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“Safe 21% Income Fund Goes Ex-Dividend: Buy Now”

This ad is from Bryan Perry’s 25% Cash Machine, which I haven’t written about very often — it’s an income-focused letter, but a bit more aggressive than some of them (thus, the 25% Cash Machine title, which clearly stokes heartier fires than, for example, Tom Dyson’s 12% Letter, though their aims are often similar).

But lots of folks have been asking about his latest round of ads, so I thought I should give it a look again. Here’s what he promises:

“Bryan Perry here, and this must be one of the biggest and safest paydays I’ve seen in years.

“One of the country’s highest-rated and little-known income funds is about to go ex-dividend. The fund pays out 21% annually and has a long-term track record for continuous payments.

“You must add this one to your holdings now.”

Nothing wishy-washy there, eh? What else do we learn about this “income fund?”

“Without getting too technical, the fund is able to deliver a 21% annual yield by following a proprietary dividend-capture methodology that:

“Maximizes the amount of distributed income.

“Identifies potential dividend increases and capital gains light-years ahead of the market.

“Surprisingly, it’s able to do this not by owning the market’s riskiest stocks, but by owning the market’s safest ones—financially solid companies whose incomes and cash flows are rising.”

OK, so I think I know who he’s talking about … but let’s get a few specific clues, just to be sure:

“it’s no surprise that the fund is up 60% since March 9.…

“80% of the companies held in the fund have recently raised their dividends,

“40% of the companies that it is invested in have a single-digit P/E,

“The fund is diversified in 125 companies and 20 countries, and

“The fund shifted from quarterly to monthly payments.”

So … who is this mysterious little income fund? Well, you could always subscribe to the 25% Cash Machine if you want the official answer, but I can tell you — free, naturally — that it almost has to be …

Alpine Total Dynamic Dividend Fund (AOD)

This is a closed-end fund, and it does have a high monthly dividend, with a strategy that relies on dividend capture and rotation of holdings to increase dividend exposure (the short and incomplete explanation of that? They hold a stock until it goes ex dividend, then sell it and move to another stock about to go ex-div, then go back to the original stock for the next quarter … exhausting, really.)

Perry has loved the Alpine funds for years — I wrote about his teasers for these closed-end and mutual funds and their dividend capture strategy (he called them “Dividend Doubling Dynamos” back then) in December of 2007, you can see that article for a bit more detail on the strategy they use, if you like, I won’t go into too much depth here — and Alpine also explains that this isn’t just a dividend capture strategy (they also go after special dividends, dividend growers, and undervalued yield stocks), but they explain that “capture” part of it on their website here.

And yes, the other numbers match up nicely, so I’m quite certain this is his pick right now as it has been many times before during this fund’s relatively short life — it pays monthly, but declares the dividend quarterly and recently declared that the next three dividends will all be the same amount as in the prior quarter, which is probably heartening to investors. If you’re interested in this kind of management strategy, Alpine also offers several other funds — they’ve got three closed end funds (in addition to this general fund there’s a real estate and, nominally, a “global” version), and a slew of regular mutual funds that they manage.

Since this is a closed-end income-focused fund, it’s important to pay attention to not just the distribution rate, but the premium/discount to the net asset value. Closed end funds can trade at any price on the open market, unlike mutual funds they do not have to hew closely to their net asset value, (the value, calculated daily, of their current portfolio divided by the number of shares). In AOD’s case there have been wild, strong swings from discount to premium and back again … and right now, the shares trade at an uncharacteristically high premium to their net asset value. As of the close on Friday the fund had a NAV of $6.39, and as I type this it’s trading at $7.25, so that’s a premium of 13.5% over the real value of the shares.

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People are willing to pay that premium because they like the AOD strategy and the high income (the shares are up slightly, so the indicated yield is now down to about 19%), but do keep in mind that this fund can see exaggerated moves based on sentiment changes — when the world was falling apart last Fall, the fund traded at a discount of better than 10%, then when optimism returned, albeit briefly, they got to a 15% premium in January, then back to a discount during the February and March low period. So holding these shares can give you a bit of heartburn, though so far they have been able to keep the dividend steady, and certainly there’s something to be said for a 19% dividend, perhaps even if you have to pay steep management fees and risk a high fund premium to get it.

