d be close… #-ad_banner-#The scarcest commodity on Earth is something nobody will ever make more of. Yet demand for it is growing at a rapid clip. I’m talking about land. The wealthiest families in the world own land. Lots of land. And while most people wouldn’t think of land as a “commodity,” it is, by definition, one of the scarcest commodities in the world. Think about it this way… The world’s population is growing by about 200,000 people every day. That’s over a million new people a week crowding into a fixed amount of space to live, work and shop — placing pressure on housing, office parks, and retail strip centers. That’s exactly why forward-looking mega investors like Warren Buffett are placing big bets on land and buildings. We tend to associate ultra-rich business tycoons with hard assets like steel and oil. But more often than not, the world’s billionaires have invested the bulk of their wealth… Read More

I don’t understand some investors. The first several days of 2014 were a down note — and in the eyes of many investors, that signaled the end of the bull market. This kind of thinking is ridiculous in my book. What we have witnessed is profit-taking, pure and simple. Every new high is always greeted the same way — with investors taking their profits before buying back into the market. It happens again and again, but each time — particularly at an arbitrary milestone like the first of the year — it brings fear to investors. Every bullish… Read More

I don’t understand some investors. The first several days of 2014 were a down note — and in the eyes of many investors, that signaled the end of the bull market. This kind of thinking is ridiculous in my book. What we have witnessed is profit-taking, pure and simple. Every new high is always greeted the same way — with investors taking their profits before buying back into the market. It happens again and again, but each time — particularly at an arbitrary milestone like the first of the year — it brings fear to investors. Every bullish stock market has periods of selling. A glance at the weekly chart of the Dow Jones Industrial Average shows a dozen down weeks during the super-bull market of 2013.   #-ad_banner-#Fueled by strong corporate earnings and unconditional support from the Federal Reserve, the Dow surged more than 3,000 points higher last year. Stocks amply rewarded patient long-term investors with the foresight to stick to their investment plan. It was not just stocks that surged in 2013, as private equity firms also posted a record-breaking year. I expect this bullish trend to continue into 2014. Once reserved for the… Read More

There are about a thousand of them listed on the U.S. exchanges. They track everything from the S&P 500… to gold… to Treasury bonds… and much more. They are basically nothing more than portfolios of stocks, bonds or commodities that trade on the major exchanges as a single security. But underneath a placid exterior, one of America’s fastest-growing asset classes reached a key milestone just two years ago: Total assets invested in U.S. exchange-traded funds (ETFs) surpassed $1 trillion for the first time. #-ad_banner-#That represents the culmination of a remarkable episode of growth. The first U.S.-traded ETF was launched on… Read More

There are about a thousand of them listed on the U.S. exchanges. They track everything from the S&P 500… to gold… to Treasury bonds… and much more. They are basically nothing more than portfolios of stocks, bonds or commodities that trade on the major exchanges as a single security. But underneath a placid exterior, one of America’s fastest-growing asset classes reached a key milestone just two years ago: Total assets invested in U.S. exchange-traded funds (ETFs) surpassed $1 trillion for the first time. #-ad_banner-#That represents the culmination of a remarkable episode of growth. The first U.S.-traded ETF was launched on January 29, 1993 — so it took fewer than 19 years for the ETF industry to crack the $1 trillion barrier. To put that in perspective, it took the mutual fund industry (first launched in 1924) 66 years to surpass $1 trillion in assets. Assets invested in ETFs grew at a 31% annualized pace from 2000 to 2011 compared to just 6% annual growth for mutual funds. And alongside the growth of ETFs is the growth in closed-end funds (CEFs). The differences between CEFs and ETFs are small — both allow you to buy into a basket of securities with… Read More

I think it’s one of the market’s biggest missed opportunities. Every day, millions of U.S. investors are missing out on the world’s highest-yielding securities. That’s because the vast majority of the world’s highest-yields aren’t found in the United States. #-ad_banner-#As the Chief Strategist of High-Yield International, my job is to scour the globe for the world’s highest yielding stocks, funds and ETFs. And at last count, my research shows that over 79% of the world’s highest-yielding stocks are based in international markets. (You can read more of my research about these stocks here.) That includes companies like global shipping giant… Read More

I think it’s one of the market’s biggest missed opportunities. Every day, millions of U.S. investors are missing out on the world’s highest-yielding securities. That’s because the vast majority of the world’s highest-yields aren’t found in the United States. #-ad_banner-#As the Chief Strategist of High-Yield International, my job is to scour the globe for the world’s highest yielding stocks, funds and ETFs. And at last count, my research shows that over 79% of the world’s highest-yielding stocks are based in international markets. (You can read more of my research about these stocks here.) That includes companies like global shipping giant Navios Maritime Partners (NYSE: NMM), which yields 9.3%. And Bermuda-based outfits like SeaDrill (NYSE: SDRL), which pays an impressive 7.9%. If you’re like most people, then you’ll probably never take advantage of foreign stocks like these. That’s a shame, because the average stock in the United Kingdom yields 3.8%… Brazil’s average yield is 4.4%… Australia yields 4.3%… and New Zealand pays 4.5%. By contrast, stocks here at home yield a paltry 2%, on average. Most U.S. investors dismiss the idea of investing abroad. They tend to think other countries are “riskier” than the United States. But that’s not always the… Read More

