Investors Alley

On a slow day for options trading, Globalstar (GSAT) traded over 200,000 contracts, or 31x its normal volume. The satellite communications company experienced volatile trade as investors awaited news of a deal with Apple (AAPL).  GSAT will be providing satellite communication capabilities with some new AAPL products. At least one of the largest GSAT block […]

I enjoy reading and listening to the advice and opinions presented in financial news outlets. The discussions mainly focus on hot stocks for short-term gains. The ideas are interesting but rarely apply to investors who want to build long-term wealth. Last week, however, a Wall Street Journal article acknowledged the power of investing for dividends.

The headline?

The Best Ways to Jump into Dividend Stocks

With this sub-headline:

Lured by the prospect of steady income, investors are pouring billions into these inflation hedges without always understanding how they work

Then the article gets to the best part, which is this graphic…

In a nutshell, S&P 500 dividends have grown three times faster than inflation since 2000. About 400 of the 500 stocks pay dividends, and the index has a current average yield of 1.7%. The yield has stayed in a 1.3% to low-two percent range through the years.

Dividends have been the focus of my investment services since we launched the Dividend Hunter more than eight years ago. For this service, the recommended investments focus on high yield. Year in and year out, the yield averages around 8%.

Reinvesting the dividends will grow your portfolio income by 8%, compounding yearly. Many of the portfolio investments also organically grow their dividend rates. Investing for cash income lets you naturally load up on high-yield shares when the markets are down, which turns into higher income and wealth when stock prices recover. Take a look for yourself – now is a perfect time to get started, as you can lock in more income for less.

In my Monthly Dividend Multiplier service, the portfolio and strategy focus on stocks with growing dividends. The graphic above shows that dividend growth builds long-term income and wealth. The Monthly Dividend Multiplier portfolio yield of 4.6% is more than double the S&P 500. Interestingly, the portfolio returns consistently come in about double the S&P 500 returns. Click here to see how make that happen for your portfolio, too.

For investors like those discussed in the article, who are now getting into dividend-focused investing, my newsletters will give you a blueprint and the stocks to be successful.

What is a Self-directed IRA?

A self-directed IRA is a type of individual retirement account designed to allow investors to diversify their retirement nest egg beyond traditional investments like stocks, bonds, ETFs and other high-risk alternatives. This individual retirement account is legally structured to work just like a Roth IRA and so, a self-directed IRA has the same contribution limits and tax advantages. However, a self-directed IRA does not restrict investors to conventional investment options because there are multiple nontraditional choices outside of the mainstream.

Investments Allowed in a Self-directed IRA

If you want to expand your investment horizon and boost your retirement reserve, you can consider these 6 rewarding options:

Gold, Silvers and other Precious Metals

Gold, silver and other valuable metals are popular alternatives because they are considered to be real money which keeps your retirement covered against inflation. For this reasons, investors often diversify their financial portfolio with precious metals. While valuable metals won’t get you rich overnight, these are investments that yield attractive rewards in the long run.

Real-estate

Owning property, whether it is residential or commercial is a great way to diversify your retirement savings. While real-estate investments are subject to market fluctuations from time to time, they are sure to offer rich returns over the long haul. Investing in real-estate with a self-directed IRA is one of the most effective ways to maximize your retirement nest egg and enjoy greater profits. Self-directed IRA is an ideal solution if you are investing in real-estate because it brings you the flexibility to make your own investment choices along with checkbook control!

However, it is important to know that the real-estate investments in self-directed IRA cannot be used for residential living, either part-time or full-time. Also, all your real-estate IRA investments, expenses, taxes and insurance covers must be paid from your own individual retirement account.

Private Businesses

You can also invest in private businesses either entirely or in part through a self-directed IRA. For instance, if you want to invest the funds from your self-directed IRA in a convenience store, you can do that. However, you should also be aware of the rules that govern the ownership of businesses within a self-directed IRA. It is best to seek expert advice from a professional before you make any decision because you need to make sure that your IRA-owned business yields returns when you retire and not immediately.

Private Mortgages

Another lesser-known yet lucrative self-directed IRA investment is mortgage. Buying a mortgage makes you the banker for the property. Your IRA can then lend a borrower and the loan remains secured by the property. But, since you don’t own the property you don’t get the profits even if the value goes up. But, your investment is always backed by an actual asset and gives you real good returns. So while the risk of foreclosure crisis cannot be eliminated, the returns are higher than average!

Debt Instruments

You can also invest in various debt instruments including tax liens and loans through a self-directed IRA. You can choose from different debt-investing platforms that are reputed and reliable for buying short-term real-estate loans. You can invest as low as $1,000 and generate significant income in interest if your investment is sheltered through a self-directed IRA.

