“I live off of the preferred stock income and I feel extremely comfortable with CDx3 preferreds." Joe P., CDx3 Notification Service subscriber   MORE>>

Quick Summary

Last Month's CDx3 Investor Results

Special Announcement

CDx3 Company Spotlight

CDx3 Question Of The Month

FREE Special Offer

Next Month's Sneak Peek

New Fourth Edition of Preferred Stock Investing!

Amazon.com has Preferred Stock Investing ON SALE for $18.70

Readers of Preferred Stock Investing learn how to screen, buy and sell the highest quality preferred stocks.

The Fourth Edition is now available at your favorite online retailers (see retailers).

Just published in June, the Fourth Edition of Preferred Stock Investing includes the latest research and updated charts and examples using real preferred stocks.

And Part III "Buying When The Market Favors Buyers" has been completely re-written to focus on the buying conditions that we will be facing throughout 2011 and 2012. Check out the new Fourth Edition Table of Contents.

The preferred stock investing method explained throughout the book - the "CDx3 Income Engine" - uses three rules and ten selection criteria to accomplish its three objectives: maximize revenue while minimizing risk and minimizing work. The results are itemized in chapter 15 for every qualifying preferred stock issued since January 2001 - ten years worth of the highest quality issues.

A new chapter has also been added (chapter 11, "The Crisis That Keeps On Giving") that describes two specific opportunities for preferred stock buyers. Both of these opportunities were created by the 2007 - 2009 Global Credit Crisis and are expected to remaining available well into 2012.

Preferred Stock Investing is one of the highest reader-rated books available at Amazon and sells within the top 2% of all book titles in the United States. Look for your copy of Preferred Stock Investing, Fourth Edition at your favorite online retailer.

Just Posted On The Preferred Stock Investing Reader's Forum: On August 15, 2011 I offered a bit of speculation regarding the outlook for owners of the preferred stock CTZ-A from Citizens Republic Bancorp, the only high quality preferred stock in history to defer its dividend. The article titled "Owners Of Citizens Republic Bancorp Preferred (CTZ-A) Could Receive $3 Dividend?" describes the tortured history of this security and a solution that Citizens could pursue that would result in a $3 per share dividend for shareholders. (jump to Forum)

The Last Month's CDx3 Investor Results article explains how the August 9 declaration of future monetary policy by the Federal Reserve has created a unique investing environment for preferred stock investors - higher returns for lower risk. The article itemizes 26 high quality REIT-issued preferred stocks issued by 12 companies and explains why the Fed's declaration puts these specific issues in your crosshairs. (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 subscribers 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 itemizes 17 of the highest rated, highest quality trust preferred stocks. Secondly, I have summarized some of the research from my book, Preferred Stock  Investing, Fourth 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 Hospitality Properties Trust (HPT), a $2.8 billion hotel Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) founded in 1995 and headquartered in Newton, Massachusetts. The article describes HPT's two part recession recovery strategy that has resulted in a 122+ percent increase in net income.  (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 - "How do I calculate the Effective Annual Return of a preferred stock investment upon its call?"  (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 unprecedented August 9 declaration that the current low-to-no interest rate environment will remain intact for at least the next two years delivered two gifts directly to preferred stock investors - (1) direction in terms of where to consider making new investments and (2) risk reduction in terms of added principal protection. (jump to article)

Enjoy this month's issue. I look forward to reporting back to you in next month's issue of the CDx3 Newsletter.

Fed's August 9 Announcement Produces Higher Return For Lower Risk From REITs

It is not too often the case where the lower risk investment delivers a higher return but, thanks to the August 9 Federal Reserve announcement, that is exactly the case we now have with the highest quality preferred stocks issued by real estate companies. The unique announcement of future Fed monetary policy benefits preferred stock investors more than just about any other type of investor.

Published on August 2, just as the debt ceiling deal was signed, last month's issue of the CDx3 Newsletter alerted readers that this opportunity was upon us. Quoted in last month's issue were economists from Barclays Capital, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs all saying the same thing - that faced with a 9+ percent unemployment rate and no consumption-driven inflation in sight, the Fed has no choice but to continue the current low interest rate environment for the foreseeable future.

As we now know, they were right.

The Federal Reserve made it official on August 9 when it announced, in unprecedented fashion, that it will be keeping interest rates (specifically the federal funds rate) at next to zero at least until the middle of 2013.

