5 Responses to “What’s the best high yield investment for $300 a month free money?”

1. Ryan Says:
   March 7th, 2010 at 9:11 pm

   I’d recommend using a risk tolerance calculator to get you a better idea of what your options are. Once you know your investment timeline, how much you are willing to lose, etc. then this will be an easier question to answer.

2. Donald B Says:
   March 7th, 2010 at 9:39 pm

   Your first option should be to fund fully a retirement account. If you do this, and you have extra cash, then one of the best things you can do is open a DRIP Plan.

   Go to : low-cost-stock-recommendations

   .com

   They have a DRIP Section and it is free.

   These powerful investment plans are seldom talked about because brokers make very little money when they suggest them. Yet, they have proven to be one of the best, if not the best, long-term strategy on Wall Street.

   They are perfect for small investors, as well as big investors. They are safe and allow you to not care about whether the market is going up or down. They are a must for any serious investor.

   I strongly recommend looking into it. They are great plans.

3. Jason Alexanders Says:
   March 7th, 2010 at 9:53 pm

   Personally, I’d fund a Roth account. $300 per month isn’t bad. If invested wisely, it can easily add up to $1 million with a 40 year time horizon. That’s not bad.

   The investments you make in the account must adhere to your financial situation, risk tolerance, and age. If you are truly looking for income, I’d read about preferred stocks. You may also want to take a look at real estate investment trusts (count as part of your stocks or equity percentage). You may also want to take a look at good paying dividend stocks. So if you own 60% stocks, 19% real estate, 16% bonds (3% of which are high-yield or junk bonds) and 5% cash, I’d say you had an 82/13/5 portfolio as you own 82% stocks, 13% bonds, and 5% cash. Although high-yield bonds have “bonds” in their name, they trade more like stocks and can be riskier than stocks due to their poor credit quality. Under no circumstances would I ever hold more than 4-5% of your portfolio in high-yield or long-term bonds as they have significant risks; the former has a lot of default risk while the latter has a lot of interest rate risk. You might like these bonds and thus will develop a strategy that utilizes them; that’s not my opinion on what’s best to do. Sticking to high-quality stocks and bonds; stocks with a lot of cash on the balance sheet and being diversified by choosing broad-based index mutual funds or ETFs is probably the best way to invest. Something like VTI is a fantastic investment vehicle. This is despite the fact of the possible returns that leverage can help create.

   You may want to utilize a balanced fund until you setup an emergency fund. I’d put $100 per month into the balanced fund and $200 per month towards the E-Fund. T Rowe Price allows you to invest with as little as $50 per month. I’d suggest going that route.

   Once you have 6-12 months of an E-Fund, you are able to get more aggressive. Depending on your age and risk tolerance will depend on how much stock concentration you can have. Even a young individual that doesn’t have much tolerance for risk (i.e. 3 for risk tolerance on a scale of 1 to 10) should consider having a 20% bond portfolio and a 10% cash portfolio with a 70% equity holding.

4. John O Says:
   March 7th, 2010 at 10:35 pm

     High yield in what time frame?  Are you talking about bonds or stocks or narcotics.  If I were to answer your question in a literal sense I would say bet it all on number 6 on the roulette wheel.  The question you are really asking I think is what can you invest your money in that offers an aggresive return with minimal to no chance of losing your investment.  Based on this economy there are a few companys that I really love right now.1.  Anheuser-Busch  Symbol BUD  NYSE2.  PepsiCo              Symbol PEP NYSE3.  PFIZER Symbol PFE NYSE

5. Doc H Says:
   March 7th, 2010 at 11:25 pm

   Stay away of HYIP.

   All Scam!

   Try this,

   No need to guess.

   In fact, do Nothing!

   http://automaticforextrading.blogspot.com/

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Choosing Dividend Stocks: Six Steps For Finding These Safe, High-Yield Investments

by Louis Basenese, Small Cap and Special Situations Expert
Friday, January 22, 2010: Issue #1181

The latest tally from famed professor, Jeremy Siegel – author of the investing classic, Stocks for the Long Run - proves that dividend stocks are still the best investment. Period.

Yet everyone still loves to dog them for being boring and slow growers.

Big mistake.

Let me prove to you just how profitable dividend stocks can be – and then show you how to find the safest, highest-yielding investments in this market.

How a 3.7% Gain Means An Extra $370,000

In his study, Professor Siegel sorted the S&P 500 stocks by dividend yield, dating back to 1957, and recorded the return of the top 100 dividend-yielders versus the bottom 100 for each year.

The result?

Investing in the top yielders delivered an annualized average return of 12.5%, compared to an average return of 8.8% for the lowest yielders.

