If you’re looking for dividends you can actually retire on, you should familiarize yourself with business development companies (BDCs). They tend to pay big yields because they are required by law to dish most of their profits back to their investors as dividends. BDCs themselves are investment companies that provide funding to small- and mid-size companies (which typically have a difficult time acquiring funding from larger financiers). Ares Capital Corporation (ARCC)Dividend Yield: 9%Ares Capital Corporation (ARCC) is one of the biggest players in the BDC space, at more than $5 billion in market cap. BIZD’s holdings include Ares Capital and FS Investment, as well as other well-known BDCs including Prospect Capital Corporation (PSEC) and Main Street Capital Corporation (MAIN).

Source: Forbes January 14, 2017 14:15 UTC