Knowing this policy in advance removes an enormous amount of uncertainty with respect to investing in companies that are particularly sensitive to interest rate changes, namely Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs).

REITs Are Required To Distribute Profits

As described last month, the profit that REITs make comes largely from the spread between the return on their property rents charged to tenants and the cost of the debt service (interest expense) on the loans for those properties. You’re profitable if you can borrow cash to build or acquire a building at 7% and then make a 15% return on rents from the tenants in that building.

So the profitability of REITs is directly tied to prevailing interest rates. With the Fed's August 9 announcement of future interest rate policy, REITs now know in advance what they can count on for at least another two years.

A REIT, as defined by U.S. tax code, is essentially exempt from federal income tax on their profits. In order for the exemption to continue, the company must distribute at least 90% of its taxable profits to shareholders (the IRS then collects its taxes from the shareholders rather than from the company).

The Top 26 High Quality REIT-Issued Preferred Stocks

The following analysis offers an update to last month's article on this topic. Where last month's issue gave you a heads-up that this was coming, the analysis presented here shows you exactly how the Fed's August 9 announcement has created a situation where the lower risk investment is (for the moment) offering investors a higher return.

REITs, like most companies, offer both common stock and preferred stock to investors like us. But because of the 90% profit payout requirement and the very profitable interest rate climate that the Fed has now officially committed to for at least the next two years, REIT preferred stock shares offer a much better choice for many investors since:

1. The 90% profit distribution requirement creates a cast-in-law dividend payout requirement for these companies, no getting around it if they want to hold onto their REIT status;

2. Preferred stockholders, by definition, are always paid first, before the same company’s common stockholders see a dime, hence lowering risk to the preferred stock investor;

3. Many REIT preferreds carry the ‘cumulative’ dividend requirement meaning that if the company misses a dividend payment to you they have to make it up to you downstream; they still owe you the money, which is not the case with their common stock dividends; and

4. High quality REIT preferreds are evaluated by rating agencies and have investment grade ratings – these company’s common stock shares, on the other hand, carry no such rating.

High quality REIT-issued preferred stocks are arguably a lower risk investment than the same company's common stock but, as you're about to see, are currently offering a higher return.

Figure 1 itemizes the dividend yield being generated by the 26 highest quality REIT-issued preferred stocks compared to that offered by the same company's common stock. This same table, with trading symbols, appears on page 5 of the September 2011 issue of CDx3 Research Notes, the monthly preferred stock research newsletter provided to those subscribing to the CDx3 Notification Service (my preferred stock email alert and research newsletter service).

All of the 26 REIT-issued preferreds listed in Figure 1 (a) carry the cumulative dividend provision, (b) are rated investment grade and (c) are issued by a company that has a perfect track record of never having suspended a preferred stock dividend.

Also note that the market price (August 17) of each of these preferred stocks is less than $25. That's key since in the event that the issuing company retires ("calls") the shares, all shareholders will receive a $25 per share cash payout. By purchasing your shares for less than $25 investors not only add a layer of principal protection, but also position themselves for nice capital gain in the event of a downstream call.

Higher Returns At Lower Risk - Courtesy Of The Federal Reserve

Investors are use to the notion that higher risk alternatives generally provide a higher potential return. But the Fed's August 9 announcement has changed that normal state of affairs with respect to high quality REIT-issued preferred stocks, at least for the time being.

The "Pfd Yield" column of Figure 1 shows you the annual dividend yield being offered by each of these 26 preferred stocks while the "Common Yield" column provides the current dividend yield of the same company's common stock shares. These 26 preferred stocks are offered by 12 different companies.

Notice anything odd?

With the exception of two companies (indicated by an asterisk), the lower risk preferred stock shares are offering a higher return than the same company's higher risk common stock shares.

Now take a look at Figure 2.

Figure 2 illustrates the unique opportunity now available to preferred stock investors. Each diamond on Figure 2 represents the current preferred stock and common stock dividend yields for each of these twelve companies. For example, the preferred stocks of the circled company's diamond offer an average annual dividend yield of 7.28% while the same company's common stock is currently yielding only 3.85%.

The black line on Figure 2 is the "equal yield" line. We would expect that two investments of equal risk would be priced by The Market such that their yields were the same (i.e. the diamond would fall on or very near the equal yield line). But notice that this is not currently the case with the highest quality REIT-issued preferred stocks.

