Each year, Steven Halpern, editor of TheStockAdvisors.com, surveys the leading financial newsletter advisors asking for their favorite stocks for the coming year. This article is part of his 24th annual Top Stocks Report.
The top conservative pick for 2007 from income specialist Carla Pasternak is The Zweig Total Return Fund (NYSE: ZTR). The editor of High Yield Investing says, "ZTR is a diversified closed-end fund that seeks a high total return (dividends, interest, and capital gains) by investing in both stocks and bonds
"Over half of ZTR's portfolio is in risk-free U.S. Treasuries. The balance is mostly in blue-chip dividend-payers. The Treasury bonds carry the highest credit rating possible with virtually no risk of default. They have an average duration of about six years, making the fund well positioned for a stable interest rate environment.
"The fund has paid dividends every month for the past two decades. Its latest monthly payment of $0.043 a share equates to $0.52 annually, providing a 9% yield at current share prices. A 1.02% management fee brings the effective yield to 8%.
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