Is AGNC Investment the Right Dividend Stock for You? Here's a Better Question to Ask.

A huge yield can be a siren call to dividend-focused investors. AGNC Investment's (NASDAQ: AGNC) huge 17% dividend yield is more like a rock opera, given that the S&P 500 index (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) is only yielding 1.3% or so and the average real estate investment trust (REIT) is yielding just 4%. If you are trying to live off of your dividends, here's why there are better dividend choices available to you.AGNC Investment is a mortgage REIT, which means it buys mortgages that have been pooled into bond-like assets. That's very different from a property-owning REIT, which buys physical assets and rents them out to tenants (just like you would do if you owned a rental property). Mortgage REITs are more like mutual funds because their value is, basically, the net value of the portfolio or mortgage assets they own. AGNC Investment buys and sells these assets in an attempt to maximize total return.Image source: Getty Images.Continue readingWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei MotleyFool Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei MotleyFool