"With conventional income investments like U.S. Treasuries, CDs, and corporates paying puny yields, investors need to consider dividend-paying stocks as a core component of an income strategy," notes Ian Wyatt.

The editor of The 100k Portfolio explains, "One way to do this is by purchasing the iShares Dow Jones Select Dividend Index Fund (DVY), which is the oldest and largest dividend-focused ETF.

"The S&P 500 as a whole is currently yielding a healthy two percent. And the ten largest dividend-paying stocks in the U.S. have an average yield of four percent.

Continue reading Boost Returns with Select Dividend ETF (DVY)

Boost Returns with Select Dividend ETF (DVY) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 29 Nov 2010 12:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"It's time to take some profits and play defense for a while," says Glenn Rogers, adding, "Fortunately, we can hedge our bets by taking some profits and building cash reserves and reinvesting in more defensive securities."

In The Internet Wealh Builder, the advisor suggests, a trio of conservative dividend-focused exchange-traded funds.

He explains, "Everybody I talk to these days is nervous, although for different reasons. Some are nervous because they feel left behind. They sat on the sidelines and missed the incredible rally we've had since March. Now they're afraid they won't have a chance to participate because the market has been refusing to correct.

"Others are nervous because they made a pot of money in the rebound and they're afraid they could lose it all in a replay of last year's meltdown. Meanwhile, there some relatively low-risk ETFs where you could park some money while we see how all this plays out.

Continue reading Defensive bets: A trio of dividend funds

Defensive bets: A trio of dividend funds originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 16 Oct 2009 13:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The iShares DJ Select Dividend Index Fund (AMEX: DVY) is an exchange-traded fund (ETF) comprised of relatively high-yielding U.S. stocks. Despite that, the ETF has lagged the S&P 500 index by more than 2.8 percentage points over the past two months.

The culprit: weakness in financials and utilities, which account for 39% and 22%, respectively, of the fund's top 20 holdings.

Still, regardless of my view that both sectors will likely see more downside in the long run, the odds are that with Monday being the start of a new quarter, we may see buying of those depressed sectors by bargain-hunters looking to benefit from a contrarian bounce, which will support the price of the ETF.

Currently unsettled market conditions may also give the ETF a lift, as worried investors who nevertheless prefer to remain invested in equities seek a higher-than-average-yielding safe haven from a potential market storm.

Finally, the iShares DJ Select Dividend Index fund is now back to the same levels it was relative to the S&P 500 index in early 2004 and the spring of 2006. On both occasions, the ETF rebounded sharply on a comparative basis.

Given all that, this ETF might be worth a look in the near term.

Michael Panzner is a 25-year veteran of the global stock, bond, and currency markets and the author of Financial Armageddon: Protecting Your Future from Four Impending Catastrophes and The New Laws of the Stock Market Jungle: An Insider's Guide to Successful Investing in a Changing World.

High-yielding ETF: a short-term buying opportunity? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 26 Jun 2007 15:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

In recent posts, I have reviewed the newsletter advisors' Top Picks from 2007, first highlighting stocks that were in the healthcare, tech, and telecom sectors and then highlighting favorites in the out-of-favor metals and energy areas.

To conclude this review, I'm turning now to the most popular sector in this year's annual Top Picks report -- financial stocks. Of particular note this year is the type of financial stocks that rose to the top of the advisors' buy lists.

In past years, it was routine to see brokerage firms and large cap consumer banks among the Top Picks. This year, only one such company was chosen; Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) was selected as the favorite stock of both Mark Skousen and Kelley Wright.

Outside of Citi, the advisory community looked to an area that has rarely been cited in previous Top Picks reports --specialty finance companies. For example, Gordon Pape selected Brookfield Asset Management, which provides financing to real estate ventures.

Neil George chose a pair of companies spun off from Australia's Macquarie Bank. Both the Macquarie Infrastructure Trust (NYSE:MIC) and the Macquarie Infrastructure Group (OTC:MCORF) provide financing to global road, bridge, and airport development projects.

Continue reading Top Picks 2007: And the winner is ... financials

Top Picks 2007: And the winner is ... financials originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 12 Jan 2007 14:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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 Picks Report.

The iShares Dow Jones Select Dividend Index (NYSE: DVY), an exchange-traded fund, is the top conservative idea for 2007 from Leonard Goodall, editor of No-Load Portfolios. He explains, "I like this ETF for two reasons.

"The first reason is that the fund, as the name implies, guarantees a cash flow to investors. The fund's strategy is to buy companies that pay a larger-than-average dividend and that have a record of consistently raising their dividend. The provision of current income is often a high priority goal for conservative investors.

"The second reason is that the fund provides a good probability of achieving capital gains for the long-term investor. There is abundant evidence that dividend-paying stocks outperform other stocks over time. A major reason for this is that dividends provide a cushion against price declines during bear markets.

"ETFs have given the individual investor the ability to target specific needs in a portfolio. This fund was the first of the dividend-oriented ETFs. There are a number of new ones entering the market; this one, however, is established and its annual expense ratio of just .40 is still the lowest available. It has a one-year annual return of 17.1% and a three-year average annualized return of 13.9%."

To see Leonard's favorite speculative ETF for 2007, click here.

Top Picks 2007: Goodall's ETF pick gets Dow dividends originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 01 Jan 2007 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.