Living with debt has become a part of the American way of life. People take out loans to pay for cars, homes, education and an infinite number of other things. To add insult to injury many also own several credit cards. On average a general American household carries a debt of $ 9000 on them, and this number is increasing. The only means to get out Read Complete Article

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Passive income is a popular term nowadays and most of you have undoubtedly heared about it. But why, you may ask yourself is it so popular? The popularity of passive income is fairly easy to explain; if you build a passive income portfolio you will achieve financial freedom which is something most people desire. Having financial freedom allows you to have more control over your life. You no longer depend on a paycheck from your employer and have the option to work if you want to and not because you have to. Having the money to to cover your costs of living brings with it a tremendous piece of mind. Read Complete Article

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1. Become financially secure.

I know you are probably saying “Easier said than done!” But with a little Read Complete Article

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Many of us own stocks through retirement portfolios or in our own market speculation, but very few are capitalizing and generating any income on stocks that they already own.

Covered calls are a relatively new idea to many investors mostly because they’ve never heard of them. Covered calls are simply stock options that you sell on shares of stock that you already own. By writing your own options, you’ll be able to sell stock options and pocket the premium for each.

Introduction to stock options

When an investor purchases stock options, they are not buying stock, but rather the ability to buy stock at a certain price before a specified date in the future. Stock options are similar to a down payment on a contract; the premium price is paid for the right to buy stock from you in the future. If the shares do not reach the target price, the investor does not have to exercise his or her options, and thus, can let them expire.

By writing covered calls, you are selling the option to buy your stock. Consider this scenario: you own 500 shares of Yahoo stock at $20 per share. To generate an income, you sell call options with a $25 strike price two months in the future. By doing so, you’re essentially betting that your Yahoo stock will not appreciate in value by 25% over the next two months, and you’ll be able to collect the premium price of the option. Currently, the premium for a $25 strike price two months in the future is $.52 per option, or $52 per lot. By selling covered calls on 500 shares, you’ll generate an income of $260 instantly.

There are some risks to writing covered calls

There are risks to selling covered calls. In that case that Yahoo stock rises to $27 per share, the options will be exercised and the current owner will be able to purchase your shares for $25 per share even though the current market value is $27. You’ll receive a total of $25.52, the premium price plus the strike price for your shares and incur a $1.48 difference on the amount you could have made without selling the covered calls. Of course if the stock price rises only to $23 per share, the owner of the options would not exercise them and you’d be left with 500 shares worth $23 per share and the option premium of $.52 each.

There are many different variables to consider when selling covered calls. Higher strike price values warrant lower option premiums, while lower strike prices bring higher premiums, but a greater risk that the stock price will rise, and thus, end up losing your shares for a price lower than current market value.

Writing covered calls more frequently generates more money

Selling covered calls on a month to month basis (or every two months to minimize commissions) rather than long term one-off options will generate a higher return from your shares of stock while allowing you to raise and lower the strike price as the stock values change. The difference is that short term covered calls require more work as you’ll be writing covered calls each month, rather than every three months, six months or two years. In the case of the Yahoo stock mentioned above, you’d be able to generate an income of $4.42 by selling calls worth $.52 every two months for 17 months, or just $2.70 selling covered calls one time 17 months in the future.

There are some restrictions

Covered calls can only be sold in lots of 100 options and must be backed by your own ownership of the stock. Selling covered calls also means you’ll be paying some commission to execute your orders; this varies from broker to broker, but is usually about the same price as buying and selling options.

Other than these two notes, there isn’t much holding you back from writing covered calls and generating an income. In the example above, just 500 shares or $10,000 of stock can generate $520 in premiums in less than two months. Unless the stock rises 25% in that time period, the premium is entirely yours to keep without having to sell your stock.

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Most financial experts recommend that everyone should have some cash stashed away for a rainy day. Unfortunately most people do not think about such things until it’s too late and something has already happened where they need the money right away. Those of us who are wise and think ahead will put some money away for hard times but as many as 41% of Americans do not have any money at all saved for an emergency.  You never know what life throws at you and it is always better to be prepared then to be sorry.

Why do I need an emergency fund?

Having an emergency fund can really come to your rescue when unplanned expenses arise. You never know what can happen; the loss of a job, your car breaking down, your house burns down, unexpected medical expenses; virtually anything can happen and things usually happen at the worst possible time. But in every case, those with an emergency fund do better than those without.