Digital Currencies

Bitcoin and other digital currencies are relatively new in the market but most people view them as the future of cash since they are capital assets. However, digital currencies are subject to taxes when sold at a profitable margin. This is why holding digital currencies in a tax-advantaged account like a self-directed IRA makes a wise investment decision.

Why Self-directed IRA 

With employer-sponsored 401(k) and other retirement plans, you are restricted in terms of investment options and this greatly reduces your returns. If you want to compound your retirement reserve further and at a faster rate, self-directed IRAs should be your top choice. It allows you to make your own investment decisions at the right time by giving you checkbook control. So, if you want to make the most of your time and money now and enjoy a richer retirement reserve later, consider investments in self-directed IRA.

Click here to take charge of your financial future.

There has been a series of flawed assumptions followed by lousy planning from the governments of the world as they have continued their push to reduce carbon emissions by replacing current energy sources with renewables, primarily wind and solar.

This discussion will not take the path you may be imagining.

The enormous and wrong assumption is that we must build renewable production to replace carbon-based energy sources. So far, that has not come to pass.

Here’s what the “energy transition” will actually look like – and how income investors can profit from it…

This quote from Manhattan Institute Senior Fellow comes from a recent Wall Street Journal article:

Mr. Mills asks readers to “consider that years of hypertrophied rhetoric and trillions of dollars of spending and subsidies on a transition have not significantly changed the energy landscape.”

Civilization still depends on hydrocarbons for 84% of all energy, a mere two percentage points lower than two decades ago. Solar and wind technologies today supply barely 5% of global energy. Electric vehicles still offset less than 0.5% of world oil demand.

Mr. Mills explains that energy consumption continues to grow with the increasing technology we use. It takes 1,000 times more energy per pound to produce products of the digital age compared to what we manufactured in the 20th century. Put another way, it takes as much energy to produce a smartphone as it does to manufacture a refrigerator.

The proponents of a massive push for carbon-free energy underestimate the amount of power the world will demand as technology becomes a more significant part of the economy. Also, vast swaths of the world will need massively more energy to move from third-world status to second- or first-world. Mills notes that more than 80% of the world’s population has not been on an airplane flight.

My reading of this and the rest of the article points out that to transition to renewable energy that works, renewables must be the majority of new energy. Still, they cannot be used to replace the current carbon-based base energy level. Oil, coal, and natural gas are currently the most reliable energy sources, and current renewable technologies cannot match the transport and storage features of these carbon-based energy sources.

Unfortunately, global leaders will need to be smacked with freezing, starving citizens before they shift gears on the idea of pushing renewables to replace carbon fuels. That smack may come this winter in Europe. In Germany electricity costs 1,000% more than it did a year ago. In England, many restaurants will close for good because they cannot afford that country’s energy costs.

From an investing angle, I am always looking for renewable energy companies that are profitable and pay growing dividends. NextEra Energy Partners (NEP) is a great example and has been a long-term holding in my Monthly Dividend Multiplier portfolio.

Also, because of the political climate (and the climate climate), I expect crude oil and natural gas prices to stay high. This means traditional energy companies will remain profitable and be able to pay big dividends. In recent months, I have added two new oil and gas royalty companies to my Dividend Hunter portfolio. I expect these will do very well for my subscribers.
But using them, I can beat the market 2-to-1 while collecting 2-10X MORE yield from regular dividend stocks.I learned this trick while I was rubbing elbows with some of the biggest fund managers in US history. They too are buying these little known funds, cashing in huge discounts and collecting income while they do it.Click here to learn the secret yourself.

A recent Wall Street Journal article highlights the significant number of companies that suspended common stock dividends in the early days of the pandemic and have not yet restarted payouts to shareholders.

A company’s dividend strategy tells you a lot about how they think about us, the little guy investors. So let’s take a look at how CEOs think of us…

Here is an excerpt from the article:

Nearly 190 U.S.-listed companies stopped paying dividends in 2020 to save much-needed cash, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence, a data provider. Thirty-nine went back to them that same year, 53 followed suit in 2021, and 23 have done so this year. However, 72 companies, or 38.5%, have yet to reinstate their dividend.

The pandemic was historically unique. During the early days, just the survival of many businesses was in doubt. I understand why companies choose to retain cash until they had a better understanding of the future. However, nearly two and a half years later, companies that have not restarted dividends are not doing the right thing for their shareholders.

I observe that corporate management teams either try to make Wall Street analysts happy or focus on generating excellent returns for individual shareholders. Paying attractive and growing dividends is shareholder friendly. The Wall Street analyst crowd prefers share buybacks.