Now, a 3.7% difference might not seem like much. But if you started with a $1,000 portfolio and reinvested all the dividends, it would be worth $450,000 today. That compares to only $80,000 without the extra 3.7% pop.

So if you’re serious about making money – and I suspect you are – dividend-paying stocks are essential to your portfolio.

But how do we go about finding safe, dividend-paying stocks in this market?

After all, companies keep slashing dividends by a record amount. From 2007 to 2009, total dividend payments slumped by $72 billion – the worst decline in over 50 years.

Six Steps to Finding the Best Dividend-Yielding Stocks

When looking for the best high-yield dividend stocks, the simple answer might sound a bit backwards: Don’t chase yield.

This is because a high yield typically indicates that there’s a higher risk of the dividend being cut or – even worse – being eliminated altogether.

Instead, focus on companies with the following six characteristics:

• Simple Business: The fewer moving parts, the fewer things that can go wrong, thus sapping cash intended for dividend payments. So focus on companies with businesses that you understand, rather than massive corporations that have dozens of (often puzzling) operating segments. That means shunning companies like General Electric (NYSE: GE) and its countless divisions, and instead going for companies like Philip Morris (NYSE: PM), which only does one thing and kicks back a $2.32 per share annual dividend (a 4.6% yield).
• Steady Demand: After identifying companies with simple business models, the next step is to verify that there is demand for the product(s). After all, a company needs a steady stream of cash, so it can afford to pay dividends to shareholders. Stick to industries or sectors with recession-proof or recession-resistant demand (food, alcohol, tobacco, healthcare, etc.)
• Cash Flow Positive: If a company isn’t generating cash each quarter, the only way to pay a dividend is by borrowing or tapping into cash reserves. Such practices aren’t sustainable over the long-term – and the dividend will eventually be cut.
• High Cash Balance: Speaking of cash… it’s still king. Especially when it comes to maintaining a dividend. Consider it insurance against any unexpected slowdowns. At a minimum, insist on enough cash to cover one quarter’s worth of dividends.
• Minimal Need for Credit: Securing credit in this market is extremely difficult. Accordingly, I recommend focusing on companies that don’t need to raise significant amounts of capital. That’s because when interest rates rise, so will their interest payments. I also suggest you look at companies with a reasonable, or low debt load. This ensures that interest payments won’t sap money intended for us.
• Earnings Buffer: Insist on a dividend payout ratio (annual dividends divided by annual net income) of 80% or less. This will provide ample wiggle room for the company to pay the dividend in the event of an unexpected slowdown. Or even better, to justify raising the dividend.

Three Profitable Dividend Stocks to Buy Now

After enjoying a hearty rebound in 2009, don’t be surprised if dividend investing starts attracting the herd in 2010. Many didn’t fully participate in the rally and now are undervalued, so they represent a safe way to invest in stocks.

Add in the fact that Treasuries still sport record-low yields and corporate bonds have already enjoyed a historic rally… and dividend stocks become even more attractive.

So I recommend that you front-run other investors. And the time to do that is now.

I’ve covered several suitable and safe dividend stocks in previous Investment U columns. In addition to Philip Morris that I mentioned a moment ago, you should also consider…

• Windstream Corp. (Nasdaq: WIN), which sports a $1 per share annual dividend (9.2% yield).
• Lorillard (NYSE: LO), which pays a hearty $4 per share annually (5.2% yield).

All three stocks remain attractive at current prices.

But that’s just an appetizer. If you want a consistent stream of dividend-yielding stocks, I use the six-step strategy above to unearth at least one safe, high-yield investment every month for Oxford Club members – all of which are capable of generating years and years of income and modest capital appreciation.

In fact, every single recommendation is profitable to date. That includes our special bond fund that also provides inflation protection.

Collectively, these dividend-yielders are generating a safe 7% income stream. Try matching that at your local bank.

Good (and safe) investing,

Louis Basenese

P.S: In the latest issue of The Oxford Club’s Communiqué, I recommended a company that has increased its dividend every year for 25 years. What’s more, it’s ridiculously undervalued at current prices – trading at a 40% discount to its historical average and a 51% discount to the average S&P 500 stock. The stock hasn’t been this cheap in over 20 years. But it won’t last long. To find out why, sign up for your risk-free trial membership to The Oxford Club.

