The Lure and Dangers of High Yield Stocks – What You Need to Know

This article was published in the Canadian MoneySaver and is posted here with permission. For more information visit www.canadianmoneysaver.ca Most investors would never buy a corporate bond yielding 10%. They would understand that a high yield in this low-interest rate environment would be a risky investment. They would likely lose some or all of their investment. But many investors who do not understand the risks of high yield will buy dividend stocks paying 8% or 10%+ yields, double or triple what blue chips are currently paying at 3% to 4.5%. While high-yield stocks are not junk bonds, they do inherently carry …

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What Happened to the Income Trusts?

This article was published in the September 2011 edition of the Canadian MoneySaver, and is posted here with permission. For more information visit www.canadianmoneysaver.ca January 1st, 2011, was the deadline for Canadian income trusts (other than REITs – Real Estate Investment Trusts) to convert to corporations. I examine the basic changes of income trusts into corporations, and what’s happened to these high-yield dividend payers. Now that almost all income trusts have converted to corporations, which ones are still worth holding? The Cash Cow In Canada, income trusts were created as an alternative to the corporate structure.  The first income trust …

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What Is a Good Dividend Payout Ratio for Investors

Portions of this article were originally published in the Canadian MoneySaver, and it is posted here with permission. For more information visit www.canadianmoneysaver.ca Many dividend investors go to great lengths to screen dividend stocks. If you stick with the big dividend aristocrats or other big blue chips, you will do just fine. Some of these companies have been paying dividends for over 50 to 100 years! The economic stability of a company like that, which also increases its dividends year after year, is money in the bank. This is what most dividend investors look for, and it is the basis …

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Four Key Dividend Metrics You Need to Know

This article was published in the May 2014 edition of the Canadian MoneySaver, and is posted here with permission. For more information visit www.canadianmoneysaver.ca Although dividend investing can seem overwhelming and complicated, it really doesn’t need to be. Nor do you need to be a financial professional or CPA to make sense of it all. A few red-flags to watch out for, as well as specific ratios to look at, will help you buy a dividend titan instead of a dividend dud. Here are four key dividend metrics I look at, when initially screening dividend stocks: Dividend Yield The dividend …

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