What great news for me and for you if you are actually an investor. I mean a real, seasoned investor. One who embraces common sense, patience and the acuity that comes with decades studying the power of consistent cash flow matched with the most powerful word in investing: compounding.

My business is, as are my own portfolios, based on exactly these concepts. Market volatility has zero to do with dividends, interest (the source of cash flow), or compounding. Absolutely zero.

In that I have no plans to sell my major holdings (many owned for decades), I am not concerned about short-term market swings. What does cause me to pay close attention is the potential opportunity to invest my regular cash flow more advantageously than during periods of market buoyancy. That’s just common sense, is it not?

So, let’s look at some of the information I urge my clients to use to make steady, long-term investing decisions. Linked here is intelligence you can actually use to improve your long-term investment acuity.

The Young’s World Money Forecast (my online home base for intelligence gathering) display looks at 10 blue-chip long time Dow dividend payers with solid dividend growth prospects. Keep this invaluable little menu at hand for regular reference during periods of opportunity brought about by normal and expected short-term financial markets volatility.

Warm regards,

Dick

Last month, I provided you with Young Research’s dividend dependability ratings for the 30 blue-chip Dow companies. Young Research’s Dividend Dependability ratings use a combination of fundamental and qualitative factors to rate the dividend safety of each Dow component.

Every company in the Dow pays a dividend and compared to the average dividend paying company, Dow companies have above average dividend safety, but that didn’t prevent General Electric from cutting its dividend last year, or GM slashing its dividend while still a Dow component, or Eastman Kodak from cutting its dividend or, or, or.

High yielding Dow stocks are tempting to income investors. You are often talking about high yields on some of America’s best companies. In a low yield environment, a 3%+ dividend yield on a blue-chip stock has inherent appeal. But if you are retired or soon to be retired, and you rely on your dividend income to fund expenses, a dividend cut could put a dent in your retirement income. That is especially true if you follow one of the more popular Dow dividend investing strategies—The Dogs of the Dow.

The Dogs of the Dow is popular partly because it has worked over long periods of time, but also because it is a simple strategy to follow. All an investor must do is rank the 30 Dow stocks by yield at the end of each year and buy the 10 highest yielding stocks in equal amounts. The stocks are held for the balance of the year, and at the start of the following year the process is repeated.

The problem with the strategy is that the highest yielding stocks may be at most risk of a dividend cut. A high yield sometimes means a stock is out of favor (that’s what Dogs of the Dow investors are hoping for), but it can also signal that the dividend is at risk. How do you avoid the problem?

That’s where Young Research’s Dividend Dependability ratings can help you. The highest yielding stocks in the Dow to start 2018 are Verizon, IBM, Pfizer, Exxon, Chevron, Merck, Coca-Cola, Cisco, Procter & Gamble, and General Electric.

Six of these stocks fall into the bottom third for dividend dependability. Those stocks include IBM, Exxon, Chevron, Merck, Cisco, and General Electric. The four that rate in the top twenty for dividend dependability are Verizon, Pfizer, Coca-Cola, and Procter & Gamble.

If you want to invest for yield, but reduce your risk of owning a company that may cut its dividend, you can replace the six Dogs of the Dow stocks that rank in the bottom third for dividend dependability with the highest yielding stocks from the remaining stocks that rank in the top two-thirds for dividend dependability.

Based on current yields, those stocks include Intel, Johnson & Johnson, McDonald’s, Boeing, Travelers, and United Technologies. Add those to positions in Verizon, Pfizer, Coca-Cola, and Procter and Gamble, and you are looking at an average yield of 2.8%. The average projected dividend growth for this group of stocks in 2018 is 6.3%. Compare that to the 10 stocks in the Dogs of the Dow that have an average yield of 3.4% and projected dividend growth of 3.9%. You give up 0.60% in yield for the comfort of more dependable dividends and better dividend growth prospects.

Not a bad trade for investors who rely on regular dividend income.

For more on dividend dependability, read parts one, two, and three of my series on the subject.

Breaking news at youngsworldmoneyforecast.com will post next week!

You will learn exactly why investors today are being misled by both the Dow 30 and the S&P 500.

You will find out why I expect historically poor performance for most investor portfolios over the next five years.

You will read the complete details of an easy-to-deploy strategy that will help you ride out the coming storm with a positive total return.

You will understand exactly why I use this strategy myself and at my investment management company.

You will not want to miss the boat here.