The paper will characterize the situations where the use of milestones is better, vis-?-vis the circumstances where round investment is superior. In the process we explicitly account for several other key characteristics of investment in start-ups the effort level of the entrepreneur, and the degree of involvement expended by the venture capitalist. Other pervasive features that our model accommodates are differential beliefs about the likelihood success of the start-up firm (the entrepreneur is often more optimistic) and the possibility that the venture capitalist has a preference for liquid investments. As will be elaborated upon later, venture capital funds have a strong incentive to exit their investment sooner rather than later, which we phrase liquidity preference. All these considerations play a role in the relative attractiveness of milestone financing compared to round financing. For instance, whether the entrepreneurial effort becomes more or less important when technology succeeds can make apivotal difference to the optimal financial arrangement.

In a comprehensive study, Kaplan and Strömberg (2003) document the features of venture capital contracts. They analyze the terms sheets of over 200 rounds of venture backed investments and link the statistics to agency problems. They also list numerous types of observable and verifiable contingencies that are used in venture capital contracts. Sahlman (1990) and Lerner (1995) provide evidence on the dual role of venture capitalists and their involvement in monitoring and governance. Subsequently, Hellman and Puri (2000, 2002) statistically confirm that the in-kind services of venture capitalists are of economic significance, through a reduction in time to bring a product to market and by professionalizing the start-up company. Also on the empirical side, Gompers (1995) provides detailed statistics on staging of venture capital investments and explores factors that influence the amount invested in a round and the duration between rounds.

From an analytical perspective, Schmidt (2003) and Repullo and Suarez (2004) model the advisory role of the venture capitalists within a double-sided moral hazard framework which gives rise to features in convertible securities used in venture capital financing. Cornelli and Yosha (2003) show that the use of convertible securities mitigates the incentive of entrepreneurs to engage in window dressing practices. The rationale for the advisory role of venture capitalist is analyzed in Casamatta (2003). Under moral hazard, if the entrepreneurial effort is more efficient (less costly) than that of the consultant, the latter is not hired unless invested financially in the project, in the spirit of venture capital involvement. Chemmanur and Chen (2003) study an opposite paradigm whereby pure financing (angel investing) is contrasted with active involvement of venture capital investment. The desired form of financing is characterized based on factors such as scarcity of venture capital funding. Along similar lines, Leshchinskii (2002) contrasts angel investing to venture capital financing by assuming that venture capitalists also aim to benefit from the interaction among their investments.

Download
PDF Ebook The Staging Of Venture Capital Financing: Milestone Vs. Rounds

Growing worldwide interest in responsible gaming technology is creating new opportunities for a Cape Breton company.

Sydney-based Tech Link International Entertainment Limited is a leader in responsible gaming technologies. Established in 1994, Tech Link is the only company of its kind in Canada.

To help Tech Link capture global demand, and fund further research and development, the province, through NSBI Venture Capital, is investing $2.5 million. The funding is part of an overall $5-million investment, which includes private-sector investors.

"The province is proud to work with Tech Link, whose responsible gaming products demonstrate the real value of innovative technology," said Percy Paris, Minister of Economic and Rural Development. "Supporting home-grown companies as they grow helps position them and the province for the future."

Tech Link's current focus is on its Gameplan product, a responsible gaming technology that can be integrated into existing video lottery terminals. Gameplan was developed in partnership with the Atlantic Lottery Corporation and Nova Scotia Gaming Corporation, and equips gamblers with tools to limit and control their gaming habits.

The product provides players with information on how much they've won and lost, and how much they've played. It also provides tools that allow gamblers to limit their ability to play by setting time or monetary limits.

"The demand for our product is growing, both in Canadian and international markets," said John Xidos, CEO of Tech Link. "This round of financing will allow us not only to meet our current demands, but also to embrace future opportunities in North America and beyond."

NSBI Venture Capital has been a partner with Tech Link since 2004, providing $2 million in equity financing in September 2004, and a $1 million follow-on investment in April 2006. Follow-on investments are common in the venture capital community as a company builds its share value in stages.

Tech Link employs more than 55 people in Cape Breton.

"Through NSBI Venture Capital, we continue to work with innovative Nova Scotia companies as they reach the next level of growth," said Stephen Lund, president and CEO of NSBI. "Tech Link is leading the way, creating innovative technology and proving that world-leading R&D is happening right here in Nova Scotia."

Nova Scotia Business Inc. is Nova Scotia's private-sector-led business development agency. NSBI is the investment attraction arm of the province and helps businesses in Nova Scotia meet growth potential through advisory services, trade development, financing and venture capital.

FOR BROADCAST USE:

     Growing worldwide interest in responsible gaming technology

is creating new opportunities for one Cape Breton company.

     The province, through NSBI Venture Capital, is investing 2-

point-5 million dollars to support Sydney-based Tech Link

International Entertainment.

     Economic and Rural Development Minister Percy Paris says

Tech Link's responsible gaming products demonstrate the real

value of innovative technology.

