March 2nd, 2012 Are you an investor in the ‘New World’ of Low Interest rates? Summaries of Premium Content articles 25% off life-time discount remains open - for now Dear Subscriber Savers, investors and (future) retirees will need to become much more ‘aggressive’ as returns on bank accounts and Government bonds remain historically low and people grow older. Apparently almost 14 percent of cash ISAs pay the base rate – that is 0.5 percent interest, per year, or even less. Clearly, with real inflation around 4.5 per cent, if you have a Cash ISA account returning less than 4.5 percent, you only have to blame yourself for being 'robbed'. And what is worse this so-called negative real interest rate environment looks set to persist for several years. Therefore . . . Get into higher yielding assets The traditional mix of putting 60 percent of assets in stocks and shares, and 40 percent in bonds is increasingly inadequate in a “new world” characterised by an aging population, stubborn unemployment, a reduction in borrowing and risk-taking by individuals and governments, and a greater role of emerging economies. I’ve said many times, both here in Dividend Alerts and elsewhere, that savers, investors and (future) retirees should consider investing in high quality above inflation dividend paying companies when they are historically undervalued and keep them until they become historically overvalued. A process that often takes years and in the meantime you receive increasing – inflation beating – dividends. Unfortunately, most investors disregard time altogether with regards to investment returns and, in this period of low interest rates, are in need of a much more diversified portfolio of assets, other than savings. They have to find ways to achieve a much higher return for much longer periods than they currently get in cash ISAs or government bonds. What about 'time'? Dividend Income Investor.com’s perspective of time is very different from many others in the industry. In comparison to the majority of savers and investors we consider investing on a really long-term basis that is twenty five, fifty years or even cross generational, as the starting point to create real and enduring wealth. In order to do so, you need to get your spare cash working for you, long-term. Need quality information on ISAs, SIPPs or pension drawdown? Access our dedicated page, full of free-to-download saving, investing, trading and retirement guides What is the “new normal”? It is all around us. Think of slower growth in the developed economies, higher ‘real’ inflation’, devaluation of pound sterling, higher unemployment and ongoing (dis)orderly deleveraging in the banking sector and on governmental level for many years to come. The new normal is morphing into a world of low interest-rates. Savers and investors nearing or at retirement who have had not sufficient time to build up inflation beating assets will have to continue working. Make sure you are not one of them! Instead, embrace a defensive long-term investment strategy that includes emphasising above-inflation tax-free income. Get paid to invest in high quality dividend paying companies when they are historically undervalued, but be aware that . . . Dividends are not created equal Investors should realise that not all dividends are created equal. Sometimes, a company’s earnings alone do not cover dividend payments, with companies paying the remainder of their dividend out of capital, creating doubt whether dividends, let alone dividend increases, are sustainable in the near future. For example MAN Group, the world’s second largest hedge fund manager, today announced that it is not any longer committed to a ‘progressive’ dividend policy, due to uncertainty of the sustainability of its near-term earnings. Instead, MAN has decided to cut its “core” dividend pay-out of 22 pence, after 2012, promising instead only a “set minimum” dividend going forward, with some analysts pencilling in 15 pence. Beyond this core minimum level, MAN intends to pay dividends based on performance fee income or (indeed!) raiding its capital reserves. Clearly the visibility and sustainability of MAN’s future dividends is under threat. Do not overpay for dividend income. Never! The time to be in the market is not always now. A share price on its own means nothing. An investor must find some way to determine whether the price of any dividend paying company is high, low or just about what it should be. When a company ‘offers’ a high dividend yield, many investors intend to buy, which invariably will push the share price up and gradually erode the dividend yield. When the dividend yield comes down, increasingly investors will sell such a company, with lower demand leading the share price to fall. Only once the share price has come down to a price level at which, again, the dividend yield is attractive to dividend income investors demand will pick up and the share price stabilises. Then the price cycle starts again. Often companies’ share price cycles take a number of years to play out. In the meantime, you are raking in increasing dividends. Dividend Income Investor.com studies dividend-yield patterns very closely indeed. Our investment methodology is based on a value-based approach to long-term investing, one that uses a company’s dividend yield as the primary measure of value and combines it with decennia long share price cycles of dividend yield and share prices in order to ascertain whether a particular dividend paying company’s share price is currently historically undervalued, overvalued or trading somewhere in between. As a result, our investment methodology leads us not to overpay for a dividend paying company, as well as not to remain invested in the same company once it has become historically overvalued. You too can have access to this all-important information when dividend paying companies are undervalued or overvalued. As a Dividend Alerts subscriber you can still Claim your 25% life-time discount: Click Here Dividend Income Investor.com premium articles - summaries As a premium content subscriber you have full access to all the news and commentary premium content we release. Below are a few examples of summaries of some of the premium content articles we released in February at Dividend Income Investor.com, including: Comparing British American Tobacco with Imperial Tobacco, their results and dividends Comparing Anglo American, BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto’s results and dividends BAE Systems – second largest arms manufacturer – results and dividends Have access to all our premium content, including the detailed Dividend Value Profiles of high quality dividend paying companies with clear information when they are historically undervalued or overvalued. For more information on how to have access to this important information, and to claim your 25% life-time discount: Click Here Many thanks Till next time Many thanks Till next time Steven Dotsch Managing editor EMAR Publishers Dividend Income Investor.com Twitter.com @Investoretire Know someone who'd like to receive Dividend Alerts themselves? Simply forward this link to anyone you think could benefit from our publication: https://www.early-retirement-investor.com/dividend-alerts.html Reclaim dividend withholding tax ISA and SIPP investors with foreign stocks and shares are exempt from UK tax but not from foreign dividend withholding tax. Reclaiming dividend tax abroad is very much a specialist activity and is also rather laborious. Let Taxback assist you in reclaiming what is rightfully yours. Dividend Alerts is an unregulated product published by EMAR Publishing, publishers of Early Retirement Investor.com EMAR Publishing is not registered as an investment advisor or financial advisor. We do not and will not provide personalised investment or financial advice, or individually advocate the purchase or sale of any security or investment. We publish opinionated information about the stock market and companies that we believe our subscribers may be interested in. There is no guarantee that dividends will be paid. 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