 |
||||||||
|
“Best service available. Now that I know it exists, I would not invest in preferreds without having the CDx3 service" Charles D., CDx3 Notification Service subscriber MORE>> |
In This Issue... | |||||||
|
Readers of my book, Preferred Stock Investing, Third Edition, are entitled to free periodic updates to the preferred stock tables presented throughout chapter 15 of the book as long as the Third Edition is in print. Providing free periodic updates helps keep readers of Preferred Stock Investing up to date. Get the 2010 update to Preferred Stock Investing! And I am also happy to announce that as a special service to readers, the 2010 update goes beyond an update to the preferred stock tables found in chapter 15. In this update I also take the opportunity to provide you with the results of the "CDx3 Income Engine" (the preferred stock investing method explained throughout the book) as implemented throughout the Global Credit Crisis (2007 - 2009). The nature of the preferred stock market since June 2007 deserves special attention and the 2010 update to the book would not have been complete without wrapping up the method's performance during these historic (extreme) conditions. Specifically, the 2010 update to the Third Edition of Preferred Stock Investing includes updates to the following chapters:
Preferred Stock Investing, Third Edition is one of the most highly reader-rated books of any kind available for sale in the United States. To receive the free 2010 update to Preferred Stock Investing, Third Edition just follow the instructions on the first page of chapter 15 in the book. If you have yet to pick up your copy of Preferred Stock Investing, Third Edition you can do so at any of your favorite online retailers (see retailers). Please pick up your copy today then follow the instructions on the first page of chapter 15 to download the free 2010 update. Just Posted On The Preferred Stock Investing Reader's Forum: You should be receiving 1099-DIV forms from your broker about now. Most preferred stock investors hold preferred stocks issued by Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs). During slow economic times, the tax treatment of dividends that you receive from REITs can be different than what you are use to. In a January 28 post to my blog titled "Tax Treatment Of Preferred Stock Dividends" I explain what preferred stock investors should look out for. (jump to Forum) The Last Month's CDx3 Investor Results article explains how I used a new software tool called "Preferred Stock ListTM" to find seven specific preferred stocks that (1) are generating a current annual yield of at least 7%, (2) have investment grade ratings, (3) are offered by companies that have a perfect track record of never having suspended a preferred stock dividend, (4) have the 'cumulative' dividend provision (if the issuing company skips a dividend to you they still owe you the money) and (5) are available right now for a market price less than $25 per share (their 'par value'). (jump to article) The Special Announcement article provides you with an updated list of trust preferred stocks (TRUPS) that will be among the first to be affected by Section 171 of the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Remember that subscriber's to the CDx3 Notification Service, my preferred stock email alert and research newsletter service, receive this same list with all of the trading symbols. This month's list identifies fifteen of the highest rated, highest quality trust preferred stocks. Secondly, I have summarized some of the research from my book, Preferred Stock Investing, Third Edition, and am making it available to brokers, financial planners and investment groups for free. (jump to article) In the CDx3 Company Spotlight article I introduce you to Duke Realty Corporation. In September 2009, after facing two years of declining occupancies in its office parks, Duke reinvented itself by changing its portfolio of properties from office space to industrial space. The results of Duke's new strategy were just announced. (jump to article) The CDx3 Question of the Month is presented both here and on the Preferred Stock Investing Reader's Forum. If you visit the Forum you can test your knowledge by clicking on your answer to the question. You will receive an automatic email that provides you with the correct answer and my explanation. Or you can just read the answer in the below CDx3 Question of the Month article. This month's question - "What price is used to calculate preferred stock dividends?" (jump to article) Why wait until next month's CDx3 Newsletter to find out what is going on in the preferred stock marketplace? Throughout the month I post regular research articles on the Preferred Stock Investing Reader's Forum and make them available to you for free. In the Free Special Offer article below I provide you with a link that allows you to receive my posts via an email message rather than having to visit the Forum to see what's new. Any time a new article is posted, you will receive a message in your email inbox automatically - free. (jump to article) Coming Up For Preferred Stock Investors: The Federal Reserve's QE2 program, announced in November 2010, is important to preferred stock investors since the program aims to push up the market prices of fixed-income securities. The initial impact of the program on preferred stock investors was originally presented on my blog in late-December and is updated in this article. (jump to article) I look forward to reporting back to you in next month's issue of the CDx3 Newsletter. |
