A lot of investors think Private Equity (“PE”) is some magical, uncorrelated, rich-person recipe for wealth. But in reality, it’s based on the same economy as public equities (i.e. stocks), the low correlation is largely a mirage (PE just provides less frequent/delayed valuations), the fees and expenses are higher, and the operational and opportunity costs (of inconvenient capital calls and lockup periods) are a royal pain.
YTD Returns: MAG 10 vs S&P “490”
As you can see in the chart below, this year has been a tale of two markets—with the 10 largest US stocks (by market cap) decisively underperforming the other “490” S&P 500 stocks (even though both groups have somewhat similar combined market caps—i.e. MAG 10 is more than 35% of the S&P 500—even after the large decline). There is a lesson in this, and it’s probably not what you think…
Forget Growth: 5 Big Safe Yields Worth Considering
It’s going to get worse. That’s how many people feel about the current stock market selloff, and based on history—they could be right. But before going down the pointless rabbit hole of attempting to perfectly time the bottom, there is another way to invest. It’s called income investing. And in this report, I share 5 big-yield investment strategies (plus a handful of individual top ideas) that some investors may want to consider as a critical component of their long-term investment strategy.
Trump Tariffs: Cancel Your Retirement
One secret to great investing is to ignore the day-to-day noise; but with Trump tariffs now wrecking stocks, you may NEVER retire.
That’s how a lot of investors feel right now with the Nasdaq 100 (QQQ) down 13% in 3 weeks (that’s more than the entire stock market typically gains in a year!).
So now what?
Panic sell all your stocks? Cancel retirement and work forever?…
AI: The Right Way to Invest
Top 10 Growth Stocks: AI Fear Creates Opportunity
As you can see in the 10-day return column (below), Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) stocks have been particularly volatile. Much of this volatility is fear-driven and has thereby created select attractive opportunities, as the AI megatrend is still fully intact (i.e. it’s in its early innings). In this report, I share my top 10 AI growth stock rankings, starting with #10 and counting down to my very top ideas.
5 Big Yield Portfolios, $2 Million Nest Egg Edition
There are a lot of people that demand “big yield” from their investment portfolios. And they demand it, pursue it and define it, in widely different ways. In this report, I review 5 different big-yield portfolio strategies (ranging from 10%+ yields, monthly-pay strategies, and dividends versus distributions) for investors with $2 million in investable assets (or thereabouts), as well as a handful of risks and mistakes to avoid. I conclude with my strong opinion on which strategy is best.
Updated: Top 10 Big-Yields + High Income NOW Portfolio
As markets get volatile, income-focused investing continues to deliver the steady cash flow many investors want and need. We're sharing our updated Top 10 Big Yields and High Income NOW Portfolio. The ratings have changed as market prices have moved, but the opportunities and "buy under" prices remain fairly consistent and so does the big steady income. Current Yield: 9.3%.
4 High-Quality Growth Stocks, On Sale
Separating the hype from the fundamentals, a handful of good stocks have just gone on sale following the recent DeepSeek drama and despite ongoing broad market strength. This report highlights four (4) fundamentally compelling businesses, currently trading at attractive prices (especially compared to ongoing growth trajectory), and positioned to do very well in the years ahead.
Some Thoughts on Nvidia (-17%) Versus DeepSeek AI
So Artificial Intelligence (AI) darling of the world, Nvidia (NVDA), was down 17% on Monday following news that China startup, DeepSeek, had created an AI application “superior” to US leaders (e.g. OpenAI), and DeepSeek had accomplished this on only a tiny fraction of the budget. Specifically, DeepSeek doesn’t need all those expensive Nvidia chips that the rest of the world has been spending hundreds of billions of dollars on. Here are 5 lessons for Nvidia investors to keep in mind.
3 Sizzling Hot Stocks, 2 Letter Reason: A.I.
AI-Datacenter Boom: 7 Energy Stocks to Benefit
4 Good Stocks
With the turn of every new year, stock market pundits love to look at what performed best and worst last year, as if that magically gives them some hidden wisdom about what will perform the best in the year ahead. And while momentum and contrarian investment philosophies may both have some merit, a better bet is always to invest in businesses that are fundamentally promising in the years ahead, and also trading at reasonable valuations. In the report, we take a closer look at “4 Good Stocks,” all of which appear extremely promising in the year (and years) ahead, assuming of course you are a patient investor looking to make a lot of money.
75 Big-Yield CEFs: Compelling Pricing
40+ Big-Yield BDCs Compared (Big Dividends Report)
Top 10 Growth Stocks (December Update) + Disciplined Growth Portfolio
The Top 10 Growth Stocks tear sheet has been updated for December, and so has the complete Disciplined Growth Portfolio. As a reminder, these are NOT “swinging for the fences” types of strategies (although the Disciplined Growth Portfolio is up nearly 40% this year). Rather, they are disciplined, long-term, real money strategies, and they are beating the living pants off “Vanguard Target Date funds.”
Top 10 Big Yields (December Update) + High-Income NOW Portfolio
The Blue Harbinger “High Income NOW” portfolio, and the “Top 10 Big Yields” tear sheet have been updated for December. There is one new purchase in the “High Income NOW” portfolio, and two new names on the “Top 10 Big Yields” tear sheet (as well as a handful of rebalancing trades and updates to “buy under” prices). The overall theme this month is that a lot of big-yield opportunities are getting expensive, but not all of them. And we have highlighted our top ideas in these two updated documents for December.
Big Dividends Report: 200+ Closed-End Funds
If you enjoy digging into the universe of data (to help yourself identify attractive opportunities for further research), this report shares updated data on over 200 big-dividend (technically “big-distribution”) Closed-End Funds (“CEFs”). The data includes a variety of CEFs (including taxable bond CEFs, non-taxable municipal bond CEFs, stock CEFs and more), and it is sorted by market cap (you likely recognize several of your favorites near the top). There is also a link to an Excel spreadsheet with all the data (for those of you who like to sort, slice and dice the data your own way). We own several CEFs on this list in our Blue Harbinger “High Income NOW” portfolio.
Post-Election Markets: Are You Ready for What's Next?
It’s been a big week for geopolitics and for the stock market (some sectors more than others). In this note, we review the performance of various stock market styles (eg. Small Caps, International, Large-Cap Tech and more), and then share some insights as to whether your personal investment portfolio is positioned corectly for what is coming next. For starters, here is a look at how various stock categories have performed since the election (obviously some big changes)…
Top 10 Big-Yields (November Update) Members
Despite macroeconomic concerns, the stock market has continued to post strong gains this year thereby leaving some investors wondering if it’s time to take some chips off the table. One popular approach is owning attractive big-yield investments (6% to over 10% yields) that will continue to pay high income regardless of what happens in the broader market. In this report, we provide an overview of “frothy” market conditions (e.g. valuation metrics) and then countdown our top 10 big-yields (including BDCs, stock and bond CEFs, REITs and more). We conclude with a critical takeaway that is sadly overlooked by many.