RichC | July 5, 2023
For investors and retirees desiring an income stream from their investments, Closed-End Funds can be pretty attractive. That said, there are advantages and disadvantages … with some help from ChatGPT. 😉 Advantages of Closed-End Funds (CEFs): Market Pricing Efficiency: Unlike open-end mutual funds, CEFs trade on stock exchanges, allowing their shares to be bought and […]
RichC | July 1, 2021
While reading one of my favorite investment strategist, Brett Owens wrote a REIT and CEF-focused Contrarian Outlook newsletter and occasional webinars that I enjoy. He commented tongue-in-cheek … that “we dividend investors really only need three things:” Hm, how hard can that be? Brett partnered with Tom Jacobs a few years ago to write […]
RichC | April 14, 2021
Since Ford once-upon-a-time paid a solid dividend, it was one of those stocks I felt comfortable trading in and out of or just sitting on for a while … but after the company suspended the dividend in March of 2020, I had to re-think $F stock. Owning Ford in 2020 and so far in 2021 […]
RichC | February 17, 2021
For those of us living in a post-pension world, planning for retirement comes down to how much can be saved in 401K and IRAs … and how to make it last once retired. Most people rely on the “multiple buckets approach” to coming up with enough dollars to pay for bills and “hopefully” live comfortably […]
RichC | November 15, 2017
I occasionally receive emails or comments from friends and acquaintances who know I watch financial markets asking me to share my thoughts on investing. They really want stock "recommendations," but almost always refuse to give advice when it comes to picking and choosing individual companies. For the record, there is always financial risk and the […]
RichC | August 19, 2017
Although the news of late on the political front has been challenging (Trump Admin, Barcelona, Charlottesville, North Korea) the savvy investor/trader can use these moments to put the "risk capital" part of their portfolio to good use. Most who trade have plenty of horror stories where their trades have gone terribly wrong, but usually the […]
RichC | March 8, 2013
In talking with a long suffering customer the other day he asked me, “why are the stock market averages rising to all time highs, but business seems slower than ever?” I thought about that a bit since business wise I’ve felt pretty much the same way … as do most Americans with depleted savings, depressed […]
RichC | November 30, 2012
Playing the tax game as a big business or 1%-er investor must be a challenging problem to have? [sarcasm] Here’s a Wall Street Journal op-ed commenting on Costco’s recent “early” dividend announcement. Uncertainly in the tax code, along with the credits, deductions and complexity, slows economic growth, deters job creation and demonstrates that the more […]
RichC | November 27, 2012
Be careful when selling (missing dividend) or holding stocks (fiscal cliff) — they could potentially payout a one-time dividend in 2012 before the expected tax changes in 2013 or they could suffer share price losses if congress and President Obama fail to come together. Fearing a tripling of dividend tax rates next year, some companies […]
RichC | February 22, 2012
The tax season is upon us and many take this opportunity to take account of our retirement strategy (at least those who are thinking ahead). Years ago … in the days of the company pension, confidence in Social Security and Medicare and the assumption that one would retire at 65 after a lifetime career with […]