These insurers offer high yields—plus growth

Article Excerpt

Insurers write policies, collect premiums from customers, and then invest those premiums to meet future claims. They’re required to invest significant amounts of that money in fixed-income instruments, namely bonds. That means rising interest rates are a boon to their returns. Rising interest rates also position the shareholders of those insurers for further dividend hikes. Both these stocks offer investors growth prospects as well as high yields. We see each as a buy. MANULIFE FINANCIAL, $22.72, is a buy. This safety-conscious blue-chip company (Toronto symbol MFC; Shares o/s: 1.9 billion; Market cap: $44.0 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Yield: 5.8%; www.manulife.ca) is one of Canada’s largest life insurers. The company also sells other forms of insurance including health, dental and travel plans; its mutual funds and investment management services further diversify its revenue stream. As of June 30, 2022, it had $1.3 trillion in assets under administration. Increasingly, markets outside of Canada—especially Asia (35% of earnings)—contribute to its growth­. In the quarter ended June 30, 2022, earnings…