HIGH-DIVIDEND STOCKS

Wide spread, reputation as safe play may attract investors to shares in telecoms and utlities sectors

NEW YORK owning high-dividend stocks,” said Rick Meckler, president of investment firm LibertyView Capital Management.

Investors typically prize high-dividend players in a low-rate, low-growth environment, as they search for high-yielding and stable instruments.

Fund managers already seem to be picking up some of these stocks. On a sector basis, weekly inflows for utilities were among the strongest, relative to assets under management, at 1.9 per cent according to data from Credit Suisse through September 1. Stocks in the telecom and utilities sector have some of the highest dividend yields in the S&P 500. Telecom CenturyLink has a dividend yield of 11.4 per cent, top in the index. Utilities FirstEnergy and Southern Co both have dividend yields above 4.5 per cent.

Meckler said investors were now more