Then again, if this Summer shows us the stock doldrums that many folks are expecting, maybe you’ll get a chance to get interested in this fund when it’s trading at a discount to its assets — certainly, past wide swings in both directions indicate that there’s a good chance for a better deal in the future (and we’re right in the middle of this runup to a big premium — just a few weeks ago the shares traded at a much smaller 5% premium).

Closed end funds can be a bit manic-depressive, gaining huge premiums when folks are excited about them and about the market, and sinking to steep discounts when investors freak out about bad news or are depressed about market prospects … and of those two extremes, I think it’s safe to say that it’s better to buy when others want to sell — that is, if you’ve researched the fund, you’re sold on the strategy, and you think management’s going to perform well.

So … on the plus side, they seem to be able to keep churning out the income using their dividend growth strategy and their holdings rotation across a very diversified portfolio to maximize dividends, even with many “blue chip” companies cutting payouts, and the fund is not currently leveraged to any significant degree (like many closed-end funds, they are allowed to borrow up to 33% to boost returns — but, also like many funds, the supply of leverage dried up last Fall, and investors started wanting more conservative positioning, so they are down to a very low percentage, in the single digits, as of the last report I saw).

On the negative side, there is an expense ratio of well over 1% — not crazy high, but certainly much higher than many mutual funds, the shares trade at a steep premium right now over their asset value but often swing to a discount based on investor sentiment or performance, and they trade a lot (turnover is over 400%, thanks probably to the rotation strategy), which I’ll guess might have an impact on tax implications for shareholders, though I haven’t looked into that … and if the credit markets eventually return to the point that it’s reasonable for closed-end funds to “lever up” again, Alpine could conceivably get a boost from that (or get clobbered, since leverage amplifies returns both up and down).

Oh, and to go along with all that dividend income, you’ve got capital losses — the net asset value has averaged a loss of almost 20% a year since inception, which is not necessarily dramatically worse than an index fund for this time period, but is nonetheless a significant counterpoint to that big dividend income.

So … are you looking for a closed end fund with a nice, hearty dividend? Lots of newsletters were touting the steep-discount funds last Fall as a saver way to get into the market and get decent income during the crash, but you’ll see far fewer of them touting closed end funds that trade at a premium — then again, this has been a Perry favorite almost since the fund was launched (about 2-1/2 years ago), so we can certainly admire his consistency. If you’ve got an opinion on Alpine’s funds, or on the “dividend capture” strategy … or about competitors who might do it better, please let us know with a comment below.

And if you’ve ever subscribed to the 25% Cash Machine, your fellow investors want to know what you think — share your opinion in a quick-and-easy review by clicking here — or check out the other reviews of income-focused newsletters here to see if you’ve anything to learn … or add. Thanks1

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Pam Martin
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Pam Martin
May 27, 2009 9:26 am

AOD = Alpine Total Dynamic Div Fund (CEF)
ADVDX = Alpine Dynamic Dividend Fund (OE)

Please correct article
Thanks

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ic
Guest
ic
May 28, 2009 1:24 am

AOD
12-Mo Yield as of 4/30/2009 Income Only Yield 17.06%
Distribution Yield (Market) 31.10%
(Current yield is much lower, about 19.81%, about half of that is a return of capital. It trades at 13% premium.)

“Distribution Yield – : Total 12-month cash payments per share. Such payments may include unknown combinations of income, short- and long-term capital gains, and return of capital.

http://closed-endfunds.com/FundSelector/FundDetail.fs?ID=113587

http://www.etfconnect.com/select/fundpages/global.asp?MFID=173789

AOD is unlikely to recover its original NAV unless there is an enormous run up of its remaining assets.

I don’t think there are much capital gains in that payout, that means they are paying you back your own money. Why the heck would anybody pay a 13% premium and 1.35% expenses for the return of his own money? I’ll be much more comfortable if they pay the income only yield of 10%.

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ic
Guest
ic
May 28, 2009 1:50 am

http://www.etfconnect.com/select/fundpages/other.asp?MFID=141124

Check this one out: DCA, yield 22.75%, discount 21.23%. Gained 87.64% since March low.

Unfortunately, the fund began in ’05 at $14.28 per share. March ’09 low $.89, it recovers to $1.67, expense: 3.34%.

Isn’t it ridiculous, people actually pay such morons to lose their money?

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ic
Guest
ic
May 28, 2009 2:15 am

EOD: pays 19.88% market yiled, about half from income, trades at a small discount, expense less than AOD.

