Those who can, do.  Those who can’t, teach.
George Bernard Shaw

“The Fed Saves Wall Street” is the headline everyone wants to see.  But the ones they’re getting are more akin to the headline that ran in last Thursday’s New York Times.  The headline – “Wall Street is Questioning Whether Bernanke is Tough Enough” – sounds like a rant against Bernanke.  It wasn’t.  It simply made the point that Bernanke doesn’t have nearly the trust from the investing community that he has from the academic one.

Well, duh!  Bernanke has been a life-long member of the “those who can’t” club.  Now he’s joined the “those who can” club, except his fellow members who are being pounded by a falling market aren’t sure that Bernanke has their back.

Who does feel safe these days?  I’m up in Boston visiting my parents.  They’re both in their 80s.  When I began an investing service a couple of years ago focusing on dividend-paying companies, I advised them to put some of their savings into the companies I was recommending.

They hemmed and hawed.  Not that they doubted the value of the trade service.  They simply had never invested in individual companies, and at their age it seemed a bit daunting.  So I said I’d do it for them.

Now, every time I visit them, they can’t thank me enough for the dividend checks they get in the mail.  It helps pay for their daily expenses.  And they appreciate the increased worth of their income portfolio.

This weekend, I had to tell them the income portfolio had slipped a couple of points.  It wasn’t easy.  But I wanted to make sure they understood the big picture.  So I explained that no sector or class of companies go up indefinitely.  They all take a breather every now and then. 

Then I tried to put the income portfolio in the context of what the markets were doing.  I said that it was doing much better than the overall markets.  I also reminded them that they’re still getting their dividend checks while a lot of other investors are losing their shirt.

My father’s face turned grim.  Uh-oh.  Did I not explain clearly enough?

No, that wasn’t it.  It wasn’t the income portfolio he was worried about.  He then filled me in.

He opened an account a few years ago with the son of one his friends.  He did it mostly as a favor.  His only instructions to him were, “I don’t care how much money I make.  I just don’t want to lose any.”

He showed me his IRA account.  Ouch.  It had dipped around 11 percent in November and another two percent in December.

From his monthly statements, I could see that the culprit was a Citigroup bond.  Its price had gone way down.  I wasn’t surprised.  As you probably know, Citigroup’s CEO was hounded out of office a couple of months ago for allowing the bank to write off billions of dollars worth of debt.  Investors rushed to sell the bonds they held with Citigroup, causing the price to go down.

INTERNAL ENDORSEMENT

$77,020 Worth of Financial Research… Absolutely Free!

Investor’s Daily Edge currently publishes eight investment research and options trading services, plus two that are soon-to-be released. The total annual value of these services is more than $10,000.

And they’re worth every penny. In fact, last year, these services generated a total of 6,122% in closed winning positions. This year, they could produce an even bigger windfall.

And if you’ll keep reading, I’ll show YOU how to get all of this profitable research for FREE. I'm expecting a landslide response to this special invitation. I urge you to read it immediately…

Those who held on, including my parents, now have to face the fact that their savings have taken a major hit. 

I couldn’t undo what had happened to my parents, but I wanted to tell them something to cheer them up.

I could have told them to take that money out of Citigroup and put it in a fund specializing in dividend-paying companies.  But to tell you the truth, they don’t do a very good job of choosing companies.  The average yield tends to be an uninspiring three percent or lower.  And the capital appreciation is nothing to write home about.

I could tell by looking at him that the experience traumatized him.  He got burned once.  He didn’t want it to happen again.  While he doesn’t follow the market closely, he reads the newspaper and he knew that the economy was in trouble.

So the words spilled out, “Are you sure dividend-paying companies will hold up this year?”

It’s a good question.  A falling market is bad news to about 98 percent of investors.  Why should it be any different for investors in dividend companies?  There’s no place to hide in a falling or crashing market, right?

Wrong.  I have three ways to make safe investments in dividend companies.  It will make money for you, even if the market is falling apart before your very eyes.

For one thing, a falling market creates its own opportunities.  And in some ways, the opportunities are much better than before, just like they are for real estate investors wading into a market where prices have crashed and property is dirt cheap.  Magnificent bargains await those first investors who know a good thing when they see one.

So, that’s the first of my three “Falling Market Income Plays.”  But the other two work just as well.

You don’t have to wait to scoop up some incredible bargains.  The market is strewn with companies that have suffered losses of 15, 20, and 30 percent.  And because their price has fallen so much, instead of offering dividends of 4-5 percent, these companies’ dividends range from six percent and up.
 
During economic slowdowns, organic growth (that is, growing your existing assets) can be difficult.  Some companies instead opt to buy out other companies laden with cash and boasting strong sales.  Those takeover candidates can see their price rise in a hurry once word leaks out that other companies have them in their sights.

Then there are those extraordinary companies that can swim against the tide.  Even though the markets may be in trouble, these companies have found a way to grow their assets, revenue, profits, or dividends.  If you can find a company that can do all four despite terrible economic conditions, then ride them for all they’re worth.  These companies don’t grow on trees.

These stocks are out there and available for those willing to look.  Nobody likes it when the market is falling.  A lot of people have already taken their lumps like my parents have.  But turning your back on dividend-paying companies now is not the right move.  These companies can help your portfolio get back on track and stay there.  If you haven’t tried them already, you should give them a chance.

Good Investing,

Andrew Gordon

P.S.  To let me know what you thought of today's article, send an e-mail to: feedback@investorsdailyedge.com.

[Ed. Note: No matter what the market does, readers of Global Profits Hotline are sure to win. Click here to find out how you can be ready for the next pick.]

NULL
NULL