In the absence of an emergency fund credit cards usually fill the void, leaving you burdened with high interest debt. This can cause further financial difficulties by increasing your monthly bills for quite some time into the future as you are paying down a high credit card balance, thereby straining your monthly budget even further. You need to have a solid plan on how to deal with unexpected expenses, and having an emergency fund should be a top priority.

How much should I save in my emergency fund?

The answer to this question really depends on your personal circumstances.  It will depend on your income level, size of your family, and the type of emergency that arises. The general recommendation is to keep between three and six months of living expenses in the fund. But everyone has a different comfort level and if you are a high income earner and are used to living a certain lifestyle you will obviously have to put a lot more money into your emergency fund.

Additionally if you are deep in debt, it does not make a lot of sense for you to keep a large chunk of cash stashed away that is earning you 3% interest and at the same time pay 8 to 15% or more in interest payments to credit card companies.  In a situation like this it is wisest to keep about one or two months of living expenses in your emergency fund and use the rest to pay down your debt. Once your debt is paid down start adding money to your emergency fund once more.

Where to keep the cash?

The ideal place to park your rainy day fund should pay a decent interest, be devoid of fees, be not too easy to access and at the same time not too difficult to get to your money in case you need it. Good places to park your emergency fund money would be a money market savings account or a CD.

My thoughts on this, is to keep a small amount of cash at home for minor emergencies. About $500 to $800 should suffice. Keep two to three months of expenses in an online savings account, this way it is available if you need it but at the same time a bit restricted; since you cannot withdraw it at your local branch. The remaining three to four months worth of living expenses should be kept in a CD since it will usually pay a higher interest rate then an online savings account.

If you put your emergency fund money somewhere the funds are not easily accessible, ensure that you have an instrument of equivalent value available for use; such as using a credit card at the time of the emergency and then repaying it in full as soon as you get your funds.

Step by step plan for putting together your emergency fund

1. If you currently have no money put away for emergencies, I would highly recommend that you immediately save $1,000 and put it in a high yield online savings account. This money would obviously not be enough to get you past any emergency, but it’s a good start. If you do not have a $1,000 start small. Open a rainy day savings account and put $50 in it. Slowly add money every month to this account, and before you know it you will have a emergency fund.
2. I would then advise for you to take a close look at your debt.  If you have debt, and most of us do, put together a debt elimination plan and begin to rid yourself of debt.  (More on this in the near future)
3. Once your debt has been mostly eliminated you should start adding more money to your emergency fund. Try to be disciplined by considering it a bill you have to pay and including it in your monthly budget.
4. Once you have saved up six months of expenses in your emergency fund you can start saving towards other goals or for investment purposes.

Mistakes to avoid

• Don’t confuse your 401K with your emergency fund. Many people think that they can use their 401K in case of emergencies. Do not make this mistake and do not touch your 401K until you are in your mid 60′s. If you do you are going to have to pay penalties and taxes.
• Do not keep your emergency fund money mixed in with other funds in the same account. Make sure that your emergency fund is kept separate from your other accounts.
• Do not use your emergency fund as your personal cash cow for buying more stuff. The only reason you should ever tap into your emergency fund is in an emergency situation.
• Do not let your emergency fund run out.  If an issue arises and you are unable to pay your bills for the month, take the money out of your emergency fund, that’s why it’s there, however make sure to replenish it over the next several months.

A fully funded emergency fund can keep you out of debt and make life easier during those high stress times when things don’t go your way.

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As most of you have noticed, most securities pay their dividends quarterly. But those who take the time to find and invest in securities that pay their dividends monthly have a slight advantage.

Investing in securities that pay their dividends monthly as opposed to quarterly can give you an edge over time.

Advantages if you are reinvesting your dividends

For those who are reinvesting their dividends, monthly payments as opposed to quarterly dividend payments will make a very small difference in the short term, but over the long run the deference will become bigger. By taking advantage of the power of compounding, monthly dividend reinvestments will grow at a faster rate as opposed to getting that same dividend quarterly.

Advantages if you are living on your dividends

For those that are already retired or nearing retirement recieving dividend payments monthly as opposed to quarterly will allow for a consistent, predictable monthly income to live off, allowing you to more easily match income to expenses and simplify your financial planning.

