The Retirement Stock of the Decade

Most internet searches for retirement stock investing strategies give the impression that dividend achievers, dividend kings, or high-yield dividend stocks are the only options for retirement stock portfolios.
There are indeed many good high-yielding dividend achiever and dividend king stocks that are attractive retirement stocks, but the universe of attractive dividend stocks has narrowed and become less relevant in recent years.
A Broader Perspective of Retirement Stock Investing
To craft a properly diversified retirement portfolio today, you will want to take a broader view of retirement stock investing.
Taking a broader view on retirement stock investing can lead you to exceptional stocks like Eli Lilly. Lilly was identified as an A-rated stock by our Retirement Stock RatingsSM system back in March of 2014.
Lilly shares delivered a compounded annual return of nearly 32% for the ten-year period ending in March of 2024. A $10,000 investment in 2014 would be worth over $162,000 today. Moreover, Lilly shares were one of the lowest-risk, high-performing large stocks during this period.
Eli Lilly: Retirement Stock of the Decade
Low risk and exceptional returns are what make Lilly the Retirement Stock of the Decade.

I don’t point out Lilly shares to imply that investing in A-rated retirement stocks will lead to these types of returns. In reality, most investors who bought Lilly shares in 2014 would have taken profits along the way.
Why?
For starters, the stock’s success would have made it a disproportionately large part of an investor’s portfolio. Second, Lilly’s Retirement Stock Rating dropped into a zone that would have likely pushed investors out of the stock for a period and then back in.
The reason I point out Lilly is to illustrate that when you take a broader view of retirement stock investing: 1) You don’t have to settle for the narrow universe of ultra-conservative dividend stocks that many advise for retirement portfolios, and 2) You can still earn exceptional returns without risking a portfolio blow-up by chasing returns in speculative shares.
The Right Balance of Risk and Return in Retirement
A-rated retirement stocks typically feature large, established companies with wide moats, stable earnings, lower volatility, and solid profitability. That combination of factors offers the right mix of risk and potential return.
P.S. In case you’re wondering, Lilly shares are rated C by our Retirement Stock RatingsSM system today.