Your Survival Guy

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America’s Super States and Stocks that Respect YOU

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When you look at my Super States map, you instantly get a feel for where your freedom is better respected in one state vs. another. Yes, this is a competition. There’s a reason certain regions are more competitive than others. Look at the northeast, for example, a region where politicians always seem to be looking for what you can do for them rather than the other way around. It’s why my favored New Hampshire stands out as a beacon for freedom. And when the northeast is compared to, for example, Florida, it’s night vs. day.

Dear investor, look at the carnage in the tech industry with more than 200,000 layoffs since the start of 2022 (according to Layoffs.fyi). Those jobs aren’t coming back anytime soon, if ever again. Investors who banked on ever-increasing stock prices realized last year prices don’t always go up. They’re waking up to a new America that’s not the one they grew up in.

You know from here, here, and here I don’t invest for price increases. Investing isn’t supposed to be fun or entertaining. I invest for boring old income, much like I did decades ago in my twenties. I am living proof that slow and steady can be fun if you stick with it. Stick with me. I want you to get some dividend religion for times like these.

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Action Line: Remember, it’s not always the highest-yielding stocks that perform the best. Don’t be greedy. Let’s talk.

P.S. The chart below shows the compound annual return over the last 46 years (ending 2022) of five portfolios formed based on dividend yield (the top five deciles of the market by yield). As you can see, the portfolio including stocks from the highest-yielding group actually earned less than did the other four. So the highest yielders were not the best performers, but those in the 7th and 8th deciles of the market were.

 

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E.J. Smith - Your Survival Guy

E.J. Smith is Founder of YourSurvivalGuy.com, Managing Director at Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd., a Managing Editor of Richardcyoung.com, and Editor-in-Chief of Youngresearch.com. His focus at all times is on preparing clients and readers for “Times Like These.” E.J. graduated from Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, with a B.S. in finance and investments. In 1995, E.J. began his investment career at Fidelity Investments in Boston before joining Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd. in 1998. E.J. has trained at Sig Sauer Academy in Epping, NH. His first drum set was a 5-piece Slingerland with Zildjians. He grew-up worshiping Neil Peart (RIP) of the band Rush, and loves the song Tom Sawyer—the name of his family’s boat, a Grady-White Canyon 306. He grew up in Mattapoisett, MA, an idyllic small town on the water near Cape Cod. He spends time in Newport, RI and Bartlett, NH—both as far away from Wall Street as one could mentally get. The Newport office is on a quiet, tree lined street not far from the harbor and the log cabin in Bartlett, NH, the “Live Free or Die” state, sits on the edge of the White Mountain National Forest. He enjoys spending time in Key West (RIP JB) and Paris. Please get in touch with E.J. at ejsmith@yoursurvivalguy.com To sign up for my free monthly Survive & Thrive letter, click here.
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