Editor’s Note: With a global pandemic… the fastest stock market crash in history… and a decisive election, 2020 has proven how difficult it can be for investors to roll with the market’s punches.

During the market’s historic drop in late February and early March, some investors lost everything…

But now, with dividend investing expert and professional ring announcer Marc Lichtenfeld in your corner, it’s payback time.

Marc is a good friend and Editor of the e-letter Wealthy Retirement at The Oxford Club. And today, he’ll share one of his top strategies for conquering a dastardly market.

But that’s not all…

He also wants to teach you how to put up a good defense for your portfolio. Starting with $5,000, you can ensure a stock market crash never hits you again – all while earning legally guaranteed returns of up to 50% per year over the coming years.

Click here to learn more.

-Ryan Fitzwater, Associate Publisher

The sudden spring surge of the pandemic in the United States roiled markets. Some Trade of the Day readers may have been giddy with opportunity… and others may have felt panic.

Both stocks and bonds took a beating.

With the benefit of hindsight, that was clearly a buying opportunity.

Fortunately for readers of my Oxford Bond Advantage trading research service, we had some foresight at that time to recognize that.

We took advantage of that turmoil in our portfolio by pouncing on some attractive bond prices and generous yields.

As markets recovered, we found ourselves sitting on some significant gains on those spring bond purchases.

So on October 7, I took some money off the table and permanently locked in our gains that were created in just a few months.

Markets can move fast in both directions, and I wasn’t interested in giving back any of the profits that we were sitting on.

Everyone wants to profit from a volatile market – but for those who want to score downside protection at the same time, bond investing is one of the most profitable ways to go.

Our First Sale

First, we sold our Conagra Brands (CUSIP 205887bj0) September 2022 3.25% coupon bonds. We purchased these bonds for a discounted price of $990 near the peak of the market hysteria on April 1.

At that time there was no doubt in my mind that buying Conagra’s bonds at a discounted price was a gift.

Conagra is one of those recession-proof businesses that you want at the core of your income portfolios for times just like these. It’s a true blue chip, the fifth-largest food and beverage operator in the United States.

The foundation of this business is a diversified and stable revenue stream. Conagra was one of the few businesses for which the pandemic was a nonevent.

The financial results posted by Conagra since we purchased these bonds have confirmed the resilience of this business. Earnings have not missed a beat.

These fine results pushed the trading price of our Conagra bonds steadily higher.

With our bonds trading near $1,050 at the beginning of October, we were sitting on a capital gain of 6% since our purchase. When factoring in interest payments on these bonds, our total return was more than 7.5% in half a year.

On an annualized basis, that is a 15% return, which is fantastic for a very low-risk bond. That was more than our MEAR of 6.24%, so we took the money and ran.

Our Second Sale

Unlike the Conagra Brands business, which was immune to COVID-19, operations for Delta Air Lines were clearly dealt a major blow.

On March 25, at the absolute height of the sell-off in the financial market, we added the Delta Air Lines (CUSIP 247361zp6) April 2023 3.8% coupon bonds to the Oxford Bond Advantage portfolio.

I didn’t make this decision to buy these bonds because I felt Delta’s business was going to bounce back quickly.

Instead, I did so at the time because I was certain that Delta had the balance sheet strength to outlast whatever scenario the pandemic might throw at it.

We were able to purchase our Delta bonds at $0.90 on the dollar, or $900 per bond. I really liked that discounted price given the financial staying power Delta had.

The market came around to my view of Delta’s balance sheet. By October, our bonds traded at $970, a 7.8% increase from our purchase six months prior.

While I appreciated Delta’s financial position, the airline industry still clearly has many challenges ahead of it.

As our bonds were trading very close to full face value, I believed the risk-reward profile offered from owning these bonds had changed. I don’t foresee big problems for Delta, but I did think that the easy money had been made, and I wanted to secure our gains.

With the increase in bond price from $900 to $970 and the interest we received, our annualized rate of return on this trade was close to 20%.

Bonds are not the Corvettes of the market. They are not fast-paced or flashy. But like a good four-door sedan, they offer better safety and a smooth ride – and that’s fine by me.

Action Plan: Before the next time volatility strikes, pad your portfolio with some blue chip bonds that you are confident can handle whatever the market throws your way. But look for competitive yields and profit opportunities too – because there’s no reason your safe money has to be boring.

I’ll even help you get started. To learn how you can earn 50% returns in a year without touching a single stock or option, join me in Oxford Bond Advantage by clicking here.

Hoping your longs go up and your shorts go down,

Marc