Building your portfolio with a solid base of income-producing investments is one of the most overlooked aspects of investing for many. In short, a diversified mix of dividend-paying options can make a huge difference to the overall size of your nest egg, particularly if you give ample time for those investments and their dividends to grow.
Adding to that obvious appeal is the less obvious fact that many of those buy-and-forget dividend investments continue to reward investors with annual or better bumps to those dividends, making what is already an intriguing long-term investment a screaming buy.
Whether a seasoned investor or just starting out, there are plenty of options to consider on the market that match that description, and here are a few to consider today.
Shaw Communications (TSX: SJR.B)(NYSE: SJR) may be the smallest of Canada’s Big Telecoms, but the company is rife with long-term growth and income potential. Shaw’s long-term growth potential hinges on its new wireless service, Freedom Mobile, which was introduced within the past two years. Freedom Mobile is a major disruptor in what is otherwise a sector of mature players that are charging Canadians some of the highest wireless rates in the western world.
The aptly named Freedom Mobile is being marketed as a new and different option for consumers, and despite operating a much smaller network than its peers, Shaw has already acquired nearly 5% of the overall market thanks to its aggressive pricing, generous data offerings and its agreements with retailers across the country. As more regional markets light up in Shaw’s growing wireless network, investors can expect the company’s already strong earnings to see notable bumps.
In terms of a dividend, Shaw offers investors a tasty monthly dividend that currently yields 4.41%.
Bank of Nova Scotia (TSX: BNS)(NYSE: BNS) is one of Canada’s Big Banks with a large network of locations both in the domestic market as well as internationally. Bank of Nova Scotia’s international presence has attracted particular attention from investors in recent years, and thanks to a lucrative expansion effort throughout Latin America that leveraged the emergence of an international trade bloc between several nations, Bank of Nova Scotia handily earns its place on this list as a buy-and-forget favourite.
That international expansion has provided the bank with double-digit growth in nearly every quarter for the past few years, fueling both additional growth within the region as well as Bank of Nova Scotia’s increasingly attractive quarterly dividend, which currently provides a yield of 4.54%.
That dividend is also incredibly secure, as Bank of Nova Scotia maintains a payout level of near 50%, has never missed a dividend payment in over 180 years.
Innergex Renewable Energy (TSX: INE) is a final addition to this list that offers investors a compelling 4.74% yield. Innnergex is a renewable energy company that currently boasts a portfolio of 70 sites that are either active or under construction that are located across Canada, the U.S., and Europe that collectively provide 3,396 MW of gross generating capacity across hydroelectric, geothermal, solar and wind elements.
Adding to that appeal is the fact that those facilities have regulated PPAs that will provide a stable and recurring source of revenue for Innergex. Currently, more than half of Innergex’s locations have a PPA expiration date within the next decade, and over one dozen of those sites have an expiration at least three decades out.
The importance of those long-term PPAs and the opportunities for further renewable energy assets coming online in the next few years cannot be understated. The increasing need for clean and renewable sources of energy is an area in which Innergex will enjoy a competitive advantage over its fossil-fuel burning peers that will need to adapt.
Innergex isn’t slowing down either. Since the turn of the year, Innergex has already signed a series of new PPAs, including agreements with both Hawaii electric and Maui electric to provide electricity for the next 25 years starting in 2022.
