Word: dividenders
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Responding to the favorable tax treatment, 96 companies initiated or raised dividends in June--10% more than in June of last year and a 32% jump over the 10-year average for that month. A handful of blue-chip companies, including Bank of America, Citigroup, Colgate-Palmolive, Goldman Sachs and Starwood Hotels, boosted their dividends a whopping 30% or more. Some smaller firms have been even more aggressive. Energy company Kinder Morgan has a volatile dividend history but recently raised its annual payout to $1.60 a share--five times what it paid last year and double its biggest dividend...
...trend toward more generous stock dividends gives income-oriented investors a solid alternative to Treasury bonds now yielding under 4%--and dividend stocks are less risky to boot. As the economy recovers, the yield on T bonds (and highly rated corporate bonds too) will rise, driving down the value of existing bonds. "Over the next few years, this is where people will lose the most money in the market," warns Steve Mintz, a fee-only investment manager in Monroe, La. High-yield corporate junk bonds, though, are somewhat insulated because a stronger economy removes much of their risk. So investors...
Scott Kahan, president of the advisory firm Financial Asset Management in New York City, says dividend-paying stocks are a good way to get back into the equity market, if that's an investor's goal. But they are no substitute for secure interest-bearing investments. He is worried that the recovery might stall and stock prices tumble. But he is waving clients off money-market funds. "You've been losing money in these funds the past six months if you own them, as many people do, in a variable annuity," where expenses may be double the fees of most...
...CALLED. Many preferred shares are "callable," meaning that the issuing company has the right to cancel them on a certain date if interest rates have fallen sharply. Always find out whether and when a preferred issue is callable. Insist that your broker give you not just the current dividend yield but also the "yield to call." That will estimate your income if the issue gets yanked away...
...FOOLISH. James Seidel, a tax expert at RIA in New York City, points out that in most cases you will qualify for the lower dividend tax rate only if you own your shares for at least 60 days before the dividend is paid. What's more, says Seidel, the fat yields on preferred stocks can nudge some middle-income investors past the point at which the dreaded alternative minimum tax kicks in. Check with your accountant first. --With reporting by Tara Kalwarski