For the past 40 years, this firm has become an elite source of income for investors, thanks in large part to the 543 consecutive monthly dividends it has paid. I’m willing to bet most of you have never heard of it. Yet the company I’m referring to has become the very definition of a monthly dividend-paying stock. It’s never missed a single one of its monthly dividends since 1969, shelling out more than $3.5 billion to shareholders during its 40+ year run. And that payout has increased 81 times during that span as well. I’m talking about Realty Income Corp… Read More

For the past 40 years, this firm has become an elite source of income for investors, thanks in large part to the 543 consecutive monthly dividends it has paid. I’m willing to bet most of you have never heard of it. Yet the company I’m referring to has become the very definition of a monthly dividend-paying stock. It’s never missed a single one of its monthly dividends since 1969, shelling out more than $3.5 billion to shareholders during its 40+ year run. And that payout has increased 81 times during that span as well. I’m talking about Realty Income Corp (NYSE: O). Despite this impressive and consistent track record, you may be wondering why you’ve never heard of the company before. That’s because Realty Income is a real estate investment trust (REIT).  The average investor on the street has probably never heard of this lucrative asset class, but it’s exactly the kind of off-the-radar investment I look for to deliver market-beating income in my premium advisory, High-Yield Investing.  You see, thanks to their unique structure, REITs are obligated by law to pass along 90% of their income to investors — in the form of dividends.  That means a company like… Read More

For the past few weeks, I’ve been telling my readers about an elite group of high-yielding stocks. I call them my “High-Yield Hall of Fame.” That’s because they are hands-down among the best performing, most reliable and most shareholder-friendly companies on the planet. And owning even a few of these stocks can help turn your income stream into a river of cash. Take a look for yourself, and you’ll see what I mean. These eight little-known income payers haven’t just outperformed the market over the past decade… they’ve absolutely annihilated it. Read More

For the past few weeks, I’ve been telling my readers about an elite group of high-yielding stocks. I call them my “High-Yield Hall of Fame.” That’s because they are hands-down among the best performing, most reliable and most shareholder-friendly companies on the planet. And owning even a few of these stocks can help turn your income stream into a river of cash. Take a look for yourself, and you’ll see what I mean. These eight little-known income payers haven’t just outperformed the market over the past decade… they’ve absolutely annihilated it.   Now with a track record like this, you’d think more investors would know about these elite stocks. Yet I’m willing to bet nine out of 10 investors haven’t heard about them. Why? Well, they aren’t the traditional “boring” dividend payers most people think of — after all, you can only get so far by following the herd with stocks like McDonald’s or Wal-Mart. But the “smart money” has known about these stocks for years. I’m talking about billionaire investors like Jim Simons, legendary investment firms like Vanguard and Goldman Sachs… Read More

#-ad_banner-#Let’s have a little fun…  Can you name all of the Hall of Fame players from the 1927 New York Yankees?  Unless you’re a die-hard Yankees fan, or a lover of baseball history, chances are probably not.  Yet the ’27 Yankees are widely considered the greatest team in baseball history. They were even dubbed “Murderers’ Row” because of how terrifying their lineup was to opposing teams. Now, if you are a baseball fan, I bet you could name a couple… Read More

#-ad_banner-#Let’s have a little fun…  Can you name all of the Hall of Fame players from the 1927 New York Yankees?  Unless you’re a die-hard Yankees fan, or a lover of baseball history, chances are probably not.  Yet the ’27 Yankees are widely considered the greatest team in baseball history. They were even dubbed “Murderers’ Row” because of how terrifying their lineup was to opposing teams. Now, if you are a baseball fan, I bet you could name a couple members of this team. Babe Ruth… Lou Gehrig… But what many people tend to forget is that they also shared the team with four other Hall of Fame players.  I’m talking about guys like Tony Lazzeri and Waite Hoyt. These names don’t come up in conversations among casual fans today, but make no mistake: without them the 1927 Yankees would’ve been nothing more than an average team with a few good players. Now think about how this ties in with investing, especially in terms of building… Read More

#-ad_banner-#There are more than 14,000 stocks currently trading on American exchanges.  That’s 14,000 decisions you have to make when deciding whether to invest your money in small-cap stocks or blue chips, dividend payers or long-term growth stocks.  Narrowing down your choice to the perfect investment can be daunting, especially when trying to balance high reward potential with the lowest possible risk.  But I’ve found a collection of stocks that can practically make your decision for you. They offer better yields, higher returns and less risk than the broader market… And every investor should consider adding these eight stocks to their… Read More