Working Example #1

For example, let’s say you buy 1,000 shares of a $10 stock, which pays a $1.20 per share annual dividend. After your first monthly dividend payment you will receive a $100 dividend which when reinvested buys you 10 shares. When the second month comes around you are now getting the dividends on 1010 shares as opposed to 100, so your dividend payment will be $101 instead of $100. Your third months dividend will now be based on 1020 shares and will be $102.01 as opposed to 100. After three months of monthly dividend payments you would have gotten $303.01 in dividends. Now if you where getting the dividends quarterly your quarterly payment would have been $300. This is what the power of monthly compounding can do as opposed to quarterly compounding. By receiving dividend payments monthly instead of quarterly you have received a larger return in the same amount of time and have accumulated more shares. This is not a huge difference over three months but over 10 or 20 years it can make a substantial difference.

Working Example #2

Now let’s look at the same transaction as in example #1 in a different way.

1,000 shares of a $10 stock, which pays a $1.20 per share annual dividend. That comes out to a 12% yield per year, or 1% per month. If the dividend is paid monthly and then reinvested back into the stock, then in one year you would receive $1,268.25 in dividends. As a fraction of your original $10,000 investment, your total compounded returns would be 12.68%.

If this same investment paid the dividend distribution quarterly instead, you would receive a 3% dividend every three months. By years end, your dividend earnings would be $1,255.09, or a 12.55% return on your original $10,000 investment.

As you can see from the table below, your compounded returns are slightly better — by 13 basis points — from the monthly versus quarterly payout if you hold the stock for one year only.

The advantages of the monthly dividend payments as opposed to quarterly become more apparent over the long run. Using the same calculations as were used above, your compounded gains after 10 years of monthly dividend payments come to $23,003.87 giving you a 230.04% return on your original $10,000 investment, or an average of 23.00% annually.

If these dividends where paid quarterly instead of monthly, your compounded returns over the same 10 year period would be $22,620.38, giving you a 226.20% gain, or 22.62% annually. Over this longer term, your compounded returns improve by 38 basis points per year if receiving dividends monthly instead of quarterly.

Conclussion

So what we learn here is that monthly dividend payments provide an advantage over quarterly dividend payments, in the form of a somewhat better return and a steady, predictable income stream. Please keep in mind, however, that making a decision to purchase a stock or fund based solely on how often the dividend is paid is not a good idea. Your main considerations should be the quality of the dividend payment, cash flow, earnings growth and dividend growth.

In a previous article I have listed several hundred monthly dividend paying securities which are an excellent starting point for your research. Some of these securities have better fundamentals then others, so please research them thoroughly before jumping in for the dividend payments. I will keep updating this list as I find more securities that pay monthly dividends and eventually I will add a section to this website specifically dealing with monthly dividend stocks.

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Stock markets got you down?

Research shows that most investors are more depressed when they are loosing money, then happy when they are making money. Psychology plays a big part in investing and getting past your initial desire to get out, in a panic driven market, can go a long way over the long run. Many investors wind up buying high and selling low because they panicked and sold at or near the bottom. But what if they where buying in a correction instead of panic selling?

Many investors feel like they should have moved more money into cash before the markets started selling off and then repurchae their shares at a lower price, or that they should have held off on that investment a little longer until prices were even more attractive. It can be incredibly frustrating. But one cannot time the markets (at least not without a working time machine) and trying to do so will only loose you money. Instead we should all have a good strategy for dealing with market corrections, and taking advantage of hidden oportunities to build wealth.

There is no need to panic or be depressed in this market downturn. Markets will turn arownd in time as they always do. And if you make wise investment choices during the downturn you can make a nice profit.

Are we in a recession?

No! Even though many pundits on TV keep proclaiming a that we are in a recession, that is not true. At least not yet. The definition of a recession is two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth. As of yet we have not even had one quarter of negative growth. Our ecconomy’s growth is slowing but we are not yet negative and I don’t believe we will see a recetion any time soon. Also, our exports are growing for the first time in a very long time and I most definately see this as a continuing trend.

What is the health of world markets?

Many countries economies are currently growing at amazing rates. Just take a look at China, Brazil, India and Russia. Do you really think that a slight U.S. economic slowdown will have a huge effect on these fast growing economies? Their people are startig to flowrish and demand a higher standard of living. They want better food, nice cars, air conditioneres, flat screen TV’s and much more, and this demand will only increrase as their per capita incomes keeps growing.

