As you may know, Barak Obama is committed to a 28% capital gains increase–that's almost double the current rate! Investors who are trying to build up their retirement savings through dividend stocks or by selling assets in the future will see the value of their retirement portfolios shrivel.

And this capital gains hit couldn't come at a worse time.

The dual downturns in the stock market and the housing market have already upended the plans of baby boomers and retirees. According to a study commissioned by Americans for Secure Retirement, "Almost three out of five new middle-class retirees will outlast their savings unless they live more modestly after they quit the work force."

Ernst & Young puts it in even starker terms: "…many retirees will have to cut back far more on expenditures than they had ever expected. …The risk of outliving one's assets is quite high." But you don't have to wait around and take the hit. There are some investment strategies you can put in place to protect your assets.

Look What Happened to this Dividend Fund

For instance, take a look at what happened to the iShares Select Dividend Index Fund (DVY), which tracks the performance of stocks that pay the highest dividend yields. As of this writing, it's down 24%, about double the decline of the market as a whole. And the steepest part of that fall came after June 1, when it was clear that Obama had defeated Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination (see also, "Red Stocks, Blue Stocks").

That tells you that investors are already bracing themselves for the capital gains hit that will happen if Obama is elected. So what's the alternative? Tax free munis?

If your retirement portfolio has been knocked down this year, that's no way to build it back up. You see, safety is only part of the solution. The other part is growth. SAFETY and GROWTH are both essential elements. In fact, I've focused on safety and growth for the 19 years I've been writing Profitable Investing–the most successful investment newsletter for low-risk growth. I've helped my subscribers build wealth through the most turbulent markets–and today's market is no exception.

As an investor in today's market, you don't have the luxury of passively waiting around to see if capital gains taxes are raised 60% or 70% or 100%. Nor can you take undue risks (see also, "Election Season: A Great Time to Sell Stocks").

An Investment Opportunity that Offers You Protection and Profits

And that's why I'm happy to say I have found a number of opportunities that will not only protect you against the big capital gains increase but also bring you handsome profits. I'm very excited about one opportunity in particular...

This group of stocks will give you regular cash you can count on, plus put you in a perfect position for capital growth. It's part of an investment class called Master Limited Partnerships (MLP). MLPs were introduced to the market only 25 year ago. They're investment tools that give investors many of the advantages of limited partnerships, yet trade just like stocks. In the case of my recommendation, it trades on the NYSE.

And when you look at what's been happening recently with MLPs, in general, you notice something interesting. It's not just the MLP insider I mentioned buying up his company's stock. In just the first 3 months of this year, insiders have been snapping up their own MLP stocks like fashionistas at a designer close-out sale! From January to March, they've bought $59 million of their own stock! (see also stock buy backs)

What gives? Why MLPs? Why now?