Real estate investment trusts, or REITs, are an investment that trade on an exchange much like a stock. But unlike a stock, they must have some tie to the world of real estate. There are a variety of REITs covering all sorts of specialized properties and strategies.  For investors interested in real estate, REITs are a good place to get started and comfortable with the asset. Best of all, REITs are structured to pay out at least 90 percent of their earnings as ordinary income, making them great passive income plays in today’s low-yield world. Most dividend-paying stocks don’t have a payout ...

10 Best Long-Term Stocks to Buy Now in 2020 In times of economic uncertainty, investors tend to bail on stocks and head to bonds or cash. But bonds and other fixed income have nearly no yield right now, and cash, even in the bank, barely pays any interest. That leaves common stocks as the best investment, provided it’s done right, with a focus on the long term. Investors who pivot towards longer-term investments in individual stocks right now can do much better than an index fund, by betting on future capital gains when economic uncertainty wanes. Even better, many long-term stocks have ...

Stocks under $10 may sound risky. There’s a big difference between the price of a stock and the value it offers. A penny stock may be a great value, and a stock trading for hundreds of dollars per share may be a poor investment. While that difference will always remain, investors who focus on less expensive stocks—that also offer value, of course—can fare pretty well. That’s because less expensive stocks are easier to trade in and out of. And institutional investors buying after Wall Street analysts discover these stocks can do a lot to move the share price higher. Looking at the inv...