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 …

Read more

IGM Financial Versus CIX and AGF

As a dividend investor I’m always on the lookout for a higher dividend yield with excellent metrics. Usually that is a hard fit to come by, since the higher the yield the higher the risk. An area that has come across my radar recently, are the Canadian asset management companies, which primarily sell mutual funds and provide wealth management services. I view this sector as an added level of diversification in the financial industry to banks and lifecos (life insurance companies). The Asset Management Companies Of the Canadian Asset Management companies, IGM Financial (IGM) is clearly the largest with over …

Read more

Ninja’s 2012 Canadian Stock Picks – Part 2

Last week I covered the first half of my 2012 Canadian Stock Picks . I covered three of my favourite companies I’ve had on my watch list for quite awhile, Husky Energy (HSE-T), Telus Communications (T-T and TU-N), and Corby Distilleries (CDL.A-T). This week I continue with my other picks, all in the financial sector. Unless noted, the following companies trade on the TSX (Toronto Stock Exchange). AGF Management (AGF.B) If you invest in Canadian mutual funds, then you will be quite familiar with AGF – as you likely own some of their products. Instead of paying trailer fees, commissions, …

Read more

Don’t Buy Mutual Funds, Buy the Company!

In one of his books Derek Foster has a wonderful quote. He says “Don’t buy the bank’s products, buy the banks!” Well the same can be said for Mutual Fund companies as well. The sad fact is that buying a mutual fund is far less profitable, than actually buying the company that provides the fund. I’m excluding Bond and MMKT Funds  in my example. I’m also exluding high-risk  sector funds – a lot of people lose money on those. I’m sure there are other exceptions, but lets look at one of my recently purchased holdings AGF.B ~ AGF Management. Back …

Read more