Ted E. Furniss
Managing director/senior investment adviser for Florida
Wilmington Trust -
North Palm Beach
|
"Clients are extremely cautious, even though interest rates effectively are at zero. You're really not getting anything on money-market accounts, and when you back out inflation and taxes on the yields on the average 10-year Treasury bond, you're essentially paying the government. A better option is the equities market. We like quality dividend-paying U.S. stocks that are attractively valued. If you look at a company like Altria, its dividend yield is greater than the current yield on its bonds maturing in 10 years. As an investor, the odds are much more in your favor that you will come out ahead owning the stock over this time period. There are values being created in Europe based on what's going on. Last year, emerging markets were hit hard, but we still have it as part of our allocation. We have various funds to invest in those markets that pay yields around 4% while we wait for appreciation in the underlying instruments."
Tags:
Banking & Finance
