How I Built an 8% Income Portfolio with These 17 Picks

👉 For safe, high-yield investing insights and SWAN-focused dividend research, visit https://widemoatdaily.com today. Brad Thomas and Nicholas Ward break down a high yield dividend investing strategy built for investors who want reliable passive income without blindly chasing risky yields. In this episode of The Wide Moat Show, Nick shares how he is gradually shifting part of his personal portfolio toward high yield ETFs, closed-end funds, covered call funds, infrastructure funds, preferred securities, and international dividend funds as he prepares for retirement. Broadcasting from Ripley’s Aquarium in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Brad and Nick discuss how to build a diversified income portfolio designed to produce safe monthly and quarterly income, while still protecting long-term capital. They cover the tradeoffs of covered call strategies, the importance of NAV growth, why yield safety matters more than yield size, and how investors can think about transitioning from growth stocks to income investments over time. This episode includes discussion of funds and strategies tied to dividend growth investing, retirement income planning, passive income, utilities, infrastructure, REITs, preferred shares, BDCs, international diversification, and covered call ETFs. Nick also walks through the logic behind allocating a portion of a portfolio to higher yielding assets while avoiding the trap of owning funds that slowly erode in value. If you are looking for ideas on retirement investing, living off dividends, high yield portfolio construction, income investing, dividend ETFs, closed-end funds, and safe passive income strategies, this episode is packed with practical insight. Subscribe to The Wide Moat Show for more videos on dividend investing, REITs, retirement income, passive income, high yield stocks, market analysis, and long-term wealth building. 00:00 High yield investing strategy explained (don’t chase yield) 01:59 Transitioning from growth stocks to retirement income 04:29 DIVO breakdown: dividend + covered call income strategy 08:00 Covered calls, return of capital, and capped upside risks 11:59 SCHD: the dividend growth “anchor” in the portfolio 13:30 International exposure: IDVO and global dividend strategy 16:32 VYMI and why international stocks may outperform 17:32 Infrastructure investing: UTF and hard asset exposure 21:01 Utilities & data centers: UTG and AI-driven demand 27:00 Covered call ETFs, BDC risks, preferreds, and portfolio construction #dividendinvesting, #passiveincome, #highyield, #retirementplanning, #dividendstocks, #coveredcall, #incomeinvesting, #etfinvesting, #stockmarket, #financialfreedom, #dividendgrowth, #reitinvesting, #infrastructureinvesting, #portfolioincome, #yieldstrategy