Author/Editor
Brett Owens
Publisher
Contrarian Outlook
Description
Stock investing newsletter that tries to help show you “how to take advantage of market misperceptions.” Income/yield focused, replaces what had been called Contrarian Advantage.
Overall Rating
Rating: 4.1/5. From 102 votes.
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4.1
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Rating: 4.1/5. From 113 votes.
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Brett knows his stuff, and has made some great recommendations, and I’ve profitted from them. However, he (or his editors) annoying try to hawk other, extra-cost services with every write-up they do. They either need to cut it out, or bundle those useful services with the basic “contrarianoutlook” service, for a reasonable fee.
I began using Brett’s advice for my Roth IRA in January 2016. My wife and I each contributed $500 per month to our respective IRA’s. I invested hers in 80% stock mutual fund and 20% in fixed income mutual fund (both No load thru Fidelity). I bought Brad’s monthly recommendations or best buys, always at or below his recommended “buy up to” price. My IRA is up 8.97% and my wife’s IRA is up 21.79%. And that doesn’t even subtract the money I paid for 2 years for his subscription. Absolutely not worth the money. I will not be renewing.… Read more »
I have no connection with this newsletter, but I would note that the S&P 500 is up about 40% since January 2016. Your decision to put your IRA money in mostly stock mutual funds was fortuitous.
Not all that surprising as this is not a growth newsletter- the stated goal is 8% income for retirees and ppl living off dividends.
Brett really provides background on his picks. The most recent issues have compiled and ranked the best places to put new money now, as well as buy-up-to prices for each portfolio position and the resultant buy/hold status. The newsletter got me to look at the closed-end fund segment which is a main component of the recommendations, and some REITs. On closed-end funds, much data and a free screener is available at cefconnect.com. A sister letter ran buy Brett’s associate Michael Foster, is touted as providing you with a reliable screener to support your choices along with the newsletter I haven’t… Read more »
Consistently good analysis and advice.
I enjoy the practical and incise recommendations. Also doesn’t promise pie in the sky returns.
Brett Owens is a true “diamond in the rough” – may just be the biggest bang for the buck in the newsletter industry at his $39 12-month trial offer. He thinks along the same lines as Dr. Eifrig (Stansberry Income Intelligence), who is one of the brightest minds in the “income generation sector” of portfolio allocation. Brett understands the science of dividend growth investing and his strategy for each of his selections is extremely well thought out and articulated. Anyone wanting to add some bunch to their dividend generating portfolio would be well served by Brett’s Contrarian Income Report!
Sensible advice, easy to understand and consistently beats the averages. Strongly recommend for growth and income investors.
I’ve recently joined mrtoptick at https://mrtoptick.com/gold-membership/ and I was wondering if anyone else used their newsletter? Thanks
Changed my retirement!
Simple but Terrific…..Viva Contrarian Outlook!!
My results have been terrible
I have lost some serious money on some really dog recommendations
Ex, Clns ,, RA and OHI , BXMT
He just keeps saying be patient , yes you get a good dividend but your
Invested cash goes down
Do your due diligence
I know exactly what your talking about. I’m buried in MIC,CLNS. But have losses as well in the symbols you indicated. Horrible newsletter. My comment hopefully is now posted. Yeah, I’ve lost thousands of dollars and today is Mar 4 2018. I subscribed in Dec 2017. Huge losses in only a few months.
I’m not a subscriber, but I think you should understand that his advice is an income strategy; not a growth strategy. If you put $10,000 in OHI and get your $1,0000 a year, year after year, then it doesn’t matter if your book value goes up or down; you’re getting the income you desire. Any sound advice is going to include holding onto stocks for several years — not a few months. For an income strategy, you don’t judge it by how the value of your stocks are doing. You judge it by whether or not the stocks continue to… Read more »
I don’t understand how BXMT is a “dog”. It’s been paying 0.62 per share since 2015. If you bought anywhere at or about $30 in 2017, you’re looking at roughly $8200 in dividends per $100K invested (which is the advertised ” passive $40K income on $500K investment”) PLUS the price is at now $35 which is something like 16.5% return on share price. I’m confused.
The post listed EX, that was a mistake
I was posting examples not EX
The worst newsletter ever in my view. I joined Dec 2017. MIC stocked was highly recommended. It was about $65 around that time. It’s only Mar 18, it’s a $38-39 stock He liked CLNS about that time too, I bought in about $12., now it’s about $5.50. He issued an alert in his mar 2 2018 letter to sell after the huge downturn. On that advice, I’m probably going to buy more! I did not sell. If you wish to subscribe and take HUGE losses in a 3 month or so span, go ahead. The $100 subscription has cost me… Read more »
I agree, at first I thought he was great. well educated Cornell, and conservative. However I am down over 100,000 because of MIC and CLNS. In fact almost all of his advice is losing money. hidden yields is also losing money. I am going to keep CLNS and MIC and OHI because I cant afford to sell. the dividend’s have been cut in CLNs and he waited to long to cut the looses.
The only one making money is the subscription service. Bought CLNS when it was around $14, but sold it when it was trekking around $10-11. I told myself that something is wrong with this stock based on the price action and I was right.
Those wanting to invest in closed end funds would do best to go to the website cefa.com. There is no fee! You get better insight and do your own due diligence. Contrian Outlook in there portfolio from Dec 2017 – Feb 2018, recommended both MIC and CLNS Both losing 40-60% of their value With losses like that, run fast from there website. I have lost thousand and thousands of dollars. I would not be surprised if some comments here come from those that profit from the newsletter. Of course, I do not know that for sure. If your losing 40-60%… Read more »
Thanks for telling us about MIC and CLNS. Time to back up the truck and load up on oversold quality funds, if you ask me.