For my Dividend Hunter service, during the pandemic, I recommended immediately selling a stock if the company suspended dividends payments. We took the proceeds and invested in companies that chose to continue paying dividends. One big winner for Dividend Hunters was EnLink Midstream LLC (ENLC). We picked up shares for $1.00 to $2.00 in mid-2020, and I recommended selling the stock for more than $10.00 in early 2022.

EPR Properties (EPR), historically an outstanding dividend growth stock, suspended dividends in mid-2020, so we sold. The company restarted its monthly payout in June 2021, so I returned the stock to the recommendations list. EPR increased its dividend by 10% this year, and I expect regular annual dividend increases going forward.

One highlight of the 2022 bear market and economic slowdown is that good dividend-paying stocks have continued to pay, with many increasing their dividend rates. This is a very different economy, and individual companies have their own challenges and opportunities. Many companies continue to thrive, and the good ones share their profits as dividends for investors.

Recently, the EPR share price dropped on the news that one of its largest tenants is considering a Chapter 11 bankruptcy. I am confident it will work out fine for EPR, and the recent share price drop is a buying opportunity. Every week, I send my Dividend Hunter members the ticker of a high-yield dividend stock that’s a great buy.
Last year we enjoyed a 95% success rate with this strategy, and MarketWatch called it a “… low-risk way to boost your retirement income….”It’s a new way to accelerate your retirement income with just ONE repeatable weekly trade!This retirement plan can generate up to $5,900 per month…But even if you can’t collect that full amount…What would an extra $500, $1,500, or $3,000/mo do for your retirement?To discover how to get access to The One Trade Retirement Plan before the next income-generating trade goes live, simply click the link below:Click here now for the full details.

The Euro-to-Dollar just hit a 20-year low the last few weeks.  The Dollar (DXY) has broken out of a 7-year consolidation period and moving higher.  And, as this happens, things will start breaking.  We’re already seeing the cracks in Europe with their economy tanking fast.  In my free video this week (I do this every

America has a history of welcoming refugees from foreign shores. And now Wall Street is doing its part by welcoming a refugee from the United Kingdom.

Unlike the U.S. market, the U.K. market has never been very fond of technology stocks, including biotechnology companies. Their valuations—and the levels of interest the attract—are usually low.

That’s why recently a British biotechnology company with expertise in the emerging and increasingly profitable field of biological analysis delisted in Britain and moved its sole listing to the Nasdaq. It has had a secondary listing here since October 2020.The company is Abcam (ABCM), and here is its story…

Abcam

Abcam is not a typical biotech or pharmaceutical company.

Its business involves identifying, developing, and distributing research-use-only (RUO) antibodies, which are used both by companies engaged in drug discovery, as well as academics involved in biomedical research.

Here is a clue as to how important Abcam’s RUO antibodies are globally: more than half of all life science research papers published in 2020 cited the use of one of the company’s products.

The key point, apparently missed by British investors, is that the company’s research-use-only antibodies are not, in fact, just used in research. Their use in diagnostics and other applications is growing rapidly, opening up new markets for Abcam.

Puneet Souda, a senior research analyst at SVB Securities, explained this point to Jennifer Johnson of the Investors Chronicle. Sousa said one major market opening up for Abcam is proteomics. This is the study of the proteome, investigating how different proteins interact with each other and the roles they play within an organism. Proteome is a blanket term that refers to all of the proteins that an organism can express. Each species has its own, unique proteome.

For many years, researchers have analyzed the human genome to help them diagnose and treat disease. But now, some scientists believe that looking at the proteome will be much more effective for treating certain diseases, as proteins can provide real-time insight into a patient’s health and disease state.

And note that Abcam’s antibodies are the key building blocks of the diagnostic panels that will be used to detect disease. As Johnson wrote:

According to Souda, these diagnostic tools haven’t yet been fully built, but their potential is significant, especially in diseases that aren’t driven purely by genetics. Cancer, for instance, has a significant genetic component, whereas heart disease is driven by a combination of factors. “Many chronic diseases are a function of our environment and lifestyle patterns—the genetic component is there, but they’re more environmentally driven,” Souda explains. “In order to identify what’s really happening, one really has to look at a snapshot using proteomics technology.”

This will translate to proteomics being a major growth industry. Grandview Research forecast that the global proteomics market size was valued at $22.3 billion in 2021 and is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.5% from 2022 to 2030. According to Grandview, the key factor driving this growth is rising demand for personalized medicines and advanced diagnostics in targeted disease treatment and the high prevalence of those target diseases.

