Being a guy, shopping isn’t exactly at the top of my priority list. But with a few thousand left from selling my index funds last week, shopping for dividend stocks was  just what I needed to get in the buying mood. In fact the last time I saw a grown group of men get excited over shopping, was last August when markets took a nose dive, and investors were backing up the truck on their favourite stocks on sale!  Unfortunately last week, stocks were certainly not on sale, with seven days of continuous gains. That was good news for my RRSP holdings, but not for the stocks I was eagerly awaiting to invest in. I’m not sure how the universal laws of money really work. All I do know is I had been watching these stocks for a few weeks, and then when I decided to make a move, it just happened to coincide with a nice market gain. Why do markets always rise when you want to buy stocks? Manulife Financial (MFC-T) was one stock on my watch list, and I felt at $12 it was a good value play, ...

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For the year ending December 31st 2011, investing was a mixed bag. International stocks were a loss; over -14.4% (using Vanguard’s VEU ETF) and European stocks alone were down nearly -12%. The U.S. markets performed much better. U.S. investors, especially dividend investors, saw substantial increases in the equity component of their portfolio. The return of the S&P 500 was relatively flat, but the DOW returned a positive 5.5%. Looking at Canada, The TSX was down over -8.7% for 2011. However many Canadian dividend paying stocks fared much better (assuming you could have hand-picked the winners). The Telecoms and Pipelines did very well in 2011. While other sectors, such as the Life Insurance companies, amassed enormous amounts of debt, and lost significant value in their market capitalization. Canadian bond funds and ETFs also helped investors throughout 2011, by cushioning the volatility and delivering steady monthly income. So what’s the Ninja looking at for 2012? Here are five ...

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Happy New Year! What would the beginning of 2011 be without a list of great stocks to invest in? I wanted to find solid blue-chips that had either been trading at their lows, were punished for lower than expected earnings, and were poised for a rally. I also wanted to look at sectors I think will do well in the coming years. Oil, technology, and big consumer food and entertainment companies could be the winners. You will notice I haven’t included any Income Trusts in my list. I certainly think there are some great buys for trusts converting to corporations, however I would prefer to wait and see what happens when many of them start cutting their dividends. Of course the 2011 Stock Picks are only my personal opinions, not a recommendation to buy. Do your own research and only invest in what you understand! Index Funds and Index ETFs Index Investors who simply tracked the TSE did well in 2010. TD’s Canadian Equity Index for example returned 15.9% for the year, whereas some dividend stocks ...

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