Financial sites across internet will tell you how you can earn passive income, but let’s be honest — a lot of what’s touted as passive income isn’t actually passive.
Take real estate investing. Once you buy a rental property, the thinking goes, your renters cover your mortgage and then some. Every time you hike the rent, that’s more profit in your pocket. Any honest real estate investor will tell you, however, that being a landlord is work — oftentimes quite a lot of it.
If you want to generate income that’s truly passive, consider dividend investing. While relying on cash payouts from a stock portfolio is a common strategy for those nearing and in retirement, anyone can build an equity income portfolio, says Brian Bollinger, president of Simply Safe Dividends.
The goal for many users of his site, old and young, says Bollinger: “Generate income without a paycheck.”
Here’s the general gist. You invest in companies that regularly distribute a certain amount of money to their shareholders. If all goes well, you collect a growing pile cash each year while the stocks you own appreciate in value.
How dividend investing provides income
A quick refresher on how dividends work: Companies that earn excess profit can choose to return some of that money to their shareholders, as a sort of thank you, in the form of a regular cash payout. Some investors use these dividends as a form of income. Other, usually longer-term investors like to take those dividend payments and reinvest them, thereby boosting the return they earn on the stock.
For both types of investors, determining the attractiveness of a dividend comes down to the stock’s yield, found by dividing the amount of money an investor receives from a single share into the stock’s share price. If one share of stock costs $100 and comes with a $1 annual payout (a common configuration might be quarterly payments of 25 cents), its dividend yield is 1%.
Stocks in the S&P 500 index currently yield about 1.5% on aggregate. That means, if you have $1 million invested in a mutual fund or exchange-traded fund that tracks the index, you could expect annual dividend income of about $15,000.
Dividend income strategies to consider
Whether you’re choosing your own dividend stocks or investing through a mutual fund or ETF, you’d generally be wise to follow one of these two dividend strategies that aligns with your particular needs, experts say.
1. Higher yield
Investors looking to maximize their income may target stocks or funds that pay a high yield.
While the income such stocks offer can look juicy — individual stocks in the S&P 500 currently yield as high as 9.7% — you don’t have to think too hard about the calculation above to see why some yields are higher than others. The more a stock falls in price, the higher its yield climbs.
Companies that are in trouble not only provide shaky returns, but may be forced to cut the dividend as a result of poor financial results.
“Stuff that’s over 5% or 6% probably isn’t a good idea if you’re a risk-averse investor,” says Bollinger. “Even if the dividend does end up staying stable, it’s pretty unlikely to grow.”
One way to defray some of the risk is to invest in a broad basket of dividend stocks, says Todd Rosenbluth, head of research at VettaFi. “The benefits of diversification become really important,” he says. “Owning dividend stocks in an ETF can make a lot of sense for equity income-oriented investors.”
2. Dividend growth
Some dividend investors are happy to take a lower yield — maybe even not much higher than the S&P 500’s — to invest in companies that steadily grow their payout.
“I generally like to advocate for an approach of targeting great businesses that might pay closer to a 3% to 4% dividend yield,” says Bollinger. Such companies often steadily grow their payout, which boosts your annual income stream — a move that helps offset the effects of inflation, he says.
Among companies with smaller yields, “you’re usually looking at safer companies with safer payouts as well,” Bollinger says.
Not all stocks that yield in this range will grow their payout, and pros like Bollinger have created tools to help determine the whether a company is likely to, taking into account fundamental factors such as earnings growth, debt and trajectory of cash flows.
Short of that, many investors seeking steady dividend growth look to the past, relying on companies with a long history of dividend growth. The S&P Dividend Aristocrats index for instance, includes companies in the broader index that have hiked their dividend for at least 25 consecutive years. Stocks in the index currently yield 2.5%.
Many of these firms are established, financially mature companies, says Bollinger. Building a diversified portfolio of them, he says, can give you peace of mind that you’re building an underlying portfolio that will continue to grow alongside an expanding pile of passive income — regardless of swings in the market.
“When stock prices fall, it’s so easy to panic, but dividend investing can overcome that because you’re just trying to stay focused on your income stream,” says Bollinger. “You don’t care so much about the markets’ short-term ups and downs anymore.”
