SUNCOR ENERGY INC., $46.92, Toronto symbol SU, remains a buy.

The company is Canada’s largest integrated oil firm, with major projects in the Alberta oil sands. Suncor also operates four refineries (three in Canada and one in Colorado), along with 1,875 Petro-Canada gas stations.

Suncor is now increasing your quarterly dividend by 11.9%....

PFIZER INC., $49.92, New York symbol PFE, is your #1 Income Buy for 2022.

The company is one of the world’s largest makers of prescription drugs. Its top-selling brands include Lyrica (epilepsy), Celebrex and Enbrel (arthritis), and Prevnar (pneumonia).

Pfizer has raised its dividend rate each year since 2011....

CANADIAN TIRE CORP., $175.64, Toronto symbol CTC.A, is a buy.

Investors tap the company’s 504 Canadian Tire stores. They sell automotive parts and services, and household and sporting goods; franchisees run most of the locations. Still, the company’s other operations also enrich its outlook....

The merits of investing in top dividend-paying companies are well known—capital gains, regular income, and lower risk. However, investors in ETFs that focus on dividend-paying companies need to be aware that the dividend payouts of ETFs are not as smooth as those of the best individual dividend-paying companies.


For investors, companies that pay regular and growing dividends have performed very well over time when compared to the broad market indices.


A simple dividend strategy (as represented by the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats) like selecting stocks with a long history of uninterrupted dividend growth has added 11.7% per year over the past 30 years; this compares to the 10.3% annualized returns for the S&P 500 Index....

Many investors and the media place great faith in what they regard as market indicators. We think now is a bad time for that. When you do it today, you can come up with lots of reasons for feeling negative about the market—high P/E ratios, rising inflation, the possibility for further Federal Reserve hikes in interest rates, along with other troubling reasons for investor unease.


Meanwhile, while we’re optimistic about the long-term market outlook, it’s interesting to consider how stock markets have historically reacted to recessions brought on by very high interest rates.


Recessions shrink corporate profits


During economic recessions, corporate profits shrink, which in turn can lead to lower stock prices....

Aggressive talk of further interest rate increases by the U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell contributed to the big drop for stock markets in April. Rising inflation is the main reason that the Fed plans to keep raising rates.


Growth stocks, especially those with only remote prospects of near-term profits, came under considerable pressure....

This month we highlight an ETF that invests in dividend-paying energy stocks, plus another that focuses on renewable energy.


NINEPOINT ENERGY INCOME FUND ETF $19.79 (NEO exchange symbol NRGI) invests in dividend-paying companies involved in the energy industry....

The iShares Germany ETF (see page 55) includes several companies that are among the global leaders in their respective industries. While these companies are generally as profitable as their U.S. counterparts, they typically trade on average at a substantial discount to earnings compared to their U.S....

The German economy was recovering in the first quarter of 2022. Then came the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and that has dampened the country’s recovery. The war exacerbates supply-chain disruptions, pushing up commodity prices and weighing on industrial production.


Still, Germany’s strong, ongoing government response to the pandemic sets its diversified, high value-added and export-oriented economy up for strong gains as global economies normalize.


Here is one ETF that provides exposure to the top public companies in Germany.


ISHARES MSCI GERMANY ETF $25.24 (New York symbol EWG; TSINetwork ETF Rating: Aggressive; Market cap: $1.7 billion) invests in publicly listed German companies.


Financial companies account for 20% of the fund’s assets, while Consumer Cyclicals (18%), Industrials (14%), Technology (14%), Healthcare (13%), and Basic Materials (10%), are other key segments.


The ETF holds a portfolio of 61 stocks; the top 10 make up 52% of its assets....

Rising interest rates mean dividend-paying stocks must increasingly compete for investor interest in fixed-income investments. However, sustainable dividends still offer an attractive and growing income stream for investors.


Meanwhile, dividend-focused ETFs can—but not always—follow strategies that we feel set investors up for maximum long-term gains with the least risk....