We live in a changing world and as time passes the U.S. is less and less of a factor to the worlds economy. Less growth in the US may slow down Chineese exports somewhat but in a miniscule way (we are not their only customer) and it certainly will not slow their infrastructure buildup nor quench their hunger for oil and raw materials. Even if China’s growth slowes from 11% annually to 10% it is a drop in the bucket. And by the way, the Chineese have been actively trying to slow their growth with no success. There is simply way too much growth in international markets for a world wide economic slowdown. The future looks bright.

Is that sky falling?

Obviously the world is not coming to an end and if it where your net worth would be the last thing on your mind.

Granted that if you sell before the major market losses and buy back near the bottom you’ll be ahead of the game, but it is very difficult if not nearly impossible to time the markets and nine times out of ten you’ll lose money trying. So I woud say that it is not worth trying to time the market since chances are that you will lose. Instead see any temporary market downturn as an opportunity to buy stocks on sale.

Recognizing opportunities when we see them

As income investors we are not as concerned about the value of the original investment but with the income it is generating. Additionally at a lower NAV your dividends buy you more shares when reinvested, thereby growing your income stream faster.

Many good stocks, etf’s, cef’s and mutual funds that where previously a good investment paying a high dividend have been beaten into the ground by this panic in the markets. This sudden drop in NAV has caused these good investments to become great investments with exceptionally high dividend yields.

I have recently been adding to my holdings in ADVDX (15% yield), NRI (17% yield), AFN (38% yield) and others thereby locking in the very high dividend yields.

Buying such securities now which are on sale in a big kind of way is a rare opportunity and will pay off for years to come. This is how smart money is made, buying low and collecting a huge dividend while you wait for your shares to appreciate. You are basically getting paid for waiting.  It is a great way to build wealth — everything that was a good investment before becomes a better investment now.

Dollar Cost Averaging

Don’t just jump into it and invest all your money in one shot. We don’t know when this market correction will end nor whether the markets will go any lower. So our best bet is to slowily start adding to our passive income stock portfolios bit by bit. If you want to invest $10,000 in ABCD, Inc. stock, instead of bying all $10K worth of stock in one shot, it is wiser to buy in smaller increments over several months. This is called dollar cost averaging. Buing $2K worth of ABCD, Inc every 4 weeks for 5 months will dollar cost average you into this investment. So if you make an initial purchase of $2K worth of ABXD stock at $15 per share and after one month the stock goes down to $10 per share and you buy another $2K worth your actual average cost per share is about $12.50 instead of $15. If you bought all your shares in the begining at $15 per share your money would have actually bought you less shares. Over a period of time this can make a big difference.

Final thoughts

Keep in mind that one has to pick investments very carefully. If you buy a stock that pays a very high dividend and then the company cuts its dividend you may not finish ahead. So do your due diligence! A good market opportunity does not mean that you can forget about doing research and being a wise investor.

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The following article demonstrates a real life example of what can happed if you put all your eggs in one basket.

Original article by Andy Meek of the Daily News

Full article can be found here: http://www.memphisdailynews.com/Editoria…

“One day during the summer of 2005, Jim and Genette Chase walked into the local Regions bank office near their Miramar Beach home in the Florida Panhandle. An accountant by trade, Jim had retired a few months earlier and was eager to build a nest egg he and his wife could live on.They talked to a bank officer that day about putting the bulk of their retirement savings into certificates of deposit because CDs are insured and almost risk-free. But the Regions employee instead wanted the Chases to first speak with a broker at the adjacent Morgan Keegan office about a different and more lucrative investment opportunity.The couple eventually got talked into investing half a million dollars in a small group of Regions Morgan Keegan mutual funds, all of which had significant exposure to the now-chaotic mortgage market and throughout 2007 sustained massive losses because of it. By December 2007, the Chases had taken such a withering loss on their investment that they liquidated what little they had left in the funds.Jim Chase is a few months away from his 62nd birthday but he’s looking for a new job because of the evaporation of his retirement savings.Jim Kelsoe is the manager at Morgan Keegan’s asset management unit based in Downtown Memphis. Kelsoe earned a reputation among his peers as a successful money manager unafraid of risk in the world of mortgage-backed securities.The Chases went ahead and invested about $500,000 in the RMK Advantage Income Fund. Several months later, in 2006, they went back to Rutledge and put another $200,000 into other RMK funds. Rutledge assured the couple the investments would be exposed to minimal risk, Chase said. What the couple got, instead, was the opposite result they’d hoped for. They ended up losing so much money – roughly $504,000 – that the Chases now are working with Chicago securities lawyer Andrew Stoltmann, who recently filed a claim on behalf of the Chases with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. They believe they were misled into putting money into a volatile set of investments and hope to recover at least some of what they lost. “What’s insane is there are probably a million other Jim Chases out there right now,” Stoltmann said. “Here you have a guy looking for CDs, looking for fixed income, and instead he gets sold something that’s on the polar opposite of the spectrum. And those risks aren’t made clear to him.” The Chases’ claim was among four Stoltmann filed last month. One of the other investors who lost money in the RMK funds and also believes Morgan Keegan was misleading about the nature of their risks is a Memphis reporter whom Stoltmann declined to identify, citing his client’s wishes for privacy. The turn of events has proved grueling for Chase, who served in the military for three years during the Vietnam War and later worked as an auditor for various government agencies for more than 30 years. He and his wife’s RMK investments began showing a loss some time around last February. At the time, the Chases had been out of town for several weeks visiting their daughter in Kentucky while her husband was serving in Iraq. “There was a loss on paper of around $340,000, and we were just shocked,” Chase said. By October, the loss had grown by another $100,000. The Chases re-approached their broker, who assured them the funds’ long-term health was sound, Chase said. In mid-December, however, they decided to pull the plug.