#-ad_banner-#There are more than 14,000 stocks currently trading on American exchanges.  That’s 14,000 decisions you have to make when deciding whether to invest your money in small-cap stocks or blue chips, dividend payers or long-term growth stocks.  Narrowing down your choice to the perfect investment can be daunting, especially when trying to balance high reward potential with the lowest possible risk.  But I’ve found a collection of stocks that can practically make your decision for you. They offer better yields, higher returns and less risk than the broader market… And every investor should consider adding these eight stocks to their portfolio today.  I call these eight stocks “Hall of Fame” investments. Not because their best days are behind them, but because these firms boast qualities that rank them among the best performing, most shareholder-friendly companies on the planet.  Here’s a look at the stocks that made my “Hall of Fame” list:  The first reason you should consider investing in one or more of these powerful companies is that these stocks are market-beaters. In a side-by-side comparison, these eight stocks crush the broader market by a wide margin. Over the past 10 years, while the S&P 500 has returned… Read More

If you’re going to be a landlord, then it’s crucial to find good tenants — ones that will never bounce a check, always pay on time and stick around for the long-term.  I’ve found a company that rents to the absolute most dependable tenant you can find: The U.S. Government. You see, although Uncle Sam owns nearly 10,000 buildings, he’s also the nation’s largest renter.  And as it turns out, renting to the government is quite profitable. Think about it… Government tenants tend to stay in the same office for decades without moving around, and they don’t bounce rent checks. Read More

If you’re going to be a landlord, then it’s crucial to find good tenants — ones that will never bounce a check, always pay on time and stick around for the long-term.  I’ve found a company that rents to the absolute most dependable tenant you can find: The U.S. Government. You see, although Uncle Sam owns nearly 10,000 buildings, he’s also the nation’s largest renter.  And as it turns out, renting to the government is quite profitable. Think about it… Government tenants tend to stay in the same office for decades without moving around, and they don’t bounce rent checks.   That’s why I like Government Properties Trust (NYSE: GOV) so much. As a top landlord to Uncle Sam, this real estate investment trust (or REIT) throws off ample cash flow, translating into a rock-solid 10% dividend yield for investors who buy the stock today.  That’s a lot of reward for very little risk.  The company leases office buildings to well-funded government agencies such as the Department of Defense, the Social Security Administration, the Internal Revenue Service, the Department of Justice, the Department of Energy, the Department of Homeland Security, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the Centers for… Read More

#-ad_banner-#I’m fortunate to live in a city with generally strong economic activity and new business development. Still, even in the shadow of new construction, there are businesses dying off.  A few days ago I stopped in for lunch at a local place, only to see an “Out of Business” sign on the door. A few miles away, a well-known chain restaurant finally threw in the towel and moved out of its location as well. I also noticed across the street, yet another chain-restaurant location is now vacant.  Still, we have an abundance of casual dining options in my city. And… Read More

#-ad_banner-#I’m fortunate to live in a city with generally strong economic activity and new business development. Still, even in the shadow of new construction, there are businesses dying off.  A few days ago I stopped in for lunch at a local place, only to see an “Out of Business” sign on the door. A few miles away, a well-known chain restaurant finally threw in the towel and moved out of its location as well. I also noticed across the street, yet another chain-restaurant location is now vacant.  Still, we have an abundance of casual dining options in my city. And just like in nature, the cruel reality is that some businesses will feast while others starve. The weakest must find a way to differentiate themselves and attract customers — or risk extinction.  That’s true everywhere — and it’s especially important to keep in mind when investing. I’ve been thinking about this a great deal lately as I re-read the profound insights of Michael Porter, the legendary business school professor at Harvard. He is a leading authority on competitive strategies and when he’s not teaching classes or writing books, he mentors newly-appointed CEOs at large corporations. Frankly, the key messages Porter… Read More

Last year, I was reminded of one of the most important keys to building a successful income-generating portfolio. The epiphany came when I was stuck at the airport while on a family vacation, of all things. #-ad_banner-#Most of us wait to board our plane with little thought to the activity going on outside the terminal. While we check our email one last time, a bevy of critical activities are taking place to ensure our flight arrives and leaves in a safe and timely fashion. This may seem arbitrary, but in fact… Read More