That’s why SVB Securities says Abcam’s goal of hitting sales of between £450 million ($530 million) and £525 million ($618 million) by 2024 as “conservative” given the company early leadership status in proteomics.

Abcam’s Future Outlook

While the future may look very bright, it has not been an easy road for Abcam.

The company is just now over halfway through a five-year investment cycle, whose goal was to scale the business globally over the next decade. The debts incurred to finance expansion plans, along with the coronavirus pandemic, had the effect of knocking profit margins hard.

However, capital spending has now started to level off. Abcam forecasts that total revenue will grow this year about 20% at constant exchange rates, due to greater contribution from higher-margin products. In the first six months of its fiscal year, the company expects to report revenue of around £185 million ($217 million), up 19% year on year at constant exchange rates.

And with top-line growth and efficiency gains, the company’s board expects the adjusted operating profit margin to exceed 30% in 2024, up from 19.2% in 2021.

If the company hits the upper end of its 2024 goals, Abcam could by then be generating adjusted operating profits of $188 million a year.

That makes Abcam a speculative buy.

Biotech stocks, at the moment, remain out of favor. Abcam stock is down more than 26% over the past year and has fallen about 37% year-to-date. Slowly accumulate the stock when the price is anywhere in the teens.

Then when biotech stocks rebound, the market will recognize Abcam’s full potential, and you will have a nice gain for your portfolio.
This stock does NOT pay a dividend…Yet it can generate as much as $1,475 per week in retirement.Add that up… and you’re looking at an extra $5,900 per month.That’s why I don’t want you to miss out. The next payout could be coming just days from now, and you don’t want to live in regret if you miss this:Click here now for all the urgent details.

The share price of Peloton (PTON) has taken a massive beating after being a darling of the Covid era.  The exercise bike maker has struggled to appease investors as sales growth has slowed. However, investors liked a new deal between PTON and Amazon (AMZN) last week, which sent the shares up 20%. A bullish block

This article could save you a lot of money…

Because one of the biggest mistakes options traders make is trading the wrong stock at the wrong time.

If you’ve run into this problem, you know how frustrating it can be.

To have all the stars aligned for a winning trade… only to discover one crucial piece missing.

I’ve seen it time and time again.

Soon you could find yourself trying to force a trade when there isn’t one…

And that’s what gets beginners and advanced traders alike in a lot of trouble. 

That’s why in this article, I will show you how to pick the best stocks for selling covered calls…

Let’s start with the most critical step:

Picking a good stock for covered calls.

As you know, you can sell a covered call using the stocks you already own.

I think that’s excellent news, especially if you’re a beginner trader, because I’m confident your long-term holdings are good companies.

Of course, there’s always the chance that your biggest long-term holding is in a ‘meme’ stock like Bed Bath & Beyond…

And in that case, you should probably consider owning a more reliable company like Amazon.

That’s because a stock that’s considered safe by most buy-and-hold analysts typically means it can work well for covered calls. 

You can even sell covered calls on a low-cost passive index fund.

Depending on which way your trade moves…

You could be left holding the stock after the expiration date.

That’s why owning GOOD stocks that you wouldn’t mind holding for months or years is a great way to enjoy covered calls with less risk.

When you’re selling covered calls on stocks you love to hold regardless, you can win in nearly every scenario…

Think about it. You can collect income either way, but in one common scenario, you could be left with your initial shares!

And this is when a lower-priced stock like Amazon also helps out.

Why cheaper often = better 

If you recall…

On July 6, 2022, Amazon was trading for more than $2,000 per share. 

That means you’d need at least $200,000 invested in Amazon alone to be able to squeeze income out of the stock!

That’s way out of most of our leagues. 

But when Amazon decided to make a 20-for-1 stock split on June 6, that all changed. 

Now you need only one-twentieth of that – 20% – to be able to trade covered calls on them and generate income from your shares month after month.

And when a stock is affordable, you can take advantage of what’s happening in the markets quicker for more chances to collect income.

For example — I recently revealed my #1 stock for 2022 here…

One of the main reasons it won out to become my new favorite is how affordable the share prices are right now.

So when I spotted six winning trades in a row on this stock, it was easy for anyone to join in without putting too much money at risk:

But that comes down to more than just the stock price.

Here’s what you should consider next:

You have a good stock. Now what?

The next thing to look at is the premium available for the stock.

In other words:

How much are people willing to pay you for the right to your shares?

Remember, whatever happens, the seller gets to keep that premium. 

If things go well, that’s all that happens – the seller gets some cash and gets to keep his shares. 