Lessons Learned

You never really know what a fund manager is doing and how much risk they are really taking in order to try to increase their returns. Not to mention unscrupulous financial advisers who have their commission in mind and not their clients financial well being.

The moral of this story is NEVER and I mean NEVER put all your money into one or a small number of investments. I would recommend that the maximum you should ever have in one investment is no more then 10% of your portfolio, preferably even less. The more diversified you are the less chance there is that what happened to the Chases would happen to you. Consider what would have happened if the Chases RMK investment was only 10% of their portfolio. It would have made all the difference in the world and Jim Chase would now be happily retired instead of looking for a job. My heart goes out to the Chases for this is a true financial tragedy. I sincerely hope that they win this lawsuit and at least are able to recover a portion of their losses.

But the bottom line is that your financial wellbeing is ultimately your responsibility and we should all educate ourselves as much as possible so that we do not have to rely on other people’s bad advice and avoid making terrible mistakes.

My personal portfolio is split between stocks, bonds, real estate, gold, loans and trust deeds; and the stock portion of my portfolio is split up between over a hundred various securites. Yes I did take somewhat of a hit during this whole sub prime mess, but it wasn’t a huge hit and since most of my securities earn a good dividend I’m actually getting more shares each time the dividends are reinvested. I also took this as an opportunity to purchase some stocks and funds that where on sale because of panic selling and thereby locked in huge dividend yields in the 13% to 17% range that I will be collecting while I wait for the share price to go back up.

So be smart and always make sure that you are well diversified because it is always better to be safe then sorry.

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The following is a list of more than 200 different stocks, REITs, CEFs, oil income funds, Canadian royalty trusts and floating rate funds, which pay their dividends monthly. All of these securities trade on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) or American Stock Exchange (AMEX). This list is sorter by yield with the highest at the top. Canadian companies are identified [Canada] because of their tax withholding issues.

The information on these stocks was gathered over the past several weeks, so obviously some yields have changed during that time frame. Please do your own due diligence since some of these stocks are speculative, and high yield does not mean safe.

