Friday, July 4, 2025
The coronavirus pandemic and resulting financial crisis turned investors either for or against different stock market sectors. Tech, biotech, drug companies, and large-cap retailers landed on the “loved by investors” list. Energy, financials, and even utilities fell out of favor and remain down for the year, even as the major indexes stay at or near […]
Investors with interest in yields soon find their way into the world of closed-end funds (CEFs). During this period in history, when fixed income investments often yield less than one percent, the high single-digit or low double-digit yields on many CEFs are compelling. Yet the aftermath of the pandemic-triggered crash early in 2020 will start […]
You have likely seen the news that the S&P 500 has recovered 100% of the losses from the COVID crash. What you won’t see in the press is the broad range of returns from the different industrial sectors used by S&P Global Ratings (formerly Standard & Poor’s). The 500 S&P stocks are subdivided into 11 […]
Casual investors will be aware of what happens in the stock market, but may not be as well informed about the current state of interest rates. Retirement plan experts recommend allocating a large portion of 401(k) accounts to bonds, and those building for retirement using their company 401(k) plans may not be aware of how […]
At the start of the pandemic-triggered economic crisis, a large portion of stocks in the high-yield sectors slashed or suspended dividend payments. For example, Hoya Capital Real Estate reports that 31 of 42 mortgage real estate investment trusts (REITs) cut or suspended dividends from March through June. Other sectors, such as equity REITs, business development […]
I get to interact with hundreds to thousands of individual investors, and I have observed that many investors are not aware that shares of closed-end funds (CEFs) are not the same as common stock shares. CEFs are risky in a separate and distinct way from common stock risks. CEFs attract new investors because many of […]
The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy and business resulted in a stock market crash and severe business disruption for many companies. One impact of the economic slowdown/shut-in was that many companies were forced or chose to slash common stock dividends. For example, out of the 165 equity REITs tracked by Hoya Capital […]
It was just a handful of months ago that the coronavirus pandemic took hold of the U.S. population and economy. Most states put their populations into lockdown for much of April and May, which did slow the spread of the virus. Still, people can’t stay at home forever, and reopening of much of the economy […]
Outside of a personal residence, real estate is an asset class that often is underrepresented in investor portfolios. One reason is that it takes a lot of capital or taking on a lot of debt to buy an apartment building, office building, or a farm. Real estate investment trusts (REITs) offer a stock exchange-traded way […]
The 2020 second-quarter earnings season promises to be full of surprises – both positive and negative. Shareholders of stocks in index funds like SPY, DIA, and QQQ may be in for a rougher ride than they’d normally expect. With a large portion of the U.S. economy, including companies in SPY, DIA, and QQQ, shut down […]
