High-yield dividend opportunities are harder to find in today’s market, but Realty Income, Healthpeak Properties, and Pfizer all stand out with payouts above 5%. 

1. Realty Income, a net lease REIT, offers a 5.5% yield and decades of consistent growth, supported by a vast property portfolio and international expansion potential. 
2. Healthpeak Properties, which merged with Physicians Realty last year, now provides a 6.8% yield as demand for lab space stabilizes and medical office buildings strengthen its base.
3. Pfizer shares have fallen about 60% since their pandemic peak, but the company has raised its dividend for 16 consecutive years and now yields 6.9%. While looming patent cliffs pose risks, Pfizer has invested heavily in acquisitions that could add $20 billion in annual sales by 2030. 

Finsum: Collectively, these three dividend payers offer compelling income opportunities with the potential for steady long-term growth.

Municipal bonds are drawing increased attention as investors seek stability amid equity market uncertainty, with recent volatility making tax-exempt yields more attractive on both an absolute and relative basis. Despite negative year-to-date returns across much of the muni market, relative valuations compared to taxable fixed income suggest excess return potential ahead. 

Longer duration exposure gives munis sensitivity to interest rate changes, and if the Federal Reserve moves toward cuts later this year, investors could benefit from both quality and yield opportunities. 

American Century offers strategies like TAXF and CATF that combine diversification, credit research, and active management, while also providing tax efficiency within an ETF wrapper. For California investors in particular, CATF can deliver taxable-equivalent yields above 8%, highlighting the value of tax-exempt strategies in high-bracket states. 

Finsum: Active management adds further advantages, including the ability to navigate sectors and credit qualities excluded from passive indexes.

Faith-based investing is gaining momentum as an alternative to ESG, with Christian financial firm GuideStone noting a surge in demand over the past three years. Will Lofland, GuideStone’s Head of Investments Distribution, explained that many investors began seeking values-aligned strategies during the COVID era, when intentional living and faith-driven financial decisions gained traction. 

Unlike ESG, which often emphasizes broad social agendas, faith-based investing focuses on applying Christian principles to business practices, from employee treatment to product integrity. 

Younger investors have been early adopters, but GuideStone reports growing interest among baby boomers, who hold a significant share of wealth. Lofland stressed that faith-based investing is not about driving social change but encouraging companies to concentrate on core business excellence while adhering to ethical standards. 

Finsum: With rising interest across generations, the strategy is emerging as a powerful opportunity for advisor when pitching clients in the broader investment landscape.

Passive investment strategies such as ETFs and index-tracking mutual funds have grown rapidly over the past decade, offering low-cost and tax-efficient exposure to broad markets. However, these vehicles are not always as straightforward as they seem, with three common misperceptions shaping investor decisions according to JPMorgan. 

First, passive funds may not perfectly mirror their benchmark indices due to regulatory constraints and concentration limits, which can lead to performance differences, particularly in sectors dominated by a handful of large-cap stocks. Second, while often inexpensive, specialized passive funds can carry higher expense ratios than expected, in some cases rivaling or exceeding actively managed alternatives. 

Third, passive ETFs are not universally tax efficient, as separately managed accounts can provide greater flexibility through tax-loss harvesting and charitable gifting strategies. 

Finsum: Understanding the nuances of passive investing is critical for aligning portfolios with long-term wealth goals and ensuring fees, exposures, and tax strategies fit the investor’s broader financial plan.

Amid inflationary pressures and monetary uncertainty, investors have increasingly turned to short-duration U.S. Treasury bonds to protect income and reduce interest rate risk. With maturities under five years, these bonds are less sensitive to rate hikes than longer-term securities, making them a defensive yet reliable option in volatile markets. 

The narrow yield spread between the 10-year and 2-year Treasuries highlights how long-term bonds are more exposed to macroeconomic swings, while short-duration bonds remain anchored to Fed policy. 

Active management has further boosted performance, with funds like the Calvert Short Duration Income Fund (CDSRX) and iShares Short Duration Bond Active ETF (NEAR) outperforming peers by tactically adjusting credit quality and duration. Recent results show that actively managed short-duration funds have not only delivered weekly gains but also produced strong risk-adjusted returns, particularly in high-yield segments. 

Finsum: As the Fed holds a cautious stance on rate cuts, short-duration strategies stand out as both an income generator and a stabilizer within diversified portfolios.