[TomW]

I was wondering if I was alone as a dividend investor as a retirement income strategy? This puts one squarely in the territory of REITS, CanRoys, Closed End Funds, Telcos and Energy; but many of these equities have been delivering for years despite persistent rumors of their imminent demise. It seems only reasonable to look for returns in the teens plus some capital appreciation in spite of the judgements of the 24-year-old financial experts one sees at the lunches who suggest that any reasonable return is too risky for old folks and you should give them your money to put into an annuity paying 3% return and drawing down your principal at 4% (plus management fees.) Bah!

[Lucko]

You are not alone, but many seniors can't stomach risk. But, no risk, no reward. It may well be that long term some reits may drop in price, but I feel the returns will still beat banks and annuities. I find that I do better on my own then I ever did having some one else pulling the strings and commissions.

[784caroline]

In addition to your suggetsions there are a number of others that offer decent dividends.......ETFs such as DVY, Preferred stock such as PGF, The Villages Tax Free Munis District 9 offered in todays paper ( These are NOT the ones under IRS scruitiny), or Blackrock Resources and Commodities trust under symbol BCX.

There are many more and I agree ... stay away from annunities or products that guarantee you will not lose money.

[rjm1cc]

I think dividend paying is a good way to go. However as the amount of the dividend increases the risk increases so stick with good companies and investments you understand.

[Snowbirdtobe]

I just sold dd up 30% and mwe up 60% in under a year.
They both had a great yield before the stock price jump.
They were up so much the yield fell and I'm waiting for a pullback.
I'm looking at some of the telcos.

[tpop1]

Sounds like potential for a club...I'd join!!!!

[l2ridehd]

I to like dividend stocks. There is a pretty good news letter on the subject called "The Dividend Machine" Some of their recommendations include:

Johnson & Johnson JNJ
Altria MO
Coca-Cola KO
Abbott Laboratories ABT
Philip Morris Intl. PM
Wal-Mart Stores WMT
Automatic Data Processing ADP
McDonald’s MCD
Lockheed Martin LMT
Berkshire Hathaway BRK.B
Kraft KFT
Microsoft MSFT
Intel Corp INTC
Visa, Inc V
Bristol-Myers Squibb* BMY
Cisco Systems CSCO

I own 5 of these stocks and all have made very positive capital gains and provided a decent dividend.

I just bought Cisco which should provides an excellent growth plus a small dividend. And where do you find any company sitting on 40 billion in cash. That alone equals $7 in every share value.

Also be interested in an investment club focused on dividend stocks.

[RiteLucky]

I'd love to be in an investment club too. I'll be moving there very soon and I do all my own investing. I agree with being in some dividend paying stocks/ETFs and keep a few in the IRA portion of my portfolio.

[SoHumble]

I like RSO

[brostholder]

My dividend investments are what fund my retirement. I have been heavily invested in pipeline stocks for a number of years. As MLP's (master limitede partnerships) they have been paying me 8% TAX FREE in addition to their capital appreciation. I am also in a number of REITS and a few foreign utilities. I also think this is a great idea for a club.

[TomW]

A key metric for me is the payout ratio. I like to see sufficient earnings to support the dividend. I like REITs but feel I have to monitor their earnings very closely. I am also a fan of RSO and it is cycling toward the lower end of its price range now.

[Pturner]

TomW, we also like dividend stocks. An investment club focusing on dividend returns-- count me in!

I2ride, thanks for the newsletter tip.

[JohnN]

sign me up for the club too,
I'm mostly a novice, but this is interesting

[brostholder]

I bet that some of the folks from the local fidelity office or the other local brokerage firms would love to come speak at our future club meetings.

[l2ridehd]

I do agree you need to monitor the cash flow of dividend stocks very close. GM is a prime example. They used to borrow money to continue the dividend payment. And yet people still loved the stock because of it's dividend. How dumb is that. The company was going broke and was still paying a dividend. Watch the cash flow so you know where the money is coming from to pay the dividend.