In ten out of twelve cases, the diamond is below the equal yield line indicating that the preferred stock yield (lower risk) is higher than that of the same company's common stock shares (higher risk).

How Long Will This Opportunity Last?

Any opportunity that offers higher returns at lower risk tends to ultimately draw a crowd.

Investors will continue to seek respectable returns (such as the average 7% offered by these 26 preferreds) at acceptable risk and that will put this opportunity on the top of the list for many.

Combined with the current uncertainty and turmoil related to the financial industry (domestic and foreign) and the resulting volatility that we have seen over the last several weeks, it would be surprising if the market prices of the highest quality REIT-issued preferreds did not gradually increase accordingly.

The reason that the diamonds on Figure 2 are currently below the equal yield line is that the common stock dividends being offered by these companies are still relatively low. The August 9 Fed announcement of continued low interest rates should result in increased profitability for well managed REITs over the next two years. Once those profits are realized, those REITs are required to distribute those increased profits and will likely do so by increasing their common stock dividend. In the event that they do so, the diamonds that you see below the line in Figure 2 will join the two diamonds that are seen above the line where the common stock yield exceeds the preferred stock yield from these companies.

But until these companies are able to turn the newly declared two-plus year low interest rate commitment by the Fed into distributable profits, a rare and significant opportunity has been created for preferred stock investors where the lower risk alternative is providing a substantially higher return.

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. The new Fourth Edition is available at your favorite online retailer. 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

17 Big Bank TRUPS Available For Less Than $25 Per Share, 7.9% Average Yield

If you want to take advantage of recent price declines in financials, this list of the 17 highest quality bank-issued preferred stocks are the issues that you should be considering. Here's why.

The turmoil that we saw in financials during August pushed common and preferred stock market prices down throughout the month, producing bargain prices for high quality bank-issued preferred stocks that we have not seen in almost two years.

This month there are 17 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 created what is probably the largest single opportunity for preferred stock investors in history. 

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. The highest quality Big Bank TRUPS available for less than $25 per share are listed in this table.

As this month's list of 17 Big Bank TRUPS demonstrates, it is not too late for preferred stock investors to take advantage of this opportunity. 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: Free 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?

Hospitality Properties Trust (NYSE: HPT)

Hospitality Properties Trust (HPT) is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns hotels and travel centers operated by unaffiliated hospitality operating companies under long term management agreements or leases. As of June 30, 2011, HPT has invested approximately $6.8 billion in 288 hotels and 185 travel centers located in 44 states, Puerto Rico and Ontario, Canada. The company was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Newton, Massachusetts.

HPT recently launched a two-part recession recovery strategy that has paid off in a big way so far this year. First, HPT's management team has been very aggressive in its focus on the financial performance of its properties, moving to sell underperformers and use the proceeds to upgrade more popular properties. For example, in its new agreement with Marriott the companies identified 21 underperforming hotels that will be sold with $102 million of the proceeds going toward upgrades of the remaining Marriott-operated properties.

Second, during the first quarter of 2011 HPT completed lease amendments with its three largest operators - TravelCenters of America LLC, Marriott and InterContinental that implement new security deposit and minimum revenue guarantees.

Another big turning point for HPT has been its investment in TravelCenters of America, one of HPT's primary tenants. Prior to 2007 the privately held TravelCenters of America (TCA) was becoming a liability, falling behind in its rents. Seeing an opportunity, HPT acquired TCA for $1.9 billion. With new capital, HPT spun out TravelCenters of America LLC as a publically held subsidiary with a new management team. On August 9, 2011 the all new TCA LLC reported Q2/2011 net income of $22 million, compared to $1.2 million for the same quarter in 2010 and has $137 million in cash on hand.

The last few years have been a challenge for the hospitality industry and HPT's management team has been aggressive in meeting those challenges. And the results look promising. On August 9, 2011 the company posted Q2/2011 Funds From Operations (FFO) of $0.89 per share, a 9.9% increase over the same quarter last year. Also for the second quarter HPT reported net income of $51.64 million, a whopping increase of 122.5% from Q2/2010 of $23.21 million.

The company just published its second quarter financial results on August 9, 2011 showing the initial effects of its two-part strategy.

Learn more about HPT: 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.