The new world of single-stock covered call ETFs is the latest step in the long line of ETF innovations. Before the advent of exchange-traded funds, only individual stocks traded on the exchanges. Investors who wanted to invest in portfolios of stocks were stuck with mutual funds. ETFs provide a whole new way for investors and […]
Bonds
A New Fund Sporting a 62% Dividend Yield
Rising interest rates generate negative returns for bond funds. To match higher yields, bond prices have to fall. In a higher-for-longer interest rate world, investors need alternatives to traditional bond funds. Today, let’s look at a bond fund using an alternate strategy that has generated excellent returns over the last three years. The iShares 20+ […]
Muni Bonds are Booming – And You Can Still Get In
Recent weeks have seen a massive global bond rally on growing optimism the Federal Reserve has nearly finished hiking interest rates and will soon have to hit pause on its tightening regime. Just look at what has happened in the normally very quiet world of municipal bonds. Spoilers: there’s still time to get in… Munis […]
The Contrarian Trade for 2024 is a Blast from the Past
Recession in 2024? Wall Street traders are saying “fuggedaboutit.” An economic downturn is the furthest thing from the minds of market participants, as they are bullish on risky “junk” debt—chosen as the top contrarian trade, according to a majority of participants in a recent Bloomberg Markets Live Pulse survey. Despite heavy outflows in 2023, and […]
How to Make Bond Investing Simple and Profitable
It’s gratifying to see the Wall Street Journal catch up with advice I have given to my Dividend Hunter subscribers for several years. They’ve finally discovered how to eliminate the main problem with investing in bond funds. They’re late to the party, though – I’ve been telling my readers that for ages. Let me show […]
Is the TLT ETF a Buy Right Now?
Is the iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT) finally a better buy…? That’s what I’d like to address with you all today. It’s been a long time since bond yields have been racing higher, and thanks to a hawkish Fed this past week, that’s exactly what’s happening. Which brings me to my main point […]
Is There an Investment Opportunity Building in the SHY ETF?
Lately, I’ve really been liking the iShares 1-3 Year Treasury Bond ETF (SHY). The SHY ETF tracks and represents the performance of the U.S. Treasury bonds with remaining maturities between one and three years. It lets investors target a part of the short-term U.S. Treasury market. Bond prices have been going lower for some time […]
Cash In Your I Bonds – And Put Your Money Here Instead
Last year, investors and savers rushed to buy Series I savings bonds as their inflation-linked yields approached 10%. Now, the yield on I bonds is much, much lower. If you purchased these bonds for the high yield last year, it may be time to cash them in and invest elsewhere. Let me explain why – […]
Why An Inverted Yield Curve Should Be the Least of Investors’ Worries
In the past year and a half or so, there’s been lots of talk about the U.S. yield curve essentially inverting. So today, I wanted to make a couple of important points about it that’s important for you to see. As you know, the yield curve visually depicts how bond maturity dates and interest rates […]
The 2023 Bond Market Winner: Emerging Markets
There has been an unexpected winner in the bond market in 2023: emerging market bonds. This is especially true for emerging market bonds priced in local currencies. Currently, the gap in government borrowing costs between emerging markets and U.S. Treasuries is at its best level since 2000. The reason is that investors are pricing in […]