|
|||||||
 New Preferred Stock ListTM Identifies Short-List Of Seven Diversified Preferreds Preferred Stock Data Combined With Structured Investing Method In One Place Preferred stock investors want the highest rated, highest quality issues that are offered by companies with a solid track record and generate the highest dividends. As itemized in Table 1, there are currently seven preferred stocks that (1) are generating a current annual yield of at least 7%, (2) have investment grade ratings, (3) are offered by companies that have a perfect track record of never having suspended a preferred stock dividend, (4) have the 'cumulative' dividend provision (if the issuing company skips a dividend to you they still owe you the money) and (5) are available right now for a market price less than $25 per share (their 'par value'). These are common objectives for risk-adverse preferred stock investors looking for a respectable return with acceptable risk. Unfortunately, preferred stock information is scattered all over the Internet forcing preferred stock investors to spend more time searching for data than using it. There are lists of preferred stocks, but what good is a list without knowing how to invest in them? Some lists include descriptive information but lack current market pricing; ex-dividend dates are often missing or incorrect and current ratings from Moody's and S&P are hard to come by. Brokerage systems list market data (price, volume, ex-dividend dates) but not ratings or the company's preferred stock dividend track record. What has been lacking is a single place where preferred stock data is consolidated and then combined with a structured preferred stock investing method backed by many years of solid preferred stock market research. Diversification Beyond Financials During January we introduced a new software application to the CDx3 Notification Service (my preferred stock email alert and research newsletter service) called Preferred Stock ListTM (see: Step-By-Step Example | User Guide). Preferred Stock ListTM extends the coverage of the CDx3 Notification Service to all U.S.-traded preferred stocks. Preferred Stock ListTM is a preferred stock data gathering engine and is the only tool available that can filter through all preferred stocks trading on U.S. stock exchanges and produce the short-list seen in Table 1. Preferred Stock ListTM generated Table 1 in just seconds (and without having to install any software on your computer). The current short-list seen in Table 1 is interesting for several reasons. These seven high quality preferred stocks are offered by six different companies, only two of which are banks. For those looking to spread investment risk across industries, this short-list demonstrates how Preferred Stock ListTM can help preferred stock investors diversify their preferred stock portfolio beyond financials. And each of these six companies has a perfect track of never having suspended a preferred stock dividend. Full Quarter Of Income For Partial Quarter Investment Take a look at the ex-dividend date column. This is the most recently declared ex-dividend date for these seven high quality preferred stocks. These all pay quarterly dividends so six of these seven paid their most recent dividend in December and January (we won't see these dates change for these issues until their issuing companies declare the next round of dividends in March and April, respectively). Now look at the top row. The ex-dividend date for this issue is coming up on March 15. Whomever owns shares of this preferred stock when the market opens on March 15 will be entitled to receive this quarter's dividend payment. All such dividend payments are for the full 90 day quarter regardless of when during the quarter you purchased your shares. With preferred stocks, even though you only own the shares for part of the quarter, you will receive the entire quarter's worth of dividend cash from the issuing company. The preferred stock on the first row of Table 1 is issued by a $3.5 billion company founded in 1972. With a 7.25% dividend rate, shareholders of this preferred stock receive $0.45 per share of dividend cash every quarter [($25 x 7.25%) divided by 4 quarters]. Preferred Stock ListTM combines the preferred stock investing method described throughout my book, Preferred Stock Investing, with powerful data gathering and filtering features not provided by any other website or software tool. Preferred Stock ListTM was added to the CDx3 Notification Service website (take tour) in January and is now available to all subscribers.
