It was never supposed to be this daunting. At least that’s what we were told. But according to a recent study by the National Institute on Retirement Security, 85% of Americans are either “concerned” or “very concerned” about their ability to achieve a secure retirement. My guess is you might be one of them. #-ad_banner-#In fact, we did a little internal polling among StreetAuthority readers recently. Despite the fact that nearly half of respondents who were aged 55 and older reported having investment portfolios worth $500,000 or more, only 54% of… Read More

It was never supposed to be this daunting. At least that’s what we were told. But according to a recent study by the National Institute on Retirement Security, 85% of Americans are either “concerned” or “very concerned” about their ability to achieve a secure retirement. My guess is you might be one of them. #-ad_banner-#In fact, we did a little internal polling among StreetAuthority readers recently. Despite the fact that nearly half of respondents who were aged 55 and older reported having investment portfolios worth $500,000 or more, only 54% of those surveyed answered “yes” when asked “Are you confident you will have enough money for retirement?” Now you can read into that 54% response however you would like, but I think it’s pretty good. Just not good enough. And here’s the thing: I’m willing to bet that number is actually high when compared with the general population. If you find yourself in the camp of those with portfolios of $500,000 or more, then congratulations are in order. But I wouldn’t blame you if you still felt like you were on shaky ground. After all,… Read More

I’m worried for the future, and what it holds for retirees. Apparently I’m not alone… #-ad_banner-#A recent survey found that 61% of all respondents feared outliving their retirement savings more than they feared death. I understand why people are anxious. Retirement accounts got hit hard by market events like the dot-com bust, the housing meltdown and the subsequent financial crisis. Some people stopped investing entirely because they were afraid to put their life savings at risk. But at the same time, savings accounts and certificates of deposit aren’t… Read More

I’m worried for the future, and what it holds for retirees. Apparently I’m not alone… #-ad_banner-#A recent survey found that 61% of all respondents feared outliving their retirement savings more than they feared death. I understand why people are anxious. Retirement accounts got hit hard by market events like the dot-com bust, the housing meltdown and the subsequent financial crisis. Some people stopped investing entirely because they were afraid to put their life savings at risk. But at the same time, savings accounts and certificates of deposit aren’t even beating inflation. They’re just not the right tools with which to build a healthy retirement. That’s why I’ve spent the last several years developing… refining… and perfecting a new kind of retirement plan. I designed it specifically for those in or approaching retirement with three main goals in mind: To maximize income, maximize growth, and minimize risk… all while collecting an average of one or more dividend “paychecks” per day. That’s exactly why I call it the Daily Paycheck Retirement Strategy. The system I designed is… Read More

It started out as an experiment. It wound up being my favorite income strategy: the markets “atm machine”. #-ad_banner-#A little more than six years ago, StreetAuthority approached me with an idea. They wanted me to build a portfolio of reliable dividend stocks that would pay out more than 30 dividend checks a month — one for every day of the year. In order to show how serious they were, they even gave me $200,000 and a dedicated brokerage account to get started. I must admit, I was a little skeptical at first. The idea seemed too good to be true. Read More

It started out as an experiment. It wound up being my favorite income strategy: the markets “atm machine”. #-ad_banner-#A little more than six years ago, StreetAuthority approached me with an idea. They wanted me to build a portfolio of reliable dividend stocks that would pay out more than 30 dividend checks a month — one for every day of the year. In order to show how serious they were, they even gave me $200,000 and a dedicated brokerage account to get started. I must admit, I was a little skeptical at first. The idea seemed too good to be true. But in just over six years — 2,361 dividends and more than $99,000 worth of dividend income later — the results have been far better than I could have imagined. Since I started my portfolio back in December 2009, my initial $200,000 investment has grown to more than $316,592, giving me a total return of more than 58% in a little more than six years. As of this month, the total dividends I’ve received amount to $99,651.   The Daily Paycheck Strategy Helped Me Pocket Nearly $100,000 In Dividends In its first full year of operation, my… Read More

There were 4 million children born in 1991, which was squarely in the middle of a surge in birth rates that began in the early 1980s and continued clear through the Y2K era. Of course, we refer to the offspring of this era as “millennials”. Those children are now turning age 25 at the rate of 4 million per year, or about 77,000 per week. This is the prime age for settling into a career and beginning a family. #-ad_banner-#​Millennials aren’t often portrayed in the media as hardworking and industrious — more like starry-eyed… Read More