     Tech Link employs over 55 people in Cape Breton.

-30-

Media Contacts: Sarah Levy
                Nova Scotia Business Inc.
                902-222-3658
                E-mail: slevy@nsbi.ca

                Leanne MacKenzie
                Tech Link Entertainment
                902-562-6031 ext. 107
                E-mail: lmackenzie@techlinkentertainment.com

Canada’s Report On Business Television recently held a series of live broadcasts from BCE place in downtown Toronto. On Monday, September 18th, 2006, they invited two venerable deep-value fund managers in a question and answer forum. You might think I’m hypocritical for advising people not to obssess over ROB-TV while highlighting this event. However, my interest was peaked because of Irwin Michael’s appearance. I hope you will see why I listen when Irwin speaks. It’s truly a no-spin zone (unlike Fox News, or Jim Cramer) and investors get to benefit from his wisdom!

Irwin Michael is my favourite fund manager because of his no compromise, no spin, non-apologetic approach to openly discuss investing. He talks and writes candidly about his investment decisions; allowing me to soak up his perspective and learn from it. You won’t catch him doing any sweet-talking to appease investors and audiences. As of the end of August 2006, Irwin’s ABC Fundamental Value has averaged an annual 17.82% return for the last 15 years while it’s benchmark indes S&P/TSX Total Return has only managed a 10.79% in the same timeframe.

Ross Healy is the chariman and CEO of Strategic Analysis Corporation, an investment advisory firm. Though I feel at times, that Ross’s comments are too politically correct, too on the fence, I still recognize that Ross is very much respected in the Canadian investment scene. Ross is best known for his bearish call on Nortel when it was trading over $100 in 2000. As of June 2006, Strategic Analysis Corporation’s model portfolio has outperformed the S&P/TSX Total Return index to a tune of 20.9% to 11.7% since its 1993 inception.

Note: While Irwin Michael has been a frequent guest of Report On Business Television, this was his first appearance on the show “Market Call”. In contrast, Ross Healy sat in the very first Market Call and has been a popular frequent guest of the show. The following transcript has been edited for readibility and relevance purposes. (i.e. consolidating various responses on the same topic that were made throughout the show)

On Current Market Conditions
Michael: Fear [comes to mind]. I think a lot of people are fearful. If it’s not gold crashing or oil and gas falling out of bed. It’s something else, wars, US federal reserve etc. I think there’s a real dose of negativity out there. [It's a cycle of fear and greed]

Healy: I think the market is kind of sleep-walking through what I view as a market-top heading into a recession, probably in 2007, which I suspect will be fairly severe. I know that there’s a lot of fear out there. On the other hand, I see equal amounts of confidence and hope. Between the two of them, there’s a kind of stasis in the market

Michael: I just see a slow down. Instead of growing at 3.5% rate of growth, we’ll maybe be at 1.75% to 2%. We’re stock pickers. In this environment of fear, we’re finding opportunities to purchase certain stocks.

Healy: I’m selling. We’re selling pretty much across the board. We have been reducing our energy, mining exposure, and broadly across the board. I’m just happy to be pulling back and getting more and more cash. I think cash will be king in another year and I want to have lots of it!

On Value In The Energy Sector?
Healy: Yes there is, there’s a lot of value in the energy sector but the market doesn’t care right now and I think it’s going to continue not to care. And there’s some sectors of the market, which include the oil sands, where there are some concerns developing about costs. And as the price of oil sinks, it’s taking the stocks down with it. I think there’s gonna be a magnificent buying opportunity coming, but it’s not today.

Michael: [The opportunity is here in some cases] It’s cheaper to buy them at the stock market, than to drill for [oil]. In consequence, I think you’re going to see many more mergers, acquisitions, takeovers; particularly on the trusts side.

On Income Trusts
Michael: [I'm buying some broken, beaten down income trusts]

Healy: I wouldn’t touch trusts. I think it’s too early, there will be a terrific opportunity. The problem with “those wretched things” is that too many of the trusts are basically junior stocks. In recessions, junior stocks get ravaged. I don’t see any difference between junior income trusts and junior stock. I am keeping my money well away from that group

Michael: I like to see 35%, 45% upside (before I lay my money down) not including the income. I’m not saying you buy all the trusts. There are a select few.

On Blue Chips As Safety
Healy: I think it’s a frightening idea actually. When I look at the U.S. companies, a lot of them have a tremendous amount of downside. Starting off with the financial sector which I’m afraid of.

On Celestica, And The Tech Sector
Michael: We don’t own ANY high-tech company. Zero. They’re not fundamentally cheap! Our style is we want to buy you two dollars for one dollar. And if I can’t buy it, forget it right there!

