When Is a High Dividend Yield Dangerous?
Dividend stocks are generally good investments. When a company is well-run and routinely making money, it can afford to reward its shareholders with quarterly dividend payments. Companies that have been paying and routinely increasing their dividends for decades or even more than a century are cornerstones of a strong investment portfolio. When looking for dividend stocks, investors often screen for the highest yields. But, when is a high dividend yield dangerous? In this article, we are going to look briefly at dividend stock investing and dividend reinvesting. Then, we will look at when to avoid a too-high dividend when choosing […]
Which of Your Safe Investments Will Amazon.com Kill Next?
We invest to make more money, do the things in life that we want, and have enough for a comfortable retirement. It has always been good advice to balance your investment portfolio with a combination of the very safe and the somewhat risky investments with growth potential. We often mention our article about how to invest without losing any money. Although the main focus is on cash in the bank, treasuries, and corporate bonds we also give a nod to value investments which are “safe stocks.” Unfortunately, many investments previously thought to be safe have been destroyed in the era […]
What is Intrinsic Stock Value?
Intrinsic stock value is a concept that emerged from the carnage of the 1929 to 1932 stock market crash. It is a way to invest rationally as opposed to investing by guess work, which is closer to gambling. To get a sense of the way this concept changed the face of investing we need to go back to an era where investing in the stock market really did resemble gambling at the casino.
“Playing the Market” in the 1920s
A common expression during the steady rise of the American stock market in the roaring twenties was to “play the stock market.” Many […]
Best Stocks to Invest In
For generations, the U.S. stock market has been the best and most reliable money-making machine on the planet. But, how to get started investing and take advantage of the stock market’s power is always the issue. The average return on the basket of stocks in the S&P 500 has been 10% per year per year ever since the index began as the Composite Index of 90 stocks back in 1926. Today the S&P 500 is a group of 500 stocks that accurately mirror the U.S. stock market as well as the U.S. economy. Are the best stocks to invest in […]
Proven Stock Market Strategies
There is always someone giving investment “advice” as they promote one stock or another. But, what proven stock market strategies can you follow profitably over time? In this article, we look at a general approach to reliably profitable investing and then at specifics. For most investors, the best approaches are the simple ones. These are folks who have money they want to put away for retirement, a rainy day, putting the kids through college, or starting their own business. These folks have neither the time nor the inclination to get overly involved in the details of stock market investing but […]
Can Passive Investment Be Risky?
Over just the last few years the proportion of the US stock market that is invested passively has moved up to 45%. Investors are attracted to ETFs (exchange traded funds) because of their low overhead. And, many have outperformed actively traded vehicles like mutual funds and other actively managed investment vehicles. But, can passive investment be risky?
Passive Investment Is on the Rise in the US Stock Market
CNBC reported that passive investing automatically tracking indexes has risen to nearly half of the US stock market.
Passive investing, made up of funds tracking market barometers, has now taken over nearly half the stock […]
Investing in Stocks
The reason for investing in stocks is to attain financial security. While some people may make a spectacular investment decision by chance, the vast majority who succeed at investing in stocks save their money and invest over a long period of time. Success in investing starts with defining your goals. What do you want to get out of investing? Make a list with the most important goals like having enough money for retirement, putting your children through college, or saving up to start your own business at the top of the list. Then consider how many years are left for […]
How to Spot a Value Trap Investment
Over the years we have often cautioned investors to beware of penny stocks, especially those that have seen better days. While investing in a grand old name in hopes of a recovery it is important to learn how to spot a value trap investment. This issue came up recently when we wondered what was wrong at Kraft Heinz. As bargains become harder to find in an aging bull market there is a temptation to go bottom feeding in search of an investment miracle. Here is some advice about what to watch out for.
Kraft Heinz Products
Spotting a Value Trap
A couple of […]