As investors, we tend to stick with what we know. That’s why so many of us (other than Global Income Edge subscribers) own few international stocks and gravitate toward particular sectors.

That said, investing in preferred stocks (as opposed to common stocks) involves a bit of a learning curve, one worth mastering because yields often range between 8% and 10%. This asset class resembles both stocks and bonds, yet differs from each.

Here’s a quick primer.

Because they sit in the middle of a company’s capital structure and combine the ownership interest of common stock with the loans of bonds, preferred stocks don’t offer as much growth potential as common stock or carry the same guarantees as bonds.

Like bonds, preferred stocks typically have fixed face values that don’t increase as much as common stocks when a company grows. They also usually have fixed maturity dates, often 25 or 30 years out, making them somewhat sensitive to interest rates.

Preferred stocks can also be called, which means the company can pay them off at face value after a set date or once the shares reach a particular price. In a bankruptcy, although preferred shareholders are paid out of a company’s remaining assets before common stockholders, bondholders still come first.

To compensate for those differences, preferred stocks typically offer much higher yields than traditional bonds or common stocks. That makes them well worth stepping out of your comfort zone.

A Boost From Road Warriors

For instance, Ashford Hospitality Trust Series D 8.45% currently yields a little more than 8% with a quarterly payout of $0.53.

Ashford is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that has been in the hotel business for the better part of a quarter century, operating 116 properties with more than 25,000 rooms. Most of its properties are premium brands such as Marriott, Intercontinental, Hilton and Hyatt.

Like most hotel REITs, Ashford (NYSE: AHT-D) hit a rough patch during the recession when business travel plummeted. Year-over-year revenue plunged nearly 22% in 2009 and fell another 8% in 2010. But average revenue over the past decade— including those rough years —grew more than 21% while operating income rose 17.9%.

Business has improved markedly since the recession’s darkest days, and judging by the uptick in air travel, road warriors are back at their trade. The Federal Aviation Administration estimates that U.S. airlines had 756.3 million passengers last year, up 2.3% compared with 2013. The agency expects the number of air travelers to continue growing 2% annually over the next decade, which is great news for hotels.

The shares currently trade slightly over their $25 face value and can be called at any time, but that seems unlikely. With about 9.5 million shares outstanding, it would cost the REIT more than $237 million to call them in. The company, though, has been in an acquisitive mood lately, picking up several new properties, which is a much better use of its cash as Series D is one of its lower-yielding preferred issues.

With a growing business and little call risk, Ashford Hospitality Trust Series D 8.45% is a buy under $26.

Another solid pick is Costamare Inc 8.5% Series C Cumulative Redeemable Perpetual Preferred, a real mouthful of a name that currently yields 8.53%.

A bit riskier than the Ashford preferred, Costamare (NYSE: CMRE-C) is a Greek company that operates a fleet of 69 container ships. Similar to our Aggressive Portfolio holding –Seaspan (NYSE: SSW), Costamare’s fleet operates under time charters so that the ships are leased to companies for fixed periods at fixed rates and aren’t subject to fluctuating day rates. Its customers are some of the biggest operators in the container-shipping industry, such as the Danish Maersk, so its leases have little default risk.

As a result, the company’s revenue and income is fairly predictable aside from the impact of fluctuating currency values. And with 10 new container ships on order and awaiting delivery to customers, Costamare has ample room for revenue growth down the road, particularly as Europe’s economy gains steam.

Although this particular preferred stock has a face value of $25 per share, because it is “perpetual,” it doesn’t have a maturity date. It can be called in anytime after January 21, 2019, though. In the meantime, it will pay quarterly distributions of $0.55, for a total annual payout of $2.13 per share.

Plus, unlike most preferred stocks that are taxed as ordinary income, this particular preferred class is eligible for the preferential 15% rate, or up to a maximum of 20% depending on your tax bracket. And because of its “cumulative” payout, dividends must be paid to preferred shareholders first, with any missed payments made up later.

Buy Costamare Inc 8.5% Series C Cumulative Redeemable Perpetual Preferred under $25.