Harvest Energy Trust (HTE) 17.7% [Canada]
Canetic Resources (CNE) 16.7% [Canada]
Pengrowth Energy Trust (PGH) 15.6% [Canada]
Advantage Energy Income Fund (AAV) 15.1% [Canada]
PrimeWest Energy Trust (PWI) 13.6% [Canada]
Boulder Growth & Income Fund (BIF) 12.2%
Provident Energy Trust (PVX) 11.8% [Canada]
Penn West Energy Trust (PWE) 11.8% [Canada]
Enterra Energy Trust (ENT) 11.7% [Canada]
Baytex Energy (BTE) 10.8% [Canada]
RMK High Income Fund Inc. (RMH) 10.7%
RMK Advantage Income Fund (RMA) 10.7%
RMK Strategic Income Fund (RSF) 10.6%
RMK Multi-Sector High Income Fund (RHY) 10.6%
Enerplus Resources Fund (ERF) 10.0% [Canada]
Eaton Vance CRD Opportunities (EOE) 9.6%
Nuveen Equity Premium Advantage Fund (JLA) 9.5%
Nuveen Equity Premium Opport. Fund (JSN) 9.5%
Pioneer High Income Trust (PHT) 9.4%
PIMCO High Income Fund (PHK) 9.2%
BlackRock Diversified Income Strategies (DVF) 9.1%
New America High Income Fund Inc. (HYB) 9.1%
Nuveen Equity Premium Income Fund (JPZ) 8.9%
Calamos Convertible Opport. & Income (CHI) 8.9%
Van Kampen Senior Income Trust (VVR) 8.8%
Eaton Vance Floating-Rate Income (EFT) 8.7%
High Yield Income Fund Inc. (HYI) 8.7%
Precision Drilling (PDS) 8.7% [Canada]
ING GL Equity Dividend (IGD) 8.7%
Lehman Brothers First Trust Income Opp. (LBC) 8.7%
Nuveen Floating Rate Income Opportunity Fund (JRO) 8.7%
Eaton Vance Senior Floating Rate Trust (EFR) 8.6%
PIMCO Floating Rate Income Fund (PFL) 8.6%
Scudder High Income Trust (KHI) 8.6%
BlackRock Senior High Income Fund (ARK) 8.5%
Nuveen Floating Rate Income Fund (JFR) 8.5%
Alpine Global Dynami (AGD) 8.4%
Eaton Vance Enhanced Equity Income Fund II (EOS) 8.4%
Nuveen Equity Premium Growth Fund (JPG) 8.4%
Calamos Convertible & High Income (CHY) 8.4%
Nuveen Global Government Income (JGG) 8.3%
Van Kampen High Income Trust II (VLT) 8.3%
Western Asset Zenix Income Fund Inc. (ZIF) 8.2%
First Trust/Four Corners Senior Fltg Rate Inc. (FCM) 8.1%
Nuveen Preferred Convertible Income Fund 2 (JQC) 8.1%
BlackRock Enhanced Dividend Achievers Trust (BDJ) 8.0%
Eaton Vance Senior Income Trust (EVF) 8.0%
Evergreen International Balanced Income (EBI) 8.0%
Nuveen Preferred & Convertible Income Fund (JPC) 8.0%
Nuveen Senior Income Fund (NSL) 8.0%
PIMCO Corporate Income Fund (PCN) 8.0%
United Dominion 8.5 (UDM) 8.0%
BlackRock Global Floating Rate Income (BGT) 7.9%
BlackRock Floating Rate Inc. Strat. Fund II (FRB) 7.9%
Nuveen Diversified Dividend & Income Fund (JDD) 7.9%
Pimco Global Stocksplus Income Fund (PGP) 7.9%
Strategic Global Income Fund Inc. (SGL) 7.9%
Western Asset High Income Fund II Inc. (HIX) 7.9%
BlackRock Limited Duration Income (BLW) 7.8%
Blackrock World Investment Trust (BWC) 7.8%
Cross Timbers Royalty Trust (CRT) 7.8%
Eaton Vance Enhanced Equity Income Fund (EOI) 7.8%
Western Asset High Income Opportunity Fund (HIO) 7.7%
BlackRock Floating Rate Inc. Strat. Fund (FRA) 7.7%
American Strategic Income Portfolio III (CSP) 7.7%
Nuveen Quality Preferred Income Fund 2 (JPS) 7.6%
BlackRock Enhanced Government Fund, Inc. (EGF) 7.5%
Franklin Templeton Ltd. Duration Income Trust (FTF) 7.5%
Nuveen Quality Preferred Income Fund 3 (JHP) 7.5%
Nuveen Quality Preferred Income Fund (JTP) 7.5%
Western Asset Global Partners Income Fund Inc. (GDF) 7.5%
Advent Claymore Convertible Secur. & Income (AVK) 7.4%
