Dust & Dividends

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The market, like a restless field, has favored the swift and the glittering these past ten years. Those who chase yield, who seek the steady fruit of dividend stocks, have often found themselves looking at a thinner harvest. The reasons are plain enough. Money flowed to the bright new things – the tech giants, polished and promising – while the old ways, the brick and mortar, the slow accumulation, were left to weather the storms. Two decades of rising rates, a pandemic that swept through like a prairie fire – these were hard times for those who built on foundations, not on air.

Real estate, particularly, felt the pinch. It’s a creature of the rate, sensitive to every shift in the wind. And the pandemic… well, that was a blow. Empty storefronts, shuttered theaters, a world holding its breath. It felt, for a time, like the end of an era.

But the land remembers. And sometimes, after a long drought, the rains return. Interest rates, like the seasons, turn. And with that shift, a chance for the patient, for those who understood the value of what endures. There are places to look, to plant seeds for a future harvest. Two such places, if you’re willing to look beyond the shimmer and the hype.

A Showman’s Gamble & Steady Ground

EPR Properties (EPR +0.09%) isn’t a name that rolls easily off the tongue. It doesn’t deal in the things people need, but in the things they want – a movie on a big screen, the rush of a water slide, the crisp air of a ski slope. It invests in experiences, not possessions. A risky business, perhaps, but one with a certain poetry. For a long time, the theaters were dark, and the future uncertain. But people still crave a story, a moment of escape. And the numbers, lately, suggest they’re returning. After years of holding back, EPR is ready to grow, to build again. They see a vast landscape of opportunity, and a chance to claim a piece of it. As of this writing, they offer a 6.4% yield, paid monthly – a steady rhythm in a restless world. A gamble, yes, but one that might just pay off.

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The Weight of Goods & The Promise of Data

Prologis (PLD 3.41%) is a different creature altogether. A giant, really. The largest industrial REIT, owning a staggering 1.3 billion square feet of space across twenty countries. Every year, $3.2 trillion in goods flows through its distribution centers. It’s the engine of commerce, the silent mover of everything we buy. A solid, reliable business, built on the simple fact that things need to be stored and shipped. But Prologis isn’t content to rest on its laurels. It’s quietly venturing into a new territory: data centers. A risky move, perhaps, but one with a certain logic. They understand logistics, space, infrastructure. And data, in the modern world, is just another kind of cargo. They’re investing billions, building a new kind of warehouse for the digital age. There are others in this game, of course, but Prologis has advantages: scale, financial strength, the ability to borrow money cheaply. As of this writing, they offer a 3.1% yield and trade at a reasonable price, considering the potential.

These are not glamorous investments. They won’t make you rich overnight. But they represent something solid, something real. A chance to earn a steady income, to build a portfolio that can weather the storms. The market will always have its fads, its bubbles, its fleeting promises. But the land endures, and the goods must flow. And sometimes, the best investments are the ones that are built to last.

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2026-01-23 17:12