Michael Foster

Contributor at Forbes

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Articles

3 Cheap CEFs With Yields Up To 12%

2 days ago | forbes.com | Michael Foster

Buy on the dip, purchase stock when price drop, trader signal to invest, make profit from market ... More collapse concept, smart businessman investor buy stock with down arrow graph. gettyWe’ve got a rare “delayed reaction” income play on our hands right now. Thanks to the April stock-market plunge, we can now pick up 12%+ dividends at attractive discounts. But I don’t expect this cheap CEF opportunity to last very long.
The Latest Debt Downgrade Is Our Shot At Cheap 9% Dividends

4 days ago | forbes.com | Michael Foster

This latest US debt downgrade is a buying opportunity for us contrarians. I say that because we had the same (profitable) setup the last three times the ratings agencies took Uncle Sam’s credit rating down a peg. You might find that last sentence surprising. Three times? Indeed, the US government has seen its debt downgraded on three different occasions: 2011, 2023 and most recently a couple of weeks ago.
This 1 Simple Trick Can Make CEF Management Fees Vanish

1 week ago | forbes.com | Michael Foster

Plenty of investors miss out on the huge yields (often north of 8%) that closed-end funds (CEFs) offer. There’s one simple reason why: They get way too hung up on management fees. We’re going to look at a few reasons why that is today—and one easy way you can make those fees disappear entirely. But first, just how high are the fees we’re talking about? Well, the average fee for all CEFs tracked by my CEF Insider service is 2.95% of assets.
Thank The Fed For This Cheap 14% Dividend

1 week ago | forbes.com | Michael Foster

Let me start with a prediction: the S&P 500 will gain about 5% this year—not great, but not bad, either. This isn’t really a Nostradamus-level call: I’m simply annualizing the gain the market has posted so far in 2025, as of this writing. We can think of this year as the middle stage of the business cycle—where inflation is cooling, the labor market is softening, and consumer spending is starting to slow (emphasis on starting to).
This 8% Dividend Taps Into The Real AI Gold Rush

2 weeks ago | forbes.com | Michael Foster

Can we still call ourselves contrarians if we buy into “mainstream” trends like the stunning growth of AI? Of course we can. Today we’re going to do just that. But of course we’re not picking up obvious names like NVIDIA (NVDA). Instead we’re looking to an 8%-paying fund I see having even more upside than the “go-to” AI stocks everyone else is buying.
How This High-Yield Bond Fund Sailed Through The April Crash

2 weeks ago | forbes.com | Michael Foster

About a month ago, Mike Bird, the Wall Street editor for The Economist, tweeted (or “X-ed,” I guess I should say) the following: “You have to concede that there would be a form of stupid, ridiculous beauty in the S&P 500 closing completely flat for April.”And, well, after all the drama we saw in April, that’s pretty much where we landed.
Why This Soaring 8.1% CEF Dividend Thrives On Market Crashes

3 weeks ago | forbes.com | Michael Foster

I get it: For many CEF people, the rough start to 2025 conjures (painful!) memories of 2022. It’s an easy comparison to make. But we must resist doing so. Because unlike in 2022, today’s volatility is caused by panic alone. That’s the kind of situation we contrarians love!Nonetheless, I get it if you still want to be cautious. With that in mind, I’ve got a fund that gives us full market exposure with a key “hedge”—and a growing 8.1% dividend, too. But I’m getting ahead of myself.
This Monthly Dividend Fund Quietly Crushed Buffett

3 weeks ago | forbes.com | Michael Foster

Can you and I beat the legendary returns of Warren Buffett? Absolutely. What’s more, we can do it while “translating” a slice of our gains into a big income stream (with special dividends on the table, too). I’ll show you how in a moment. First, we need to talk about how the 94-year-old Oracle of Omaha, who is now stepping back from the position of president and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A), has changed the course of investing over the years.
3 ‘Ticking Time Bomb’ Dividends You Need To Sell Now

1 month ago | forbes.com | Michael Foster

We just saw the first real signs that the “vibecession” is becoming something more—and this is our cue to pluck from our portfolios (or avoid adding!) three funds that are way into bubble territory. (Names and tickers below.)Let’s start with that slowdown signal. In this chart, from Apollo Global Management, we see that the total number of Americans who are only making the minimum payments on their credit cards is at its highest level in over a decade.
Bet Against America? This Growing 9.5% Dividend Says ‘No Way’

1 month ago | forbes.com | Michael Foster

Are US stocks set to lose out to the rest of the world forever? That’s what the press would have us believe. But we contrarian dividend investors are looking at this from a different angle. Our strategy? Buy America when the rest of the world is selling. It’s worked before, and we have every reason to believe it will work now, too. So let’s talk about it—and the best way to position ourselves for US stocks’ next leg up, with a healthy dividend payout on the side.