At worst, the seller gets to keep his premium and sells his shares to the buyer for even more money.

The stock’s implied volatility is a good chart to look at when you’re considering the available premiums.

How to find your stock’s implied volatility: My go-to service is Market Chameleon, but unfortunately, their implied volatility data is only for paying users. A couple of free alternatives you can use are BarChart and Volafy. Your broker should also have this data in their ‘options’ tab.

For example, if most investors believe a stock is riskier than its asking price — you could have a good covered call trade opportunity.

Consider all this before placing your next covered calls trade, and you could soon have yourself a winning formula…

You choose whether you want to focus on the cash flow aspect, the upside potential, or make the trade more defensive in nature… 

You can do all that with covered calls!

That’s why I made this strategy the cornerstone of The ONE Trade Retirement Plan I recently unveiled — click here for the full details.

There is a pending retirement crisis for U.S. workers, and the only solution is to take your future into your own hands.

So today, let’s talk about a strategy to ensure your retirement years will be as you hope and dream.

I receive a daily email from a business and tech news service called The Hustle. While the emails tend to be focused on trends in technology, last week, the lead covered some uncomfortable news about retirement planning. Here is what the email said:

A 2018 study found over half of American adults think about retirement at least four times per week.

In 2022, we’ll take the over on that number.

Due to several factors, America is in the midst of a looming retirement crisis, per Bloomberg.

What’s happening?

For decades, Americans have relied on an increasingly unsteady “three-legged stool of retirement,” consisting of:

Pensions, AKA “defined-benefit plans,” which are steadily being replaced by more cost-effective defined-contribution plans funded and managed by workers.Social Security, which was introduced in the 1930s to protect Americans in their later years — but the fund’s reserves are on pace to dry up by 2035.Personal savings, which are down across the board. Only half of private-sector workers have an employer-sponsored retirement plan, and those who do lost a collective ~$3.4T in the first half of 2022.

For those that do have enough to retire, rising inflation means they may not live as comfortably as expected.

I see some critical takeaways from this information.

First, many Americans are worried about retirement, and rightfully so. Two stock market crashes in the last three years illustrate that you cannot count on stock market gains to fund a secure retirement. Also, the fact that people think about retirement that much tells me they don’t have a plan. Stressing and worrying without a plan leads to more stress and worry.

Second, if you want to have a comfortable retirement, you need to have control of as much of your retirement savings as possible. You cannot count on an employer pension or Social Security. You can’t count on suddenly, at age 65, having enough assets to provide an attractive income.

Here are a couple of things you can do right now:

Defer as much of your income as possible into your employer’s 401k or 403b plan. Make sure you max out any matching funds.Research the investment options inside of your plan. Going with the usual index or life stage funds may not give the returns you need to have the money you want at retirement age.If you can, go with self-directed investments inside of your 401k plan. Follow an income-focused approach such as my Dividend Hunter service.Start or add to additional retirement savings outside of your employer-sponsored plan. You should at least put the yearly max into an IRA or Roth IRA each year.

Finally, let’s talk about having a retirement savings plan that will work and not depend on the ebb and flow of stock market values.

With my Dividend Hunter and Monthly Dividend Multiplier services, I show members how to focus on building an income stream. Cash income can be counted on to grow and eventually be your retirement income. With my systems, which involves reinvesting dividends from high-yield investments plus making regular additional investments to accumulate retirement assets, you can grow your income by 20% to 40% per year.

My retirement savings, which follow my own recommendations, has the income growing at the high end of that range. Consider these factors:

You can have your income growing no matter what happens in the stock market. In fact, when the market is down, you buy high-yield stocks “on sale” and increase your income even faster.Your income will grow quarter after quarter and year after year. Think about that—an income stream that grows constantly and is not tied to stock market prices.You can make your income grow faster than you might expect. With the growth rates I highlighted earlier, your income will double every two to three years. Being conservative, if you have $10,000 of investment income now, in three years, it will be $20,000, in six years $40,000, and in nine years, $80,000.Even if you have just a decade until you plan to retire, you can have the confidence to build a retirement income you can count on—no guessing, no worrying, no fears that the stock market will crash.

I am very focused on providing information to the members of my services to help them manage their investments with the goal of a secure and comfortable retirement. To see how to get that information in your inbox, click here.
If you’re not doing this in your portfolio right now…You could be missing out on $5,900 per month in retirement.I’m not referring to some new dividend strategy…And this does NOT involve forex or anything complicated or risky like that.But this “Recession-proof” strategy can generate up to $5,900 per month… in up markets… down markets… and anything in between.Click here to learn how to collect up to $5,900/month.