Ten High Dividend Securities To Watch

Many investors are trying to game the fickle markets here and abroad. My guess is that most trying to do so are losing money. Sure, money "pros" have eclectic strategies that in most cases are too complex for the average investor to implement (let alone keep track of).

If only these investment gurus would alert investors when it was time to jettison their previously recommended portfolio potpourri and scurry to the next brilliant get rich plan. Alas, investors find that just when the best laid investment plan is implemented, something goes wrong to spoil it.

I admit to gaming the market myself, but I have learned over thirty-five years to temper my ego and speculative inclinations by going in the direction of reasonably safe higher yield investments with meaningful international exposure that will pay you to wait for a better investment climate, receive excellent cash flow with the likelihood of modest capital gains and avoid paying to see a psychiatrist for depression and anxiety disorders.

This article is too brief to give the reader a comprehensive roster of good higher yield investments. For starters, here are a few that you can investigate.

I like Master Limited Partnerships such as Kinder Morgen Energy Partners (KMP) 6.06%, Enbridge Energy Partners (EEP) 7.60% and Teppco (TPP) 7.36%.

Two CEFs are in my portfolio. Calamos Global Total Return Fund (CGO) 8.34% and the Alpine Global Dynamic Dividend Fund (AGD) 10.59%.

For their speculator, short maturity GMAC Smart Notes are worth exploring. There are so many, I find that several are regularly priced overcompensating risk. Recently, issues of note for the speculator were the 3/15/09 at 8/09%, the 7/15/09 at 8.12% and the 1/15/2010 at 10.05%. Watch the spread. Plan to held these notes to maturity and do not buy more than three years out.

ETFs can play a role for the dividend oriented investor. I admit to a bias for financials in the belief that they will most certainly bounce back and give the investor a nice capital gain in addition to their current higher yield.

Investors may want to consider PowerShares Sovereign Debt ETF (PCY) 5.91%, PowerShares Financial Preferred Portfolio ETF (PGF) 6.68%,iShares S&P Global Financial Sector ETF (IXG)3.97% and iShares Mortgage REIT (REM) 9.54%.

One commercial REIT I like for yield is Monmouth Realty Investment Company (MNRTA) 8.61%.

The Standard and Poors' High Yield roster usually displays approximately fifty stocks for yield. However, I generally do not place much faith in them to continue their generous payouts. Many companies have current high yields for a reason, which may be contrary to the investor's interest. Buyer beware.

Seasoned investors may take issue with one or more of my investment ideas. The intent of this piece is to encourage investors not to chase securities in a world market jarred by whipsawed action, and to be satisfied with hitting singles in the investment game when at present swinging wildly at high fast balls gets the lion's share of hype. Doing your homework to uncover worthwhile high yield securities is worth the effort.

Full Disclosure: Author holds positions in MNRTA, REM, PGF, PCY, CGO, AGD, IXG, TPP and EEP.

Comments

[cato]

Those are some excellent suggestions. Pipeline MLPs, such as EEP and TPP, tend to have very stable income with revenue guaranteed many years out. Some other to consider are OKS and EPD. Upstream (E&p) MLPs are slightly riskier, but offer excellent yields: LINE, CEP.

[lakeside]

As long as you brought up Master Limited Partnerships (e.g., EEP), tell me how you classify your distributions for tax reporting purposes. I understand the distributions are not taxable, but they decrease the cost basis of your shares.

[cato]

Taxation depends on the particular MLP. It tends to vary between 60% and 100% deferred taxation (via reduction in cost basis). Some MLPs who are in heavy investment phases (e.g. LINE) will have 100% deferral. Others, like TPP, are closer to 70%.