Loyalty – One of the Biggest Stock Picking Mistakes I Make

I am loyal to a fault. I will stick with a company that I grew up with and love all the way to the bitter end. While being loyal may be a great trait, it often gets me into trouble as an investor. The Dividend Ninja’s recent recap of his Dividend Growth Index and individual stock picks reminded me of a recent friendly debate that we had. The Ninja is a big fan of PepsiCo Inc, but I personally love and own shares in Dr. Pepper Snapple Group. Like the wise Ninja predicted, that hasn’t worked out well for me …

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Top 5 Reasons Why I Love REITS and You Should Too

Have you ever wanted to invest in real estate but didn’t want to get your hands dirty flipping, fixing up properties, or finding tenants? There is a way to invest in real estate exactly as you would if you were investing in a mutual fund. A real estate investment trust (REIT) provides you with a great type of investment that can help you diversify your portfolio while also providing you with the dividend stream that dividend investors have grown to love. What Is A Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT)? A real estate investment trust, also known simply as a REIT …

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When Issuing a Dividend Can Be Dangerous

A dividend can actually be a huge red flag depending on where the company gets the money for it. If you know what to look for, a company paying or increasing its dividend is not always a good sign. How does your favorite dividend paying company get the money for those annual or quarterly payments? Have you seen the statement of cash flows and income statement? Do you bother to dig deep to learn as much as you can about the companies that you are investing in? You definitely should take the time to understand where the money is coming …

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What Is a Dividend Aristocrat? And Why You Need to Invest in Them

Dividend Aristocrats are dividend winners who have consistently provided investors with increasing dividends year in and year out. Dividend Aristocrats make a great addition to a portfolio of dividend stocks. They are a great place to start your search for the next company to add to your portfolio. Dividends provide income from your investment, rather than capital gains which are based on appreciation or depreciation in the stock price A dividend stock is typically less volatile than other asset classes such as stocks or mutual funds Investors should look for dividend payers that have been around for at least 25+ …

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