Illustration by The National
Illustration by The National

10 income-paying global stocks to boost your portfolio



You can build a comfortable retirement on stocks and shares, if you are willing to take a little risk and put in a bit of effort.

While investing in individual company stocks is too complicated for many people, it can be highly rewarding for those who take the trouble.

Stocks offer an unparalleled combination of capital growth from rising share prices, and income from company dividends.

Globally, companies paid out dividends worth an astonishing US$447.5 billion in the second quarter, a record high, according to the latest Janus Henderson Global Dividend Index. Janus Henderson reckons global dividends will hit $1.2 trillion across 2017, a rise of 5.5 per cent on last year.

You can share in this regular cash windfall by investing in top income-paying stocks from around the world.

While you are still working you should re-invest that income back into your portfolio to generate further growth. However, after you retire you can start drawing those dividends as income to top up your pensions and other retirement earnings.

Building a portfolio of equity income stocks is therefore worth considering at any stage in your life, but you really feel the benefit in retirement.

The following 10 global companies could help form the building blocks of a balanced portfolio, but remember, investing in individual companies is always risky, no matter how safe and secure they may appear to be. This isn't for everybody, but it could just work for you.

Royal Dutch Shell

Yield: 6.13 per cent

Clem Chambers, founder of global investment website Advfn.com, picks out London-listed global energy giant Royal Dutch Shell as one of his favourite income stocks. This Anglo-Dutch oil and gas behemoth, which has a market capitalisation of $115bn, has a proud record of never once cutting its dividend since the Second World War.

Shell has maintained this record throughout the recent oil price collapse, by cutting costs and disposing of non-core parts of its business operations.

Currently, the stock yields a generous 6.13 per cent, far more than you will get on any savings account. However, you must understand the risks as well as the rewards.

Mr Chambers says he takes advantage of Shell's share price volatility. "Typically, I buy its stock whenever its share price has fallen appreciably, reinvest the dividends and wait for the recovery. The income is almost unbeatable."

EDF Energy

Yield: 8.21 per cent

Mr Chambers also tips French-owned energy giant Électricité de France, better known as EDF Energy, which generates and trades energy, operates transmission grids, and is a specialist in nuclear power.

EDF, listed on the Paris stock exchange, has a market cap of $35 billion and annual revenues of $83 billion. It currently yields a whopping 8.21 per cent.

Investors are usually wary of companies with such heady dividends. The yield is calculated by dividing the dividend per share by the current share price, which means that if the stock falls the yield automatically rises. A sky-high yield is often a sign of a company in trouble.

However, Mr Chambers says EDF, which has 37 million customers worldwide, is in recovery mode after recent troubles, with its share price up 15 per cent over the past year. “I believe it will benefit from the global shift towards electric cars, as this will require an estimated 50 per cent surge in electricity production, massively boosting demand and revenues."

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company

Yield: 3.12 per cent

Russ Mould, investment director at online platform AJ Bell, picks out the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company as one of his favourite income stocks. “It is a world-leading contract maker of silicon chips and is well positioned to ride the current technology wave,” he says.

The stock has been growing strongly, rising 25 per cent in the past 12 months, and offers a steady yield of 3.12 per cent.

Mr Mould says the company's earnings can be cyclical but the long-term trend is upwards. “The dividend is well covered by earnings, and the company offers the prospect both of rising profits and growing dividends in the future.”

Firms that generate enough profits to increase their dividend year after year are particularly attractive as they allow you to buy into a rising income.

Although TSMC is based in Taiwan, Mr Mould says it is possible to invest in the company on the New York Stock Exchange by purchasing its American Depository Receipts (ADRs), which allow investors to buy stakes in foreign listed companies.

Wells Fargo

Yield: 2.8 per cent

US bank Wells Fargo has endured a tough year after it was revealed that employees had created millions of false bank accounts in order to hit their sales targets.

However, Mr Mould says the bank, which has a market cap of $275bn, is fighting back strongly with its share price up 26 per cent in the past year. "Despite the recent scandal Wells Fargo has a terrific franchise in the world’s largest economy. The bank is building a good dividend growth profile and comes with a yield of 2.8 per cent a year,” he says.

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Legal & General Group

Yield: 5.47 per cent

Laith Khalaf, senior analyst at UK wealth advisers Hargreaves Lansdown, picks out London-listed insurer Legal & General Group as his preferred income play.

L&G, which has a market cap of $20 billion, has benefited from being a pioneer in passive tracker funds, which are proving increasingly popular among investors. It operates in the UK, US, the Gulf, Europe and Asia, and its asset management arm is the 10th largest in the world.