Learn To Screen, Buy and Sell The Highest Quality Preferred Stocks Preferred Stock Investing includes the information, websites and other resources needed for you to be a very successful preferred stock investor. For those who would rather someone else do the research and calculations, I offer the CDx3 Notification Service. Subscribers to the CDx3 Notification Service receive an email alert when there are buying and selling opportunities coming up. Subscribers also receive their own non-promotional preferred stock research newsletter every month, have their own website that hosts the CDx3 Preferred Stock Catalog and have access to the CDx3 Discussion Group, the only online forum just for preferred stock investors. Invest in the best. Subscribe to the CDx3 Notification Service (see reader comments) today. |
|
|||||||
 UPDATED: This Month's Under $25 Trust Preferred Stock List These 15 Preferreds Will Be Among The First To Come Under The Wall Street Reform Act This month there are 15 preferred stocks offered by our Big Banks that provide a potential layer of principal protection not available with many other preferred stock issues. This table presents an updated list of Big Bank-issued trust preferred stocks (TRUPS) that will be among the first affected by section 171 of the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, signed into law on Wednesday, July 21, 2010. Section 171 creates the largest single opportunity for preferred stock investors in history (how's that?). And like most investments, the highest returns will tend to favor those who get in earlier rather than later. Effective January 1, 2013, the new law prohibits Big Banks (assets greater than $15 billion) from counting their TRUPS in their "Tier 1 Capital" calculation, a measure regulators watch when assessing the adequacy of a bank's reserves. These Big Banks are therefore likely to retire ("call") their TRUPS. Investors who hold shares of a TRUPS when it is called will receive $25.00 per share, so investors who purchase shares now for less than $25 position themselves for a capital gain on top of the above-average dividend income that they will be earning in the meantime. Buying your shares for less than $25 provides a layer of protection for your principal. The far right column of this table shows you the effect that adding a capital gain onto the regular quarterly dividend income has on your Effective Annual Return...courtesy of the U.S. Government. By watching this list each month, you will be able to monitor this opportunity as the January 1, 2013 implementation date approaches (expect prices to generally increase toward $25.00 per share). Since market prices change every day, the list of affected TRUPS selling for less than $25 per share changes as well. So I will provide you with an updated list in this Special Announcement article every month. These are the highest rated, highest quality issues that are going to be first affected by section 171 of the new law that are also selling for less than $25 per share right now. Subscriber's to the CDx3 Notification Service (my preferred stock email alert and research newsletter service) are provided with this same TRUPS list, including the trading symbols, on page 7 of each monthly issue of the subscribers' newsletter, CDx3 Research Notes. Please consider becoming a subscriber to the CDx3 Notification Service today.
Brokers And Investment Groups: New Meeting Materials Now Available As the most comprehensive research service available for the highest quality preferred stocks, all of the large, and many smaller, brokerage firms subscribe to the CDx3 Notification Service. My Preferred Stock Investing Group Materials are intended for brokers with a group of clients or self-directed investment groups that are interested in learning something about preferred stock investing. The Preferred Stock Investing Group Materials include a slide show (27 slides, PowerPoint Show format) and an accompanying handout that provides my commentary for each slide. The handout is available in color and black and white (PDF format) for easy printing. The materials include my tips regarding how to select, buy and sell the highest quality preferred stocks and summarize much of the research from my book, Preferred Stock Investing. Specifically, the materials are organized into three parts: Part 1: Approach and Objectives To Preferred Stock Investing Part 2: How and When To Buy and Sell Preferred Stocks Part 3: Preferred Stock Investing Resources To request the Preferred Stock Investing Group Materials just send an email request to: InvestmentGroupMaterials@PreferredStockInvesting.com You will receive an auto-reply email message with current download instructions. |
|
|||||||
 Who Are These Companies That Issue CDx3 Preferred Stocks? Duke Realty Corporation (NYSE: DRE)
In September 2009 Duke announced that by 2013 it would reposition its property portfolio to emphasize industrial and healthcare properties and move away from suburban offices. Specifically, Duke was going to dramatically shrink its office space holdings from 57% of its portfolio to something less than 40%. Industrial holdings would increase from 37% to 60+% and healthcare properties would almost triple from 6% to something in excess of 15% of Duke's portfolio. This is not a small portfolio we're talking about. Duke owns and operates 134 million square feet of leasable space in 18 major U.S. cities. Making these types of changes are a bit like turning an aircraft carrier. But by the end of December 2010 Duke had completed transactions worth $967 million toward its repositioning objectives including the sale of 20 office buildings (3.1 million square feet) valued at $517 million. This sale generated net proceeds of $414 million for Duke. Almost simultaneously, Duke also acquired 51 industrial properties in Florida (4.9 million square feet). These transactions effectively allowed Duke to