In 3 of the past 4 market rebounds since 1982, equity gains slowed to a single digit pace in the 2nd year, after the initial rally. Now dividend stocks have extra appeal because they offer a tempting alternative to CDs which pay virtually no interest at all, and long term bonds which pay a little bit more but leave you at the mercy of inflation.
Established value companies in stable industries have usually proven a better long-term investment. Before S&P cut Pfizer (PFE) ratings to 'AA' from 'AAA' on Oct 16, 2009, there were 5 companies with AAA credit ratings: Automated Data Processing (ADP), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), ExxonMobil (XOM) and Microsoft (MSFT). In other words, 2 out of 5 were healthcare companies.
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