We have already mentioned that high yields may mask underlying problems
so it's important to ensure that the companies are fundamentally strong.
Austin's three picks are:
- Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ). The health-care giant yields an impressive 3.7%, well above the
market average of 2%
- Intel's (Nasdaq: INTC) is the world's largest semiconductor company, it has the money -- $15 billion in cash and short-term investments
- Philip Morris (NYSE: PM) has yields a solid 4.2% and has the ingredients of a long-term winner if you can overlook their product
This is not a balanced portfolio with only three choices but we will compare this with our ETF benchmark of a balanced portfolio of Dividend producing ETFs and see what conclusions we can draw.