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TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was down more than 200 points in late-morning trading, weighed down by losses in the technology, base metal and energy sectors, while U.S. stock markets also fell.
The S&P/TSX composite index was down 239.24 points at 22,749.04.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 312.36 points at 40,443.39. The S&P 500 index was down 80.94 points at 5,422.47, while the Nasdaq composite was down 380.17 points at 16,747.49.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.80 cents US compared with 74.00 cents US on Thursday.
The October crude oil contract was down US$1.07 at US$68.08 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up less than a penny at US$2.26 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was down US$2.10 at US$2,541.00 an ounce and the December copper contract was down four cents at US$4.10 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 6, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 150 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in technology, financial and energy stocks, while U.S. stock markets also pushed higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 171.41 points at 23,298.39.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 278.37 points at 41,369.79. The S&P 500 index was up 38.17 points at 5,630.35, while the Nasdaq composite was up 177.15 points at 17,733.18.
The Canadian dollar traded for 74.19 cents US compared with 74.23 cents US on Wednesday.
The October crude oil contract was up US$1.75 at US$76.27 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up less than a penny at US$2.10 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$18.70 at US$2,556.50 an ounce and the December copper contract was down less than a penny at US$4.22 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 29, 2024.
The crypto market has recently experienced a significant downturn, mirroring broader risk asset sell-offs. Over the past week, Bitcoin’s price dropped by 24%, reaching $53,000, while Ethereum plummeted nearly a third to $2,340. Major altcoins also suffered, with Cardano down 27.7%, Solana 36.2%, Dogecoin 34.6%, XRP 23.1%, Shiba Inu 30.1%, and BNB 25.7%.
The severe downturn in the crypto market appears to be part of a broader flight to safety, triggered by disappointing economic data. A worse-than-expected unemployment report on Friday marked the beginning of a technical recession, as defined by the Sahm Rule. This rule identifies a recession when the three-month average unemployment rate rises by at least half a percentage point from its lowest point in the past year.
Friday’s figures met this threshold, signaling an abrupt economic downshift. Consequently, investors sought safer assets, leading to declines in major stock indices: the S&P 500 dropped 2%, the Nasdaq 2.5%, and the Dow 1.5%. This trend continued into Monday with further sell-offs overseas.
The crypto market’s rapid decline raises questions about its role as either a speculative asset or a hedge against inflation and recession. Despite hopes that crypto could act as a risk hedge, the recent crash suggests it remains a speculative investment.
Since the downturn, the crypto market has seen its largest three-day sell-off in nearly a year, losing over $500 billion in market value. According to CoinGlass data, this bloodbath wiped out more than $1 billion in leveraged positions within the last 24 hours, including $365 million in Bitcoin and $348 million in Ether.
Khushboo Khullar of Lightning Ventures, speaking to Bloomberg, argued that the crypto sell-off is part of a broader liquidity panic as traders rush to cover margin calls. Khullar views this as a temporary sell-off, presenting a potential buying opportunity.
Josh Gilbert, an eToro market analyst, supports Khullar’s perspective, suggesting that the expected Federal Reserve rate cuts could benefit crypto assets. “Crypto assets have sold off, but many investors will see an opportunity. We see Federal Reserve rate cuts, which are now likely to come sharper than expected, as hugely positive for crypto assets,” Gilbert told Coindesk.
Despite the recent volatility, crypto continues to make strides toward mainstream acceptance. Notably, Morgan Stanley will allow its advisors to offer Bitcoin ETFs starting Wednesday. This follows more than half a year after the introduction of the first Bitcoin ETF. The investment bank will enable over 15,000 of its financial advisors to sell BlackRock’s IBIT and Fidelity’s FBTC. This move is seen as a significant step toward the “mainstreamization” of crypto, given the lengthy regulatory and company processes in major investment banks.
The recent crypto market downturn highlights its volatility and the broader economic concerns affecting all risk assets. While some analysts see the current situation as a temporary sell-off and a buying opportunity, others caution against the speculative nature of crypto. As the market evolves, its role as a mainstream alternative asset continues to grow, marked by increasing institutional acceptance and new investment opportunities.