trade in 3.1 million square feet of properties with low occupancies for 4.9 million square feet of space with higher occupancies. This table illustrates Duke's progress and the results thus far. You can see the declining slope that Duke was facing once the real estate bubble burst in 2006. Occupancy, driven largely by its suburban office holdings, was in a free fall. But after repositioning its portfolio in 2010 the early results are encouraging, with overall occupancy increasing to 89.1%. The financial results are encouraging as well. On January 26, 2011 Duke announced fourth quarter 2010 results of $0.28 in funds from operations, exceeding Wall Street expectations. Learn more about Duke Realty: Company website | Profile | Upgrades/Downgrades | Recent News. Reader Note: The purpose of the CDx3 Company Spotlight article is to give you a sense of the types of companies that issue CDx3 Preferred Stocks. Companies that appear in the CDx3 Company Spotlight either currently, or in the past, have issued CDx3 Preferred Stocks. Since I am not familiar with your financial goals, resources or risk tolerance, my mention of these companies here should not be taken as a recommendation by me for you to buy, or not buy, securities issued by these companies. Companies can issue multiple series of preferred stocks, some of which may meet the CDx3 Selection Criteria while others do not. |
|
|||||||
 What price is used to calculate preferred stock dividends? Most preferred stocks offer a fixed dividend return as published in the prospectus. The long-term average annual declared dividend rate (called the "coupon rate" in reference to days gone by when investors had to tear off a coupon and present it in order to receive their dividend cash) for the highest quality preferred stocks is about 7%. While there are a few exceptions, preferred stocks generally pay these dividends to shareholders each quarter. As the end of the quarter approaches, the company's board of directors meets and declares the key date that you must be a shareholder of record in order to receive the upcoming dividend cash. This date is referred to as the record date and is set by the issuing company. The day that the company declares the record date is called the declaration date. But in order to allow for processing time, the stock exchange where the preferred stock trades needs a couple of days prior to the record date and will set their own cutoff date. This date, set by the stock exchange, is called the ex-dividend date. Whomever owns the shares when the market opens on the ex-dividend date will receive the upcoming dividend payment. So the important dates each quarter, in order of occurrence, are the declaration date, the ex-dividend date and the record date. These are the key dates for determining who is going to receive the upcoming dividend. But since market prices fluctuate every day, the share price of a preferred stock will almost certainly be different on each of these dates and will also almost certainly be different from your original purchase price. So when we say that a preferred stock pays a 7% annual dividend, to what are we referring? 7% of what? The question this month for preferred stock investors: What price is used to calculate preferred stock dividends?Your choices:
(A)
Your original purchase price (the amount you have invested) (C) Liquidation price (usually $25.00 per share)
The correct answer to this question is (C), the liquidation price. The declaration date (date that the issuing company declares the record date), ex-dividend date (set by the stock exchange) and record date (set by the issuing company) occur prior to the actual dividend payment. The payment schedule for dividends throughout the year is specified in the issue's prospectus. For a preferred stock that pays quarterly dividends there will be four payment dates listed (usually in the prospectus section titled "Dividends"). But if a payment date falls on a weekend, holiday or other non-business day the closest business day after the payment date is the date that shareholders will receive the actual dividend payment. The date of actual payment is called the distribution date. And, for fixed-rate preferred stocks, the amount of that dividend distribution will be exactly the same every quarter, regardless of your original purchase price and regardless of the then-current market price. The dividend amount is calculated by multiplying the declared dividend rate (coupon rate) by the "liquidation price" which is usually $25.00 per share (for preferred stocks intended for individual investors). For example, a preferred stock with an 8% declared dividend rate generates $2.00 per year in dividend income to the shareholder (8% x $25.00 = $2.00) per share. Dividing this annual amount by four gives you the quarterly dividend amount that will appear in your brokerage cash account on the distribution date, in this case $0.50 per share ($2.00 divided by 4 = $0.50). This $25.00 value is referred to in the prospectus of a preferred stock as the "liquidation preference," an overly-confusing term that refers to what shareholders will ultimately receive in the event that the shares are liquidated (turned into cash) by the issuing company. The issuing company can liquidate (buy back from you) your shares in two ways: (1) by retiring ("calling") the shares on or after the published call date (which usually occurs five years after the date that the preferred stock is first issued to the marketplace) or (2) allowing the security to reach its maturity date without having previously being called. In either event, the issuing company will liquidate your shares for a price equal to the liquidation preference amount as published in the prospectus. In the meantime, each quarterly dividend will be calculated using the liquidation preference amount and paid to you on each distribution date as published in the preferred stock's prospectus.