L&G’s share price has doubled over the past five years, and is up 20 per cent in the past 12 months, Mr Khalaf says. “It has recovered from the initial Brexit shock and currently offers a generous yield of 5.47 per cent. The company should also benefit from rising interest rates.”

BHP Billiton

Yield: 4.78 per cent

Global mining giant BHP Billiton may be listed in London but it is a truly international operation with copper, zinc, iron ore, coal and potash projects across the Americas, mining and mineral assets in Australia, and oil production across the US, Australia and Trinidad and Tobago.

The $36bn company’s massive diversification has helped it recover from the commodity stock sell-off in 2014 and 2015.

BHP Billiton paid off $10bn of debt last year, and plans to pay out a minimum 50 per cent of earnings in dividends in the future. Currently, it yields 4.78 per cent. “No miner is without risk, but BHP Billiton’s high quality assets make it one of the best placed miners to weather the commodity cycle,” Mr Khalaf says.

Exxon Mobil

Yield: 3.77 per cent

Lee Wild, head of equity strategy at stocks and shares website Interactive Investor, names $345 billion oil giant Exxon Mobil as one of his top income stocks. “Oil companies have been through the wringer since the collapse in crude prices three years ago but, like Shell, Exxon Mobil is passionate about its dividend. It has increased annual dividends for 35 consecutive years and grown the payout by 10 per cent on average over the past five years.”

Exxon is highly disciplined with a strong balance sheet and cash flow, and is able to fund its dividend even if oil fell to $40 a barrel. “It currently yields 3.77 per cent and is well placed to keep increasing returns to shareholders,” says Mr Wild.

Dominion Energy

Yield: 3.93 per cent

Mr Wild also tips Dominion Energy, the US-based electric transmission and distribution operator. The firm has also been generous to its shareholders, increasing its dividend for 14 consecutive years. “This $50 billion company currently yields 3.93 per cent and recently announced plans to ramp up its annual dividend growth from 8 to 10 per cent until at least 2020.”

Dominion is on a strong financial footing and as well as the dividend, its share price is up nearly 12 per cent over the past year.

HSBC Holdings

Yield: 5.25 per cent

The big banks are still in recovery mode a decade after the financial crisis, but some are performing better than others.

HSBC Holdings is a truly global bank, with exposure to fast-growing China. The London-listed bank, which has a market cap of $197bn, has seen its share price grow 30 per cent over the past 12 months. It still yields a generous 5.25 per cent.

HSBC’s latest interim results showed reported profit before tax of $10.2 billion in 2017, up 5 per cent year-on-year.

Ian Forrest, investment research analyst at online stockbroker Share.com, says: “The bank’s management is confident with revenue growth, stronger trading conditions, lower loan impairments and rising US interest rates all helping performance.”

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Name: Airev
Started: September 2023
Founder: Muhammad Khalid
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: Generative AI
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
 
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What is an ETF?

An exchange traded fund is a type of investment fund that can be traded quickly and easily, just like stocks and shares. They come with no upfront costs aside from your brokerage's dealing charges and annual fees, which are far lower than on traditional mutual investment funds. Charges are as low as 0.03 per cent on one of the very cheapest (and most popular), Vanguard S&P 500 ETF, with the maximum around 0.75 per cent.

There is no fund manager deciding which stocks and other assets to invest in, instead they passively track their chosen index, country, region or commodity, regardless of whether it goes up or down.

The first ETF was launched as recently as 1993, but the sector boasted $5.78 billion in assets under management at the end of September as inflows hit record highs, according to the latest figures from ETFGI, a leading independent research and consultancy firm.

There are thousands to choose from, with the five largest providers BlackRock’s iShares, Vanguard, State Street Global Advisers, Deutsche Bank X-trackers and Invesco PowerShares.

While the best-known track major indices such as MSCI World, the S&P 500 and FTSE 100, you can also invest in specific countries or regions, large, medium or small companies, government bonds, gold, crude oil, cocoa, water, carbon, cattle, corn futures, currency shifts or even a stock market crash. 

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Tips for SMEs to cope
  • Adapt your business model. Make changes that are future-proof to the new normal
  • Make sure you have an online presence
  • Open communication with suppliers, especially if they are international. Look for local suppliers to avoid delivery delays
  • Open communication with customers to see how they are coping and be flexible about extending terms, etc
    Courtesy: Craig Moore, founder and CEO of Beehive, which provides term finance and working capital finance to SMEs. Only SMEs that have been trading for two years are eligible for funding from Beehive.
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