Funds

65328631 - options trading investment in option trade of trader business concept

The Power Of The Options Hedge

One of the more intriguing aspects of 2021 has been the relatively high levels of expected volatility in the equities markets.  The VIX, a widely-used barometer of broad market volatility, has been consistently higher throughout the year compared to its long-term median.  Despite the high levels of anticipated volatility, the market hasn’t yet seen that […]

Protecting Your Downside Exposure with Options

Protecting Your Downside Exposure with Options

It’s never a bad idea to know how to minimize your equity exposure, especially right now, as the market is showing some cracks in its armor lately. The S&P 500 was down roughly 5% in September, the first down month in 2021 since January, and the largest since the pandemic hit in March 2020. Granted, […]

Crane picking up a car in a junkyard

More From the Closed-End Fund Part of the Market

Last week, in my monthly deep dive stock report for my Dividend Hunter Insiders, I dug into a closed-end fund. For this monthly member benefit, I solicit stock ideas from our subscribers and then pick one for an in-depth report. My research goes in many directions, and this one took me to some very compelling […]

Is This Closed-End Fund Living Up to Expectations?

Is This Closed-End Fund Living Up to Expectations?

Recently, I have found myself going down the rabbit hole leading to ETFs and closed-end funds (CEFs) that use covered call strategies. These funds offer the promise of investment exposure to major asset classes or indexes, plus a high level of dividend income. Closed-end funds aren’t generally my cup of tea as many remain murky […]

Crane picking up a car in a junkyard

Why CEF Stocks Are Mostly A Junkyard… Except For Two

I regularly field many questions about specific high-yield investments. The questions often specify a closed-end fund (CEFs), and the investor asking often does not realize the high-yield stock symbol that caught their interest is a closed-end fund. Today, let’s look at CEFs, both pros and cons…lots of cons. CEF stands for closed-end fund. A closed-end […]

Buy This Hated Monthly Dividend Investment Paying 9.5%

Buy This Hated Monthly Dividend Investment Paying 9.5%

Last week, Seeking Alpha put out a list of low-valuation ETFs with strong performance year-to-date for 2021. The short discussion pointed out how investors may benefit from a shift away from high-valuation growth investments, to those with lower valuations that are also out of favor with the “hot stocks” crowd. The low-valuation list sports some […]