$$$ Question

mjarrels · Jan 25, 2007

I am looking at increasing my dividend investment retirement income... currently at 3.3% each quarter. I looked at HRL, MHP, PACAR, TOT, PBG, JZY, etc. Someone posted that southern copper corp had dividends of 9.5%. I'm not a pig, just looking at getting about 5 or 6 % dividend and a good increase on my investments. Any suggestions on where I should go? I spend about the same amount of time on yahoo looking at investments as I do on tractor by net. So confussioning sometimes. I am not interested in startups... or internet want to be's. Just solid companies who pay consistant dividends with a respectable increase in captial gains. Any suggestions? Current account is about *** with Merck.

mark

Phils · Jan 25, 2007

My business partner mentioned today that Ford stock was down to $8.

The govt bailed out Chrysler. Would they let Ford sink? Wouldn't be a basket I'd want all my eggs in but maybe a part?

Phil

DUMBDOG · Jan 25, 2007

When my Wife quit her job in a grocery store in 1991, she received a modest check from the retirement plan. Since then the balance is 4.5 times the original amount. It has been invested in a variety of stocks in her IRA that I manage for her. The only two losers that were or in there are LU which is still there, hoping for better from the new company, and a small loss on Kmart before the bankruptcy.

The majority is invested in real estate investment trusts. Less than ten per cent is invested in T bills and CD's. My favorite and forty per cent of the holdings is IRETS, they are a North Dakota company. They have a variety of apartment and commercial buildings. Their stock value fluctuates within a two dollar range and the dividend yield is better than six per cent. Another is MSB, a trust that collects royalties from iron ore in the Great Lakes region, the current value is about nine times my original cost and the yield depends upon the season and the ore shipments.

Depending upon your age the degree of risk that one is willing to take will vary. However in todays climate, five to six per cent dividend yield plus a good yield on the principle is asking a lot.

DUMBDOG · Jan 25, 2007

Phils said:
My business partner mentioned today that Ford stock was down to $8.

The govt bailed out Chrysler. Would they let Ford sink? Wouldn't be a basket I'd want all my eggs in but maybe a part?

Phil

Just to verify a point on Chrysler, the government did not bail out Chrysler, they guaranteed loans to Chrysler which was in a cash crunch at the time.

deereguy · Jan 25, 2007

This is deereguys dad - I'd be overjoyed at 3.3 % per quarter - several Mut. Funds my retirement is in is at 10 to 11 % this past year and three quarters of that growth was just in thei last quarter!
Try Deere, Caterpillar, Florida Power & Light, and Oshkosh for stocks and find an LLC working up an ethanol plant and buy a share of it.

andover farmer · Jan 25, 2007

MARK,

WHATEVER U DO, DON'T NEGLECT TO REBALANCE YOUR PORTFOLIO AT LEAST ONCE A YR. IF U HAVE ACHIEVED GAINS IN EQUITIES, THROW-OVER A PORTION OF THOSE GAINS INTO MORE SECURE HOLDINGS I.E. BOND FUNDS. THAT WAY IF THE EQUITIES MARKET TAKES A HIT, YOUR GAINS ARE MORE INSULATED.

IF WE 30 AGAIN, WE COULD RIDE-OUT THE DIPS, BUT RETIREMENT AGE DOESN'T AFFORD YOU THE LUXURY OF "TIME" TO RECOUP

cp1969 · Jan 25, 2007

They say that if you're within 5 years of retirement, you should basically be out of the stock market.

Since you're already retired, I would say you should go with CD's, municipal bonds, savings bonds, T-Bills, etc. You don't have enough time to recover from a setback in the stock market, should one happen.

I have seen CD's advertised that pay 6% or more. Also, I have Series I savings bonds are yielding 6.35%. Nothing safer than that.

jcotta · Jan 25, 2007

mjarrels said:
I Just solid companies who pay consistant dividends with a respectable increase in captial gains. Any suggestions?
mark

Mark, I subscribe to Morningstar as a premium member online cost about $180 a year. Gives you access to great reports. As a member I get a discounted price for the Dividend Investor Report by Josh Peters for $70. Total cost $250. Good professional advice cheap. 3.3% is a great return for dividends if you can also get capital appreciation of 3% to 5%. They may have a trial membership for free. Morningstar.com

John

LMTC · Jan 25, 2007

3.3% per quarter is 13.9% annual yield if you reinvest the dividends. I don't see how anyone could expect any better from an unmanaged investment which probably has minimal risk. I have technically "retired" after 33+ years, though I still operate a small business, and my wife and I have the vast majority of our assets in portfolios I manage. I intend to play them for all they can earn. We keep a portion in relatively conservative growth funds, and some of it is as wild as Emerging Market and REIT funds.

Almost anyone could pick indexed funds in the major categories (small, medium, large cap, and International) and mirror the S&P over the years with a small amount of reading and study. Vanguard has my favorite index funds, though Fidelity is our preferred company overall. Even so, 13.9% is very good if there is little risk. I consider our portfolio low risk in the long term, although it is potentially fairly volatile in the short term....and our overall for 2006 was something like 23%. However....we lost almost 12% of our portfolio back in May-June, then spent the rest of the year recovering it and a bit more. That's the short term risk.