I subscribed for a year and chose not to renew. Smarmy gloss overs don’t equate with in-the depth analysis that can be found on other sites, sometimes for free, such as Seeking Alpha. Owens pushes the same basket of stocks and funds, many of which have done poorly this past year, and rarely if ever adjusts his “Portfolio.” He ignores many other better choices. I would recommend anyone considering Brett Owen’s recommendations to look further before deciding to follow his advice.
Damn shame — wanted to view material promised but couldn’t find instructions to download — cust svc no help — cancelled same day
Just ran across this guy’s website which was completely misleading. “In a moment, I’m going to show you how to earn a passive $40,000 on a half-million… $80,000 on a million… and $100,000+ annually on anything higher. Plus, you won’t even have to tap your initial capital or “draw down” any of your valuable principal. I’ll even give you the specifics on stock names and tickers to buy. But first, a bit about myself.” In a moment…in a moment…in a moment… Well I finally got the to end of the page and guess what!? He NEVER gave specific stock names/tickers… Read more »
Subscriber for 18 months and stuck with it too long. The basket is too big for most investors (19 funds in the portfolio) and some have been horrible, down 50% or more. Even what were supposed to be conservative bond funds are tanking, while rates NOT rising, so the credit quality of the holdings is extremely poor and NAV tanking along with price. Look at charts of recent picks in 2018… EFT, FRA, JPS, MSD… you are trading a large loss in principal for taxable dividends, not a winner
It is ok, some big misses, but winners too. But overall I have lost money with them as st O k price regressive offset dividends
Anyone know about the “Dividend Conversion Machines” Brett Owen is hyping right now?
I am a subscriber – I am not a heavy hitter, just someone with a few hundred thousand hoping to retire early on real estate and stocks as I slowly deposit my money into various assets over time. The standard stragegy tells people to invest into index funds against a certain ratio of fixed income (i.e. bond) securities, and to withdraw 4% a year (or less, depending on how conservative you are). Enter the contrarian stragey as set forth by Mr. Owens. This strategy involves picking high yield CEFs, REITs, and other funds. It is not supposed to be a… Read more »
Thanks for the unusually detailed and thoughtful review, much appreciated!
I just vetted it for my own purposes, it would be silly to let it go to waste.
Thank you for your explanation. I forwarded this thread to Mr. Owen’s web address and asked him to comment.
I wrote and asked Contrarian Income Report to address the comments by Billo Jenkins. In his email response Jonathan Buttrill wrote, “Thanks for writing in. We’re not going to dive into the comment section on Stock Gumshoe as that won’t be all that productive to get into online debates with strangers. I also can’t reconcile his numbers, but happy to share ours with you:“ He added a table of data reflecting the portfolio. Jonathan adds this after the table: “So, since inception, the portfolio has produced 7.5% average annualized gains with dividend reinvested and 6.7% average annualized gains with dividends… Read more »
Last night I watched one of Stansberry’s cohorts, Dr. David Eifrig, recommend MIC in his Income Intelligence letter. MIC is one of Mr. Owen’s recommendations. BTW, Doc Eifrig also recommended BX.
You don’t take anyone’s advice blindly, why would you do it here? I find that Brett “narrows the field” for me. I’ll then use CEF Connect to do some diligence (UII, leverage, etc.), my broker to get up to the minute info, then pass or play. True, I’ve done a lot of passing but, after a year, I’m happy with the results. Of course timing has a huge impact. The key is, as many fellow subscribers have said, that this vehicle is primarily for income generation and, much less so, if at all, for appreciation alone.
I’ve been a subscriber for about 2-years now, and fully support Brett’s approach and analysis, but you have to understand the goal is dividend INCOME and dividend growth, versus just share price growth. He recommends investments selling at a discount to NAV, so there is some implied share price growth potential on top of the dividend income stream. I have grown to really appreciate his “Contrarian” mindset, and to listen to him when he recommends selling a particular investment. If you’re looking for the next 10X bagger, this isn’t the newsletter for you, but if you are looking to build… Read more »
I’m an old retired guy, who invest for income. Most of my picks have come from gleaning information posted by others on line. I’ve always used my $4.95 a month subscription to Weiss Ratings as a final filter. If a position doesn’t rate a B- or higher, I pass on it. Thus far that has always worked well for me. Many of Brett’s picks or C- or lower. I mark the ones that interest me on my Weiss watch list, and if they I eventually get an upgrade alert they’ve made it to B- I’ll consider a position. Not rocket… Read more »
Thanks for the post. Like your thesis. Which sub is 4.95? i only see 29.95/month on Weiss.
Mickymike is right – I too only see a 29.95 per month price, which I find a little steep..
I checked the claims on Brett’s latest mailing “How to Retire on 8% Dividends Paid Monthly”. None of the ten funds come even close to his claims. Let’s take a look a just a couple. 1. BlackRock Science & Tech – BST claims 5 yr ave. return of 22.32%. 5-yr price change was 23.62% or about 4.72% annual average (simple) gain. Assume today’s yield of 5.55% plus 4.72% capital gains only adds up to 10.27%, not bad but nowhere close to the 22.32% claimed. 2. BlackRock Health Sciences – BME claims 5-yr ave. return of 14.34%. 5-yr price change was… Read more »
Hey members thanks for all your information , specific examples and comments. I am evaluating CIR and Stockgumshoe is one of my first stops. It looks pretty disappointing .
Can anyone tell me how with so many negative reveiews CIR gets an overall 4.1 stars…??????
Can anyone pont to other resources to evaluate reports and letters.
I dont ever see any mention of Harvard Trained veteran newsletter evaluator Mark Hulbert & his rigoris evaluation & commentary!
Confused!