Recently, 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. 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… Read More

Recently, 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. 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… #-ad_banner-#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… Read More

I counted twice, just to be sure. $16,074. That’s the amount in “daily paychecks” — more commonly known as dividends — I’ve received from my investment portfolio in the past 12 months. That total comes to $1,339 a month. Cash. I’m not telling you this to brag. I’m telling you because I firmly believe that my system of investing is hands down one of the best ways to invest in the stock market. #-ad_banner-#Whether you’re 28 or 88… whether you’re a millionaire or just getting started… and whether you have an MBA or didn’t graduate high school… you can make… Read More

I counted twice, just to be sure. $16,074. That’s the amount in “daily paychecks” — more commonly known as dividends — I’ve received from my investment portfolio in the past 12 months. That total comes to $1,339 a month. Cash. I’m not telling you this to brag. I’m telling you because I firmly believe that my system of investing is hands down one of the best ways to invest in the stock market. #-ad_banner-#Whether you’re 28 or 88… whether you’re a millionaire or just getting started… and whether you have an MBA or didn’t graduate high school… you can make money using this strategy.  The best part is all you need is 10-minutes a month. That’s it. You could be earning hundreds, if not thousands of dollars in extra income, in literally less time than it takes you to shower in the morning… If you’re a regular StreetAuthority reader, then you’ve probably figured out by now that I’m talking about the Daily Paycheck strategy. Simply put, the goal of this strategy is simple. By investing in a basket of high-quality income stocks that pay dividends regularly, I’ve successfully built a portfolio that pays me a dividend for every… Read More

A young man named Sam Walton grew up during the Great Depression. As you can imagine, times were hard. But Sam did everything he could to earn an extra buck — as a boy he sold the surplus milk from the family farm… He delivered newspapers and sold magazines… In college, he waited tables.  Then after serving in the Army in World War II, Sam used a $20,000 loan from his father-in-law and $5,000 of his own savings to purchase a small variety store in Newport, Arkansas. #-ad_banner-#By working hard and making sure his shelves were always well-stocked with simple… Read More

A young man named Sam Walton grew up during the Great Depression. As you can imagine, times were hard. But Sam did everything he could to earn an extra buck — as a boy he sold the surplus milk from the family farm… He delivered newspapers and sold magazines… In college, he waited tables.  Then after serving in the Army in World War II, Sam used a $20,000 loan from his father-in-law and $5,000 of his own savings to purchase a small variety store in Newport, Arkansas. #-ad_banner-#By working hard and making sure his shelves were always well-stocked with simple goods that people needed, he grew revenue from $80,000 to $225,000 in three years. The rest was history. Today the company Sam Walton founded — Wal-Mart — generates over $469 billion in revenue a year. It’s the largest retailer on the planet with nearly 10,000 stores spanning the globe. And although Sam Walton passed away in 1992 at the age of 74, his legacy lives on… The Walton family still controls over 50% of the company’s stock. His heirs consistently make the annual Forbes list of richest people in America. Christy Walton, widow of John Walton — one of Sam’s… Read More

Working with hedge funds and money managers has made me aware of certain similarities between nearly all long-term, market-beating professional investors. It doesn’t matter how large (or small) their asset base is, what stocks or other financial instruments they trade, or even their particular strategy. #-ad_banner-#​ This one thing is constant across all successful money managers. It is the most basic tenet of successful portfolio construction. In fact, it’s the most basic concept underlying success in nearly every field. I’m talking about the necessity of having foundational or core holdings in every financial portfolio. It’s a simple concept, once… Read More

Working with hedge funds and money managers has made me aware of certain similarities between nearly all long-term, market-beating professional investors. It doesn’t matter how large (or small) their asset base is, what stocks or other financial instruments they trade, or even their particular strategy. #-ad_banner-#​ This one thing is constant across all successful money managers. It is the most basic tenet of successful portfolio construction. In fact, it’s the most basic concept underlying success in nearly every field. I’m talking about the necessity of having foundational or core holdings in every financial portfolio. It’s a simple concept, once you understand what I mean by “core” or “foundational” holdings. Achievement in any endeavor demands a solid foundation. Everything requires an underlying base to ensure stability and continued successful growth. Two everyday examples are mathematics and construction. It’s impossible to understand advanced mathematics without knowledge of core concepts like arithmetic. The same can be said for construction: All tall buildings designed to withstand the test of time share the same common element of a solid foundation.  This concept can be applied to building a successful long-term investment portfolio: Every successful long-term portfolio is built upon foundational, or core, holdings. These… Read More