Last year, I was reminded of one of the most important keys to building a successful income-generating portfolio. The epiphany came when I was stuck at the airport while on a family vacation, of all things. #-ad_banner-#Most of us wait to board our plane with little thought to the activity going on outside the terminal. While we check our email one last time, a bevy of critical activities are taking place to ensure our flight arrives and leaves in a safe and timely fashion. This may seem arbitrary, but in fact it’s the premise of a highly profitable, often overlooked business. You may not know this, but these vital services are commonly performed by private contractors known as fixed base operators (FBOs). In addition to the sale of aviation fuel, FBOs also handle parking, hangaring and tie-down. In some cases, they offer ancillary services ranging from maintenance and repair to in-flight food and beverage catering. Imagine a town with only one gas station, and you appreciate the advantageous position that these FBOs are exploiting. Most (but not all) airport operating authorities grant a single FBO… Read More

While Wall Street analysts focus on how a company will fare in the next quarter, I’m always thinking about what a business will look like in five, 10 or even 20 years down the road. Some companies simply hope that business will be good in future years, while others can speak with a high degree of confidence about their long-term goals. That’s because these firms share one key trait: they have a “sticky” customer base. #-ad_banner-#Let’s take Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (Nasdaq: ADP) as an example. The company provides outsourced payroll… Read More

While Wall Street analysts focus on how a company will fare in the next quarter, I’m always thinking about what a business will look like in five, 10 or even 20 years down the road. Some companies simply hope that business will be good in future years, while others can speak with a high degree of confidence about their long-term goals. That’s because these firms share one key trait: they have a “sticky” customer base. #-ad_banner-#Let’s take Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (Nasdaq: ADP) as an example. The company provides outsourced payroll management and other services typically handled by human resources departments. Although ADP provides clear value to its clients, the company boasts of a 91% annual retention rate for another reason: switching costs. You see, once a client has agreed to turn over its business processes to ADP, it becomes awfully hard to take that business back. That means a new customer that ADP signs up today is likely to stick around through the next bear market and the next bull market. We can see proof of this by looking at how ADP fared during… Read More

In the world of income investing, dividends reign supreme. Treasuries and CDs are offering historically low yields and are no longer considered the ultra-safe cash generators that they once were. In a previous issue of StreetAuthority Daily, I detailed the raw power of dividend investing (here), but this isn’t the whole story. #-ad_banner-#You see, there’s a little-known group of stocks that offer huge dividend payouts, but their yields are not displayed to the public on financial websites like Yahoo! Finance or Morningstar. This phenomenon is due to a glitch in the way the financial… Read More

In the world of income investing, dividends reign supreme. Treasuries and CDs are offering historically low yields and are no longer considered the ultra-safe cash generators that they once were. In a previous issue of StreetAuthority Daily, I detailed the raw power of dividend investing (here), but this isn’t the whole story. #-ad_banner-#You see, there’s a little-known group of stocks that offer huge dividend payouts, but their yields are not displayed to the public on financial websites like Yahoo! Finance or Morningstar. This phenomenon is due to a glitch in the way the financial media reports certain companies’ financial information. We call this group of stocks “Hidden High Yielders.” And if you know where to look, you can find companies yielding three, six… even seven times more than the yield posted on financial websites. For Hidden High Yielders, their true payout is actually much higher because there are dozens of supplemental dividends that go unreported each quarter. But by “unreported,” I don’t mean some secret way of transferring cash to a select group of well-connected insiders. These extra payments are dished out openly and uniformly… Read More

Ever rooted for the underdog when you knew it couldn’t win? In basketball — as in many sports — this happens all the time. In the recent NCAA tournament, for example, Hampton (17-17 in the regular season) was pit against Kentucky (34-0). The chance that Hampton would upset this perennial powerhouse was slim to none. And yet, millions of dollars were put down on this underdog by betters all across the country. Why? Because these folks were betting on another game entirely. One with better odds and higher… Read More

Ever rooted for the underdog when you knew it couldn’t win? In basketball — as in many sports — this happens all the time. In the recent NCAA tournament, for example, Hampton (17-17 in the regular season) was pit against Kentucky (34-0). The chance that Hampton would upset this perennial powerhouse was slim to none. And yet, millions of dollars were put down on this underdog by betters all across the country. Why? Because these folks were betting on another game entirely. One with better odds and higher rewards… One that casual fans had no idea was going on right in front of them. A similar thing plays out every day in the investing world. If you understand it you stand to profit from high-yield opportunities that most investors will never see. Let me explain… Let’s consider the bond market for a moment. You can put your money on corporate bonds backed by stalwart blue-chip companies like Microsoft and Treasury IOUs. Or you can choose “junk” bonds issued by smaller, shakier businesses. Read More