There were 4 million children born in 1991, which was squarely in the middle of a surge in birth rates that began in the early 1980s and continued clear through the Y2K era. Of course, we refer to the offspring of this era as “millennials”. Those children are now turning age 25 at the rate of 4 million per year, or about 77,000 per week. This is the prime age for settling into a career and beginning a family. #-ad_banner-#​Millennials aren’t often portrayed in the media as hardworking and industrious — more like starry-eyed dreamers at a Bernie Sanders campaign rally. But make no mistake: it’s only a matter of time before millennials control most of the nation’s wealth. Within the next seven years, this generation will comprise more than half of the U.S. workforce. And by the time my son reaches age 25 in 2028, tens of millions of millennials will have reached their peak earning years. At that point, they will be taking home a projected $8 trillion in annual net income, according to Merrill Lynch. Where will they be spending all that cash? Discover the… Read More

I have a feeling that some growth-oriented readers out there might groan a little at this stock pick. But in my experience, some of the most successful investments come from “boring” industries that may not be all what they appear. In today’s fast-paced digital world, the mundane money transfer business seems so last century. Who even carries cash anymore, right? #-ad_banner-#To some, this service is about as relevant as a telegram. That argument is largely true here in the United States. But Western Union (NYSE: WU) serves customers in 200 countries — 199 of… Read More

I have a feeling that some growth-oriented readers out there might groan a little at this stock pick. But in my experience, some of the most successful investments come from “boring” industries that may not be all what they appear. In today’s fast-paced digital world, the mundane money transfer business seems so last century. Who even carries cash anymore, right? #-ad_banner-#To some, this service is about as relevant as a telegram. That argument is largely true here in the United States. But Western Union (NYSE: WU) serves customers in 200 countries — 199 of which are not the United States. And while cash may no longer be fashionable in New York or Los Angeles, it’s still the preferred means of exchange in cities like Johannesburg, South Africa, and Mumbai, India. Here’s what is happening. There is a planet-wide population shift of workers moving from poor countries to wealthier ones in search of higher pay. Odds are, you have probably crossed paths with one of these transplants. My wife has one co-worker from Bosnia and another from Nepal. I recently met a young sales person who had traveled all… Read More

Since the Financial Crisis of 2008, the United States, when compared to the rest of the world’s monetary policy or economic performance, has been referred to as “the cleanest dirty shirt”, “the prettiest woman in the ugly woman beauty contest”, and, my personal favorite, “the tallest midget in the circus”. The primary benchmark is the yield on U.S. Treasury bonds versus the sovereign bonds of other nations.  Global government bond yields have been kept stubbornly low mainly due to the enormous supply of cash created by central bank quantitative easing (QE) in which central banks such as the Federal Reserve,… Read More

Since the Financial Crisis of 2008, the United States, when compared to the rest of the world’s monetary policy or economic performance, has been referred to as “the cleanest dirty shirt”, “the prettiest woman in the ugly woman beauty contest”, and, my personal favorite, “the tallest midget in the circus”. The primary benchmark is the yield on U.S. Treasury bonds versus the sovereign bonds of other nations.  Global government bond yields have been kept stubbornly low mainly due to the enormous supply of cash created by central bank quantitative easing (QE) in which central banks such as the Federal Reserve, the Bank of Japan (BOJ) or the European Central Bank (ECB) buy government bonds from financial institutions in hopes that the institutions will lend the cash to create demand at both the corporate and consumer level. In theory, increased consumption will stimulate business growth and lead to mild inflation. Interest rates will then gradually rise to head off rampant inflation keeping the business cycle steady while also rewarding investors with a little more return for their risk. #-ad_banner-#That hasn’t happened.  In fact, rates have done the opposite by continuing to fall. While the Fed in the United States has ended… Read More

What’s better, a stock that appreciates 7% over the next year along with a 3% dividend yield, or one that appreciates 3% and yields 7%?  Tax implications aside, there isn’t much difference. Both will give you a total return of about 10%. If anything, option two would be preferable, as it throws off income more quickly and would net a slightly higher return when factoring in dividend reinvestment.  #-ad_banner-#But when it comes to popular valuation metrics, all the focus is on the growth side of the equation, while income is all but forgotten. So investors that rely on these yardsticks… Read More

What’s better, a stock that appreciates 7% over the next year along with a 3% dividend yield, or one that appreciates 3% and yields 7%?  Tax implications aside, there isn’t much difference. Both will give you a total return of about 10%. If anything, option two would be preferable, as it throws off income more quickly and would net a slightly higher return when factoring in dividend reinvestment.  #-ad_banner-#But when it comes to popular valuation metrics, all the focus is on the growth side of the equation, while income is all but forgotten. So investors that rely on these yardsticks will be inclined to buy the stock that is poised to grow 7% and overlook the one that is poised to grow just 3%.  That can lead to missed opportunities. Earnings growth usually translates into a rising share price over time. And generally speaking (although there are certainly exceptions), companies that return most of their excess profit through dividends will have slower growth than companies that pump their profits back into the business.  So let’s rewind back to the beginning on the two stocks above. Let’s suppose the first stock had projected earnings growth of 10%, while the second had… Read More