Nuveen Real Estate Income Fund (JRS) 7.4%
BlackRock Preferred and Corporate Inc. Strat. (PSW) 7.4%
Western Asset Global High Income Fund Inc. (EHI) 7.3%
ACM Income Fund Inc. (ACG) 7.3%
40/86 Strategic Income Fund (CFD) 7.2%
Scudder Multi-Market Income Trust (KMM) 7.1%
Western Asset High Income Fund II Inc. (HIX) 7.1%
Gabelli Gold, Natural Resources & Income (GGN) 7.0%
ING Clarion Real Estate Income Fund (IIA) 7.0%
Scudder Strategic Income Trust (KST) 7.0%
ACM Managed Dollar Income Fund (ADF) 7.0%
ACM Government Opportunity Fund Inc. (AOF) 6.9%
Alliance World Dollar Government Fund II (AWF) 6.9%
Morgan Stanley Municipal Premium Income (PIA) 6.9%
Permian Basin Royalty Trust (PBT) 6.8%
RMR Real Estate Fund (RMR) 6.8%
Morgan Stanley Quality Municipal Income Trust (IQI) 6.7%
BlackRock Preferred Income Strategies (PSY) 6.7%
Aberdeen Asia-Pacific Income Fund Inc. (FAX) 6.6%
Western Asset Worldwide Income Fund Inc. (SBW) 6.6%
AIM Select Real Estate Income Fund (RRE) 6.5%
San Juan Basin Royalty Trust (SJT) 6.5%
Colonial Intermarket Income Trust 1 (CMK) 6.4%
Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred Income Opp. (PFO) 6.4%
Neuberger Berman Real Estate Securities Inc. (NRO) 6.4%
Van Kampen Income Trust (VIN) 6.4%
Putnam High Income Securities Fund (PCF) 6.4%
RMR Hospitality and Real Estate Fund (RHR) 6.3%
BlackRock Income Opportunity Trust, Inc. (BNA) 6.2%
Scudder RREEF Real Estate Fund II, Inc. (SRO) 6.2%
American Income Fund Inc. (MRF) 6.2%
AEW Real Estate Income Fund (RIF) 6.1%
AmREIT (AMY) 6.1%
BlackRock Income Trust, Inc. (BKT) 6.1%
Gabelli Dividend & Income Trust (GDV) 6.0%
ING Clarion Global Real Estate Income Fund (IGR) 6.0%
Scudder RREEF Real Estate Fund Inc. (SRQ) 6.0%
Aberdeen Global Income Fund (FCO) 6.0%
MFS Multimarket Income Trust (MMT) 5.9%
BlackRock Municipal Income Trust (BFK) 5.8%
Gabelli Global Utility & Income Trust (GLU) 5.8%
Hugoton Royalty Trust (HGT) 5.8%
Morgan Stanley Insured Municipal Income (IIM) 5.8%
Western Asset Income Fund (PAI) 5.8%
BlackRock Municipal Income Trust II (BLE) 5.7%
Morgan Stanley Municipal Income Opportunities (OIA) 5.7%
Real Estate Income Fund Inc. (RIT) 5.7%
Putnam Master Intermediate Income Trust (PIM) 5.6%
Putnam Premier Income Trust (PPT) 5.6%
Colonial Municipal Income Trust (CMU) 5.5%
Dreyfus Strategic Municipals Inc. (LEO) 5.5%
MFS Charter Income Trust (MCR) 5.5%
MFS Municipal Income Trust (MFM) 5.5%
Morgan Stanley Municipal Inc. Opp. Trust II (OIB) 5.5%
Nuveen Municipal High Income Opportunity Fund (NMZ) 5.5%
Realty Income Corp. (O) 5.5%
Templeton Global Income Fund (GIM) 5.5%
BlackRock California Municipal Income Trust (BFZ) 5.4%
BlackRock Florida Municipal Income Trust (BBF) 5.4%
Colonial High Income Municipal Trust (CXE) 5.4%
Morgan Stanley Municipal Inc. Opp. Trust III (OIC) 5.4%
Pioneer Municipal High Inc. Advantage Trust (MAV) 5.4%
Scudder Strategic Municipal Income Trust (KSM) 5.4%
PIMCO Municipal Income Fund (PMF) 5.4%
PIMCO California Municipal Income Fund (PCQ) 5.4%
Reaves Utility Income Fund (UTG) 5.4%
BlackRock New York Municipal Income Trust (BNY) 5.3%
MFS Government Markets Income Trust (MGF) 5.3%
PIMCO California Municipal Income Fund II (PCK) 5.3%
PIMCO California Municipal Income Fund III (PZC) 5.3%
Putnam Managed Municipal Income Trust (PMM) 5.3%
PIMCO Municipal Income Fund III (PMX) 5.3%