Began at the same time as AOD, at the same price of $20, dropped to 7, (AOD dropped to 4), recovers to 10.

At least you don’t pay a premium to get a return of your money.

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jchere
jchere
May 28, 2009 2:49 pm

Where were you all before I bought AOD. Haven’t lost yet but now having 2nd thoughts.
Slight change of subject: I also bought IIH. 89% div! I would really appreciate any thoughts.

John Christensen
John Christensen
May 29, 2009 12:56 am

Thank you both.

Angelo
Guest
Angelo
May 29, 2009 3:53 am

First time i’m reading there and i have some thoughts. I have a general question for all

Do you think it could work ?

1) Select high dividend stock
2) buy the day they pay dividend, would mean get lower price at least for dividend %

3) Sell soon after dividend % recovered and price again up

You should catch the dividend without being impacted by share fluctuations

Nice site! Lot of useful info 🙂

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Bob M.
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Bob M.
May 30, 2009 11:17 am

Well,at the end of the week AOD is up.However,its companion ,AGD is as well. Pulled the trigger after researching the Gumshoe’s article & bought AGD first,noted that it & AOD are similar except for share price & % of foreign & domestic stocks in each fund.I might add that I sold off FLY,which isn’t bad either,a $7 stock with a 20 cent dividend quarterly.

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monthlydividendstocks
Guest
June 24, 2009 3:43 pm

Check out my current and updated list of high yield monthly dividend paying stocks and other securities at http://www.monthly-dividend-stocks.com

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raleigh1208
raleigh1208
September 18, 2009 11:46 am

I took got suckered into Perry’s 25% Cash Machine and lost a bundle before I could get out! Beware!!

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Mary Ann
Guest
Mary Ann
September 18, 2009 12:13 pm

Years ago, I also got suckered into Perry’s Cash Machine and lost $$. Since them I’ve learned how to use ETF Connect and other sites to learn about NAV and premium and make sure that I understand what I am buying, how much its levered, and don’t buy a CEF that is not at discount to NAV. I am now very happy with the cash generated by several CEF’s that I own, such as KYE, IGN, IAF, CHI. However, I bought them all at a considerable discount to NAV. I mentally do like the concept of using the market as a cash machine however, and am a big user of covered calls to generate my own “dividends”.

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james wedel
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james wedel
September 18, 2009 11:00 pm

I too love generating my own “dividends” by selling covered calls. But I think the folks at AOD may be better equipped (and certainly have a larger pool of funds to spread their risks) so I am happy to have them in my portfolio—-other CEFs that I like are IID, HTY, BOE—-and for only the risky investors CFP which pays a 25% dividend—but it is currently trading at a huge premium to NAV.

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Susan
Member
Susan
September 18, 2009 11:19 pm

Hi, I have been a subscriber to Bryan Perry’s Cash Machine for almost 3 months, and so far I am pleased. He explains the background for his suggestions, and then I pick and choose those I like after doing further research on them.
I could not have found the list of picks such as his on my own.

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treblig
Guest
treblig
September 19, 2009 12:38 am

I bought Chuck Perry’s book “25% Machine” and subscribed to his service. That nasty experience cost me abour 25,000 bucks. I don’t listen to him anymore.

treblig
Guest
treblig
September 19, 2009 12:45 am

OOps! – I meant Bryan Perry. I got him confused with Chuck Hughes. My comment, though, was abour Bryan Perry.

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spreadtrader
Guest
spreadtrader
September 19, 2009 9:13 am

Like everything else you have to know how to buy low and sell high. We bought AOD in the late fall when: a) nobody was buying stock; b) the fund was at an all-time low; c) the discount was well over 10%; and d) the fund was buying back its own shares. Our yield is over 25% and we do get a fat check every month.

Importantly, we would NOT be buyers of AOD now, even though it still has a double digit (15.75%) yield……because it also has a 28.5% premium. It is also at key Fibonacci resistance and may retrace to 7.25 (where we would also probably not buy it). It is a long term core holding and we will definitely be buyers again, but we’re reasonably certain we’ll also be selling it sometime, possibly within the next six months.

The fact is, there is little in the equity markets we would be buying right now UNLESS the position is strictly protected with either puts or stops….if you get to the party late, you just may have to stay and help clean up. Think about it.

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