How to Tell the Difference Between a Ride in the Markets and When You are About to Lose Serious Money
First things first, I must say that right before I wrote this article, I had just read on Bloomberg that the Greeks would ask for a referendum on the bailout (that was Tuesday morning, November 1st). At that specific time, there was not a better time to talk about how to tell the difference [...]
The Good, The Bad and The Ugly of Dividend Stocks
“After a meal there’s nothing like a good cigar” – Blondie from The Good, the Bad and the Ugly – Wikiquote Ok, so that quote has nothing to do with investing, but you can just picture Eastwood saying it. Like everything in life, there are good things, bad things, and ugly things. The same can [...]
Dividend Safety and Warnings
As dividend investors, we need to be constantly on the lookout for ways to reduce the risk in our portfolios. Even with relatively stable and fundamentally sound dividend stocks, there is work to do to determine how safe a that dividend growth company might be. In other words, we need to watch for certain warning [...]
8 Ways to Deal with Volatile Markets
Can I let you all in on a little stock market secret? This is very privileged information so please cover your screen while you read this so that others will not see our little secret. Ok, ready – here it comes………..The stock market is volatile and can go up and down a lot!![ad#tdg-embedded] Seriously though, [...]
What is Your Real Risk Tolerance?
To my female readers, pardon the expression, but it is aggressive bear markets that separate the boys from the men. The conviction to hold to a solid investment plan (such as a dividend growth plan) is the cornerstone of good portfolio management and amateur investors typically fare very poorly. I have been thinking about why [...]
Hedging a Dividend Portfolio
I was recently asked by a reader (thanks Edwin) about my take on using a hedging strategy in a dividend investing portfolio. Although I have never done any true hedging (other than covered calls) in my dividend growth portfolio, it has been a huge topic of discussion from many financial pundits as a way to [...]
Three Things Investors Do to Get Into Trouble
I find the recent market action very interesting, especially the headlines in the newspapers and the chatter I hear on elevators, during lunch, or before the start of meetings. The main topic of course is the recent market action and the intense volatility this is having on personal portfolios. There is a lot of stress [...]
Lower Risk = Higher Investment Profits
(This article originally appeared on The DIV-Net on July 15, 2008)Historically, a dividend based portfolio has proven to be less risky than alternative investment strategies. The caveat of course is that your portfolio is structured properly, you are well diversified, and you keep your fees super-low. Take the S&P Dividend Aristocrats for example. As highlighted [...]
