Over the last 10 years if you have invested in the market let’s say the S&P 500 your return on your investment has basically been flat. If you owned a mutual fund you may have performed worse because of capital gains taxes, fees, and poor stock selection by the manger. However, I am going to talk about a different approach with has less risk. True to this blog I will not give out specific investment advice but just general themes.
In my Roth IRA over the last ten years, I have been investing in high yielding dividend stocks, mostly regulated utilities. My cumulative 10 year return on my investment is roughly 30%. Most of which was earned by high yielding dividends that these utility companies pay. The strategy was simple, buy utilities that are partially or wholly regulated and whose dividend yields are greater than 4%. Reinvest those dividends back into the company and those reducing my investment cost and increasing my total dividend dollar payout. Since these investments are placed in a Roth IRA, these dividends will never be taxed. Nice deal wouldn't you say?
Now remember no investment strategy is without risk. Since this strategy stimulates a fixed income type of investment it is subject to inflation risk. Over the last 10 years U.S. has experienced a decreasing interest rate environment. The Fed Funds rate is currently yield near zero; it actually floats between 0 and 0.25 basis points. In the long run, interest rates have only one direction to go, which is up. Another risk factor is selecting the companies. It is possible these companies can be poorly managed and therefore may cost you potential profit and dividend growth. Another factor is these companies may experience increase commodity costs that grow faster than their revenue generation. Finally, state governments pose another risk factor that may hamper a company's ability to increase prices.
Considering these risk factors, I still say it is a good investment strategy. Yes interest rates are at historical lows and only have one direction to move, up. However, considering the U.S. experienced the worst recession since the great depression. I believe the U.S. is experiencing the same type of stagnation Japan felt over the last 20 years. As we look into the past, every time the Federal Reserve rose rates the economy goes down the toilet. The U.S. is highly leveraged, with growing trade and budget deficits, U.S. economy is addicted to low interest rates. Secondly housing prices, I don't see going up anytime soon because of the employment rate and a highly levered consumer who is in the process of de-leveraging. Finally the global economy cannot grow fast enough without its largest economy consuming up its goods. However I do see food and energy prices going up so the consumer will be squeezed further. Therefore I am sticking to this strategy.
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