Earlier this year, most economic experts on the news were certain of one of two things…

Either we weren’t going to enter recession territory at all in 2022. Or we were in for a “garden variety” slowdown.

I’ll admit I believed the latter for several months.

But that narrative is changing now as the Federal Reserve raised its interest rates. Yet again. With every indication of more hikes to come.

As a result, the bears seem to be dominating the financial headlines – and the action.

As I mentioned last month, Carl Icahn, Ray Dalio, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, and Morgan Stanley… They all think stocks can fall another 15-22% more from here. And many individual investors clearly agree.

The current trading environment is full of fear, evidenced by the nauseating volatility we’ve seen over the last few weeks.

That’s why I want to tell you a story today: one of triumphing over debilitating market drops. That’s what my team and I teach you to do here at the Intelligent Income Daily.

We actualize long-term gains by buying quality dividend-paying stocks at discounted prices… And then keeping our cool no matter what may come.

That’s not always easy to do, we fully admit. But if you can manage it, you can rake in gains regardless of how other stocks perform.

Fundamentals Are Always a Better Bet Than Timing

2019 was a great year for real estate investment trusts, or REITs, my favorite kind of dividend-paying stock. These corporate landlords averaged double-digit returns for the year across most of their subsectors (e.g., apartments, offices, shopping centers, hotels).

And that’s to say nothing about their ever-growing dividends.

Going into 2020, I was certain we could keep capitalizing on REITs. And I was right…

Though, admittedly, in very unexpected ways.

The societal and financial upheaval we all experienced that year was painful. Stock market losses sent many households, especially retirees, into states of panic. Watching one’s backup funds slide far into the red is stress-inducing, to say the least.

That’s where everyone was on March 17, 2020, when I first published my thoughts about getting back into the market. For the few weeks before then, I’d put a pause on buying anything as I assessed the situation.

But on that Tuesday… six days before the market bottomed and well before people realized when the bottom would be… I recommended buying up Ladder Capital (LADR), a mortgage REIT, for a very specific reason.

It had the cash on hand to survive the setbacks 2020 had thrown at it.

It hit a low of $4.10 the day I recommended it due to the pandemic and some stock analyst misunderstandings. As such, the market priced it for bankruptcy despite its $350 million in cash alone and absolute commitment to its dividend.

That was the definite wrong move on the market’s part, since Ladder closed at $9.54 that year. As such, it generated a return of over 107%.

And that wasn’t my only successful call that year. Not even close.

Finding Winners in the Midst of the Mess

There was also college dorm REIT, American Campus Communities (ACC). I put it on my readers’ radar on May 13, 2020, at $26.80.

And we sold in October 2021 for an 81% return.

Another one was Essential Properties Realty Trust (EPRT), which I recommended on April 26, 2020, at $10.70. By the time we closed that position on September 6, 2021, it had generated over 144%.

While there were certainly some calls that didn’t work out, those winners – and many like them – more than made up for the less impressive picks.

That’s what can happen when you ignore the noise around you…

Do your research…

And buy into stocks that have what it takes to survive whatever challenges ahead.

So, that’s what I aim to do this year – no matter how far stocks continue to fall.

It’s also what I encourage you to do at every turn. Whenever you feel yourself faltering, look back at 2020, when the world was falling apart in so many ways.

We survived that financial cratering. And those of us who kept our calm made good as a result.

If we can survive that, not to mention the Great Recession of 2008, the dot.com crash of 2000, and even the miserable stagflation of the 1970s…

You’d better believe we can survive – and thrive – through this. Just as long as we keep our heads in the middle of the mess.

Happy SWAN (sleep well at night) investing,

Brad Thomas
Editor, Intelligent Income Daily

P.S. Finding quality investments that are overlooked by the market is the best thing to do in times like these. By scooping them up at discounted prices, we can set ourselves up for incredible results.

And that’s why right now is the ideal time to put them on your radar.

As I mentioned in my note above, I’m putting on a free, urgent briefing tonight at 8 p.m. ET to teach you how to use a unique income strategy that can help you take advantage of current market conditions.

Since launching it in 2020, a member of my team has used it to collect $45,000. And you can learn to do the same from the most fundamentally sound stocks our research uncovers – regardless of what the market does.

Plus, just for attending, I’ll give you the name and ticker of my favorite recession-proof play in the market today. Be sure to join me, and I look forward to seeing you there.