Dividend Bull

"NLY is a prime example of why he avoids most mortgage REITs—its share price collapsed by about two-thirds after the financial crisis recovery and the dividend is now roughly half of what it used to be."

"ACRE deteriorated once interest rates started rising, with earnings taking a massive hit and the dividend being slashed by more than half—supporting his broader view that most mortgage REITs are a bad high-yield choice."

"STWD is the only mortgage REIT he calls out with the most stable dividend track record, but it’s still pressured because it isn’t generating enough income to fully cover the dividend even as the board says it can sustain it."

"RITM looks like it may transition away from being an MRE because the board won’t increase the dividend, which makes it a less attractive high-yield hold despite its earlier turnaround."

"O is one of the safer names he allows to exceed his typical 5% position cap because it has proven itself as a more reliable dividend investment."

"MAIN may be overvalued almost every day for the past decade, but he still reinvests dividends there because he wants to preserve the dividend growth effect from compounding."

"TRIN is a high-yield BDC buy because it has a 13%+ dividend yield with no dividend cuts while switching to monthly distributions, and its loan portfolio structure (floating-rate debt with interest-rate floors) plus internal management help protect net investment income and dividend coverage versus rate-cut headwinds."

"SPY is one of my preferred index covered-call ETF holdings because I believe its options-on-a-major-index structure gives the best blend of high yield and upside without forcing rotational changes when markets dip."

"QQQI earns a top spot for my high-yield covered-call bucket because I view it as having stronger NAV protection/recovery characteristics while still delivering an attractive yield and share-price appreciation."

"XYLD is a fund I used to hold, but I moved away because I judged it to have less favorable NAV protection versus newer covered-call index options funds from NEOS."

"QYLD is mentioned as an older Global X-style covered-call option on an income-first model, but my preference has shifted to index covered-call funds I think offer better NAV protection."

"JEPI is a covered-call alternative I acknowledge, but I’d give it a lower relative score on my income-versus-upside tradeoff because I think the structure tends to come with lower yield if you want more share-price growth."

"JEPQ gets less emphasis than NEOS options-on-index funds in my portfolio because I view the Goldman/JPM-style covered-call lineup as offering worse yield/upside balance for the way I want to structure high-yield income."

"MLX is my current favorite energy income holding because I believe it offers both a higher yield and better dividend growth than alternatives after MLX’s distribution profile improves more sustainably."

"ENB is still a holding for me, but I’ve slowed additions because the stock’s large run-up has left it with a less attractive yield versus when I first bought and because its dividend growth hasn’t kept pace."

"ARCC remains my top business-development-company income source because I’ve consistently viewed it as the best externally managed BDC option for growing its distribution and holding up better than the average in lower-rate conditions."

"PFA is a preferred-stock ETF I own for higher income, but I don’t treat it as “safe” because its high yield comes from leverage and higher-yield preferreds—risks that showed up when it cut its dividend around COVID."

"IDVO is my favorite international high-income covered-call ETF idea because I think its 30–50 dividend-paying stock basket plus a tactical covered-call overlay can sustain roughly a 6–7% yield with strong dividend payout growth and solid share appreciation."