BlackRock New Jersey Municipal Income Trust (BNJ) 5.2%
MFS Intermediate Income Trust (MIN) 5.2%
Pioneer Muncipal High Income Trust (MHI) 5.2%
Sabine Royalty Trust (SBR) 5.2%
Alliance National Municipal Income (AFB) 5.2%
BlackRock California Municipal Income Trust II (BCL) 5.1%
Morgan Stanley California Insured Muni Inc. (IIC) 5.1%
PIMCO Municipal Income Fund II (PML) 5.1%
Western Asset Municipal (MHF) 5.1%
BlackRock Florida Insured Municipal Income (BAF) 5.0%
Eaton Vance Municipal Income Trust (EVN) 5.0%
Inland Real Estate Corp. (IRC) 5.0%
Nuveen Insured Calif. Premium Income Muni Fund Inc. (NPC) 5.0%
Nuveen Premium Income Municipal Fund 4 Inc. (NPT) 5.0%
Nuveen Quality Income Municipal Fund Inc. (NQU) 5.0%
Van Kampen Advantage Municipal Inc. Trust II (VKI) 5.0%
Van Kampen California Value Municipal Income (VCV) 5.0%
ACM Municipal Securities Income Fund (AMU) 5.0%
BlackRock Insured Municipal Income Trust (BYM) 4.9%
ACM Managed Income Fund Inc (AMF) 4.9%
Alliance California Municipal Income (AKP) 4.9%
Alliance New York Municipal Income (AYN) 4.9%
Nuveen Insured Florida Premium Income Muni Fund (NFL) 4.9%
Nuveen Premier Insured Municipal Income Fund Inc. (NIF) 4.9%
Nuveen Texas Quality Income Municipal Fund (NTX) 4.9%
Nuveen Premium Income Municipal Fund Inc. (NPI) 4.9%
BlackRock New York Municipal Income Trust II (BFY) 4.8%
Eaton Vance Pennsylvania Municipal Income (EVP) 4.8%
Nuveen Insured NY Premium Income Muni Fund Inc. (NNF) 4.8%
Nuveen Insured Premium Income Municipal Fund 2 (NPX) 4.8%
Nuveen Michigan Premium Income Municipal Fund (NMP) 4.8%
Nuveen Michigan Quality Income Municipal Fund Inc. (NUM) 4.8%
PIMCO New York Municipal Income Fund (PNF) 4.8%
BlackRock California Insured Municipal Income (BCK) 4.7%
BlackRock New York Insured Municipal Income (BSE) 4.7%
Eaton Vance Florida Municipal Income Trust (FEV) 4.7%
Eaton Vance Michigan Municipal Income Trust (EMI) 4.7%
Eaton Vance New York Municipal Income Trust (EVY) 4.7%
Eaton Vance Ohio Municipal Income Trust (EVO) 4.7%
Neuberger Berman Real Estate Income Fund (NRL) 4.7%
Nuveen Florida Quality Income Municipal Fund (NUF) 4.7%
Nuveen Insured Calif. Premium Income Muni Fund 2 (NCL) 4.7%
Nuveen Premier Municipal Income Fund Inc. (NPF) 4.7%
Nuveen Premium Income Municipal Fund 2 Inc. (NPM) 4.7%
Van Kampen Massachusetts Value Muni Inc. (VMV) 4.7%
Nuveen Municipal Income Fund Inc. (NMI) 4.6%
Nuveen New Jersey Premium Income Muni Fund Inc. (NNJ) 4.6%
Nuveen New York Quality Income Municipal Fund (NUN) 4.6%
Nuveen Pennsylvania Premium Income Muni Fund 2 (NPY) 4.6%
Eaton Vance California Municipal Income Trust (CEV) 4.5%
Eaton Vance New Jersey Municipal Inc. Trust (EVJ) 4.5%
Nuveen Maryland Premium Income Municipal Fund (NMY) 4.5%
Nuveen Massachusetts Premium Income Muni Fund (NMT) 4.5%
Nuveen Ohio Quality Income Municipal Fund Inc. (NUO) 4.5%
Nuveen Virginia Premium Income Municipal Fund (NPV) 4.5%
Morgan Stanley Government Income Trust (GVT) 4.4%
Nuveen Georgia Premium Income Municipal Fund (NPG) 4.4%
Scudder Municipal Income Trust (KTF) 4.4%
Eaton Vance Massachusetts Municipal Income (MMV) 4.3%
Nuveen North Carolina Premium Income Muni Fund (NNC) 4.2%
Mesa Royalty Trust (MTR) 2.2%

Disclosure: Author owns PWE, NRI, CGO and CHW.

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