8 No-Brainer Retirement Stocks for Baby Boomers

Baby boomers approaching retirement might think of buying a Tesla.

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Baby boomers approaching retirement might think of buying a Tesla. Though it’s pricey, it’s a good, environmentally friendly car. But Tesla Motors’s stock (symbol TSLA)? It’s really expensive and risky, most would say. Competition is looming, too, and who knows what impact that will have?

But most baby boomers still need growth from their stock holdings. Growth—but not crazy, shoot-the-lights-out growth. Ideally, you should own stocks that can provide strong and steady gains at a reasonable price—investments you can buy today and not think about for five, 10 or 20 years.

In assembling this basket of stocks, we sought companies with durable competitive advantages and the ability to lift earnings for many years. A hefty dividend wasn’t a requirement, but it was a plus. Collectively, our stocks yield 2.8%, higher than the 2.1% yield of Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index.

Disclaimer

Stocks are listed alphabetically. Price-earnings ratios reflect estimated earnings for 2017 or fiscal years that end in 2017. Revenues are based on sales over the previous 12-month period. All figures are as of November 9.

Andrew Feinberg
Contributing Columnist, Kiplinger's Personal Finance
Feinberg manages a New York City-based hedge fund called CJA Partners.