The Search for Income

One of the major pursuits for investors is the search for income. This ongoing search can be more difficult at some times than at others. For example, when interest rates are low and when companies cut dividends, traditional income sources come under pressure. However, the fundamentals of income investing remain in all economic conditions. These fundamentals can be learned and applied by investors, thus improving their chances of finding and securing income.

This guide begins by covering the basics, providing you with an essential platform for effective income investing by giving detailed explanations of the concepts of interest rates, inflation and yield. The focus then moves on to the investment assets themselves: cash, fixed interest, equities, funds including ETFs, property, infrastructure and timber. For each there is a careful explanation of its traditional income performance, how income is paid and how investors can use the asset in question as part of a broader income-generating portfolio. Attention is also given to the risks involved when investing in each type of asset.

In the final part of the book, the focus falls on asset allocation and portfolio construction; how investments from various asset classes can be bought and held together to create a successful and balanced income portfolio. This includes ideas on how to set up and manage a portfolio along with example model portfolios for different risk appetites and age groups. The issues of securing an income from your pension in retirement and shielding your investment income from falling prey to more tax than is necessary are also covered.

If you are in search of income this thorough and accessible book, written by experienced personal finance journalist Maike Currie, will prove to be an indispensable guide.

Maike Currie's 'day job' sees her writing about income on a weekly basis. She is part of Investors Chronicle magazine's personal finance team, one of the oldest magazines in the world, having provided private investors with financial analysis and advice since 1860.

Maike started her journalism career in South Africa's tumultuous newspaper industry writing about everything from politics to crime and the Springbok rugby team, eventually finding her niche in personal finance. She moved to the UK just in time to witness the excesses of the boom years descend into an environment of low interest rates, high debt levels and the culling of dividends. She is in no doubt that the age of austerity has arrived but maintains that there is still income to be found - provided you look in the right places.