You can submit your own preferred stock question: Submit your question. |
|
|||||||
 Preferred Stock Market Research Now Available All Month Long - Free Automatic Email Delivery Of Preferred Stock Market Research Now Available Readers do not have to wait until next month's issue of the CDx3 Newsletter to stay plugged into the market for high-quality preferred stocks. Preferred stock research articles, marketplace observations and preferred stock news from the financial press and other information are posted to the Preferred Stock Investing Reader's Forum (my "blog") throughout the month. To receive articles by email automatically without having to visit the Forum, click here A separate window from FeedBurner (a Google service) will open on your screen. Enter and verify the email address that you want articles from the Forum to be emailed to as instructed. And don't worry - you'll never receive any spam from me and your email address will not be shared. By receiving the articles as I post them via email, you do not have to visit the Forum in order to stay plugged into my research regarding the marketplace for the highest quality preferred stocks. You are also invited to visit the Forum and comment on my articles. Please accept my invitation to receive articles by email and visit the Forum. |
|
|||||||
 Update On Federal Reserve's QE2 Program For Preferred Stock Investors Meet The New Program / Same As The Old Program Pete Townshend, lead singer for the rock group The Who once sang "meet the new boss / same as the old boss." On November 2, 2010 the Federal Reserve announced that they were going to try stimulating the economy by repeating an earlier "Quantitative Easing" program. The original QE1 program was ineffective so it is not entirely clear how doing a bigger version, called QE2, was going to produce a different result. Under QE2, the Fed is purchasing $600 billion of treasury bonds from its member banks, 86% of which have maturities between 2.5 and 10 years. This maturity is meaningful to preferred stock investors since most preferred stocks have a five year lifespan, IPO date to call date. Events that affect the yield of treasuries of this duration usually affect high quality preferred stocks in similar fashion. The idea behind QE2 is that the Fed's purchases would create a shortage of these fixed-income securities in the marketplace forcing investors who invest in such things to pay more. This resulting price increase would drive down the yield of securities with similar durations lowering the cost of capital for businesses (who would in turn increase hiring) and further motivate investors to invest in U.S. businesses. For preferred stock investors, investors jumping from yield-challenged treasuries to other fixed-income securities would mean an increase in market prices as well. Some claim that stock market increases that we have seen since November, pushed higher by investors anticipating increased earnings due to lower capital costs, are a direct result of this Fed program. The initial effect of the QE2 program on treasury yields were reported on the Preferred Stock Investing Reader's Forum (my blog) in a December 29, 2010 post titled "Preferred Stock Investors Ignore Fed's QE2." This chart is an update to the one presented in that December post. Looking at this chart, it is not clear where the hoped-for yield decrease is going to come from. In fact, QE2 thus far appears to be having the exact opposite effect as intended. As the Fed has reduced the supply of these securities, yields have steadily increased, not decreased. The Fed's program runs until this coming August so it has a bit of running room left. But so far, it would appear that QE2 has yet to produce the intended result. When confronted with these results during an interview a couple of weeks ago a Fed official claimed that the program was, in fact, successful since without QE2 it is likely that these yields would have gone even higher than seen in this chart. Maybe. Because of its size, the effect of the QE2 program on the marketplace for fixed-income securities is worth keeping an eye on but, so far, the program appears to have had little, if any, affect on preferred stock investors. Meet the new quantitative easing program, same as the old quantitative easing program. Thank you very much for your interest in my research. As always, I look forward to reporting back to you in next month's issue of the CDx3 Newsletter. |
|
|||||||
Learn
to screen, buy and sell the highest
quality preferred stocks by
purchasing
the third edition of my book, Preferred
Stock Investing (see
retailers). The book identifies
the resources that you need to be a very
successful CDx3 Investor completely on
your own. If you would rather we do the
research and calculations for you I
offer the
CDx3 Notification Service
(see
reader comments).
Chapter
15 of Preferred Stock Investing
includes a list of all of the CDx3
Preferred Stocks issued since January
2001 and the investing results you
would have achieved had you invested in
them using the CDx3 Income Engine.
And
readers also receive free periodic
updates to the preferred stock lists in
chapter 15 as long as the Third Edition
of the book is in print.
Please
take a look at
www.PreferredStockInvesting.com.
And if you
know
someone who might be interested in simple
investing
for non-experts please have them send an email
message to:
CDx3Newsletter@PreferredStockInvesting.com
and
they will automatically
begin receiving this monthly CDx3
Newsletter
next month (plus a
CDx3 Special Report) - all FREE. Many Happy Returns, Doug K. Le Du |
|
|||||||
|
Copyright (c) 2011 by Doug K. Le Du Preferred Stock List, CD Times 3, CDx3, CDx3 Income Engine, CDx3 Investor, CDx3 Portfolio, CDx3 Preferred Stock, CDx3 Perfect Market Index, CDx3 Bargain Table are trademarks of Doug K. Le Du. All rights reserved. Company logos are trademarks of the indicated companies. Service Marks (SM) are service marks of the indicated companies. DISCLAIMER: The content of this CDx3 Newsletter is to be regarded as educational, rather than advisory. There can always be exceptions to trends and/or generalizations that may be discussed herein. Consider your financial resources, goals and risk tolerance before investing. You, and not Doug K. Le Du, are solely responsible for your own investment decisions.
|
||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||
For
New Readers...
Duke
Realty has historically been a real estate company focused on
suburban office space. But by late-2009 Duke saw its occupancy rate
drop from north of 90% to a ten-year low of 87.4%, its tenants being
battered by the credit crisis and recession. 
