Once upon a time, the conventional wisdom was that investors should hold stocks as a source of long-term capital appreciation while bonds could bring stability and a stream of meaningful current returns in the form of interest payments. But the appeal of bonds as a source of current income has been diminished by a prolonged period of record low interest rates, pushing yields down and forcing investors to look elsewhere for distributions. In many cases company stock now has distributions that exceed the yield on debt issued by the same entity, a unique phenomenon to say the least [see also 12 High-Yielding Commodities For 2012].
The same scenario plays out for many ETFs; with interest rates at record lows, the current return that can be derived from corporate debt has plummeted. Yet dividend payouts have remained largely untouched, as corporate profits have maintained strength and companies have sought to make a show of stability through a consistent distribution to shareholders [ETFdb Pro members can see the Monthly Dividend ETFdb Portfolio; sign up for a free 7-day trial for full access]. [click to continue…]
Better late than never. E*TRADE, the online brokerage that is perhaps best known for its commercials starring infant trading whizzes, has begun offering commission free trading on a lineup of exchange-traded funds. ETFs issued by Global X, WisdomTree, and db-X (Deutsche Bank) will be eligible for commission free trading on the E*Trade platform. That lineup […]
