June has been a rough month for a lot of investors.  The investing themes that have done well so far in 2013—everything from U.S. dividend-focused stocks to Japanese small caps—have gone sharply into reverse.   The market has started to get jitters that the Fed’s QE Infinity will actually be quite finite…and it appears that Abenomics...Read More

May 22 was not a kind day for income investors.  It would appear that this was the day that income investors collectively realized that the Fed’s QE infinity really wouldn’t go on…well…for infinity. Fears that market yields would rise became a self-fulfilling prophecy.  The 10-year Treasury yield, which had reached a new low just above...Read More

Over the past 10 days, a period where the S&P 500 has traded sideways, REITs and MLPs are down 8% and 6%, respectively, as measured by the Vanguard REIT ETF ($VNQ) and the JP Morgan Alerian MLP ETN ($AMJ). Individual REITs and MLPs got hit harder.  The popular Realty Income ($O) and Martin Midstream ($MMLP)...Read More

Last year, I compared U.S. dividend ETFs and gave readers a simple choice.  If you want current income, a high-yielding option like the iShares Dow Jones Select Dividend ETF (NYSE:$DVY) is your best option.  But for long-term growth, you might be better off investing in the Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF (NYSE:$VIG).  Though it yields little...Read More

Pick up any financial newspaper over the past two weeks, and you’ll read about the selloff in junk bonds and what it might portend for the stock market. Remember, though junk bonds are fixed income, their risk characteristics make them more similar to equities.  Junk bonds carry higher default risk and are thus far more...Read More