Healy: No tech. I’m a 100% with Irwin on that one. Celestica happens to be one of the few tech stocks where a little value seems to be coming back in again. But that doesn’t make any difference when the whole group is overvalued or expensive. I think we can be very patient. We’ll buy tech stocks when it’s a lot cheaper.

On Canadian Oil Sands Reserves
Michael: I have nothing in the oil sands, nothing. That’s probably a statement unto itself. We tend to be buying companies that actually, I won’t say they’re real, but they have cash flow, they’re earning. We own Nexxen and Talisman, which I can relate to. In terms of the feeding frenzy in the oil sands, I’m not there

Healy: I don’t think it’s a feeding frenzy yet. I’ve been a little surprised that one hasn’t developed. It’s one of the last open-ended sources of oil reserves on that planet. But nothing has happened and that’s quite surprising. I think one of the reasons is that the costs have escalated tremendously.

On A Possible U.S. Recession
Healy: I also have concerns about the U.S. consumer. David Dodge, the head of the Bank of Canada, also has quite serious concerns about the U.S. consumer in 2007 and a strong possibility of a recession.

Michael: I see a slow-down. The very fact that U.S. gasoline is no longer $3 a gallon helps the consumer. A lot of people weren’t going to Walmart because gasoline was too much, now they can drive there. I think the psychology is so bad, it’s like the chicken-little scenario right now: “We’re going into recession, we’re going into recession”. We are getting ourselves into a funk and not doing anything.

On What’s The Next Hot Sector?
Michael: We don’t go for hot sectors. We look at hot stocks - stocks that everyone hates. When I wake up in the morning, I tend to look at the new low-list, as opposed to the new high-list. Not to say that everyone is to be bought. But quite often, you’ll find one or two little gems, that have come apart because of tax-loss selling, which we’re starting to see right now. Or just the sheer paranoia of investors wanting out because they read something on the front page of the paper, or the front page of Business Week.

Healy: There are sectors that I avoid. I’m out of the Financials both sides of the border because they’re very very expensive and offer no value at all. And if the financials don’t come through and if the energies can’t come through. That’s 60% of the Canadian market. You have to say to yourself, ok, if 60% of the Canadian markets wants to go down. Where are you going to make money?

Michael: We have no banks and no real Canadian insurance companies in our portfolio. However, on the contrary, I look at the American life companies and they’re dirt cheap. We’re able to buy them well below book and break-up value because the American companies have not gone through the consolidation that Canadian companies have.

Healy: Healthcare looks like they’re bouncing quite nicely. There looks like some good value in that sector.

That’s it for an exciting part 1. If you’re on the edge of your seat from the wisdom that these two fund managers have displayed, make sure you stay tuned for Part 2 and Part 3!!

Investment fraud alleged

Posted on July 15, 2009
Filed Under Uncategorized | 4 Comments

A Weston man has been charged in civil complaints with living the high life at the expense of 50 investors.

Sean Nathan Healy, 38, is accused of spending at least $15 million of investors’ money on a $2.4 million Weston home, more than 10 luxury vehicles worth $1.9 million, $1.4 million in jewelry and $50,000 in gold bullion.

The investors, from Pennsylvania, thought their money was being used to trade commodities and securities, according to complaints filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodities Futures Trading Commission.

A federal judge in Pennsylvania on Monday issued an order freezing assets held by Healy and his wife, Shalese Rania Healy, 36. The Weston home — once owned by former football star Bernie Kosar — and some of the cars are listed in her name, the SEC alleges. The order also was against Sean Healy’s company, Sand Dollar Investing Partners.

Efforts to reach the couple at their home Tuesday were unsuccessful.

Healy may be the target of a criminal investigation as well, according to lawyers familiar with the case. However, Alan S. Ross, a Miami lawyer identified in civil-court documents as the Healys’ criminal-defense attorney, couldn’t immediately be reached for comment. Jeffrey L. Cox, who is defending Healy in the SEC’s complaint, declined to comment.

Sean Healy also is accused of using the money to make $2 million in home improvements, including installing a $500,000 home theater, and to lease garage space to store a Porsche, Lamborghini and several Ferraris. In addition, the CFTC alleges Healy leased a luxury suite at Miami’s AmericanAirlines Arena.

Sean Healy received at least $15 million from investor Alfred Madeira of Chambersburg, Pa., who invested his own money and money from his attorney and 40 of their friends, acquaintances and business associates, the SEC says. Madeira has known Healy since about 2000, when Healy worked as a securities representative at a New York brokerage, the SEC’s suit says.