#-ad_banner-#As some of you may know, I use technical analysis extensively, incorporating it into my trading strategy along with fundamental and quantitative analysis.  In simple terms, technical analysis requires a study of the past, as market patterns tend to repeat over time. Beyond that, though, technical analysis can vary; some analysts use charts, some use indicators and computer testing, and some rely on history books. I think all three techniques are important to consider.  Chart patterns do tend to repeat over time. While it is possible to take this idea too far (which many people do), we can often spot… Read More

#-ad_banner-#As some of you may know, I use technical analysis extensively, incorporating it into my trading strategy along with fundamental and quantitative analysis.  In simple terms, technical analysis requires a study of the past, as market patterns tend to repeat over time. Beyond that, though, technical analysis can vary; some analysts use charts, some use indicators and computer testing, and some rely on history books. I think all three techniques are important to consider.  Chart patterns do tend to repeat over time. While it is possible to take this idea too far (which many people do), we can often spot broad patterns on charts that help us identify major trends. For example, the chart below highlights bullish double-bottom patterns (blue boxes) that developed in the S&P 500 over the past year. But it’s also important to remember that no pattern will ever work 100% of the time, as this chart illustrates. In the red box, you’ll see a double-bottom pattern that didn’t work.  And that’s where indicators and computer testing come in: They quantify how effective different indicators actually are.  There are hundreds, if not thousands, of technical indicators. I have tested many of them and found almost… Read More

With interest rates still in decline, the stodgy, old utilities sector is leading the pack.  Of course, with a more than 20% gain under its belt since early December, it’s unlikely the Dow Jones Utility Average can sustain its recent pace. After all, utilities are not likely to explode higher as an Internet or biotech stock could. The industry is too mature for that. #-ad_banner-#In an age when investors are starved for yield, though, utilities still have appeal, even if only for their dividends. But there are some that offer income and the potential for gains. We have… Read More

With interest rates still in decline, the stodgy, old utilities sector is leading the pack.  Of course, with a more than 20% gain under its belt since early December, it’s unlikely the Dow Jones Utility Average can sustain its recent pace. After all, utilities are not likely to explode higher as an Internet or biotech stock could. The industry is too mature for that. #-ad_banner-#In an age when investors are starved for yield, though, utilities still have appeal, even if only for their dividends. But there are some that offer income and the potential for gains. We have all heard the investment mantra of buying the strongest stocks in the strongest sectors, which is sound advice. However, my favorite strategy is to buy previously lagging stocks in strong sectors when they are just emerging from technical patterns. OGE Energy (NYSE: OGE) is one such stock. There have been numerous studies that show sector performance to be a large component of individual stock performance.  That makes sense from a fundamental perspective. If there is business for the sector, chances are there is enough business for most member companies. But the word “most” is key, because an out-of-favor company can… Read More

I’m slow to adopt things. Eleven years ago, tired of the books stacked up on the nightstand, my wife gave me an Amazon Kindle (Nasdaq: AMZN) for Christmas. It sat in the box for four months. Eventually, I came around. I haven’t purchased a hard copy book since. It took me awhile to incorporate exchange traded funds (ETF’s) into my practice. In constructing portfolios, I still use individual stocks for my equity allocations. However, I have been gravitating toward ETF’s in the fixed income space, primarily in preferred stocks.  #-ad_banner-#Preferred stocks are a hybrid security that falls into the debt… Read More

I’m slow to adopt things. Eleven years ago, tired of the books stacked up on the nightstand, my wife gave me an Amazon Kindle (Nasdaq: AMZN) for Christmas. It sat in the box for four months. Eventually, I came around. I haven’t purchased a hard copy book since. It took me awhile to incorporate exchange traded funds (ETF’s) into my practice. In constructing portfolios, I still use individual stocks for my equity allocations. However, I have been gravitating toward ETF’s in the fixed income space, primarily in preferred stocks.  #-ad_banner-#Preferred stocks are a hybrid security that falls into the debt portion of a company’s capital structure. Often, they are issued at $25 par face value per share and pay a higher dividend than the common stock. Preferreds are senior to the common stock but are junior to bonds and bank debt. There’s usually a call feature allowing the issuer to redeem the preferred shares at their $25 face value. Lastly, they’re usually exchange listed, giving them a liquid marketplace. Preferreds are popular among individual investors thanks to their availability, attractive yields and conservative profiles in comparison to a common stock. As a professional investor, the challenge I’ve found in the… Read More