The 27% Bank Account

In his professional life, Thomas Lewis has one goal... producing dividends every single month.

Some companies produce shoes. Some companies produce golf balls. Some companies build houses. Lewis' company produces monthly dividends. It operates under the trademark "The Monthly Dividend Company." No joke. Every breath, flinch, twitch, or blink management makes is geared toward paying bigger dividends to shareholders.

And Lewis' single-minded obsession is paying off: Since the company listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 1994, shareholders have made an average total return of 27% a year.

There isn't another stock in America – or even the world – like this. As I'll show you, this investment is safer than a bank account, a CD, or a Treasury bond, yet it pays out magnificent returns. This is the best risk-reward income play I have ever found…

Some companies pay dividends because they have to. Others pay dividends when they can. There are high dividends, low dividends, special dividends, dividends that fluctuate, and dividends that grow...

But no company has ever approached its dividend payments the way Thomas Lewis' company does.

Take its annual reports, for example. The company releases the most investor-friendly reports around. The CEO writes his letters to shareholders in plain English. The reports present statistics with simple graphics. And the business? It's so easy to understand, analyzing this company felt like an afternoon with the Sunday paper.

The theme of the 2006 report is "Monthly Dividend Land." Each section takes you through an imaginary world where you "accumulate shares at every twist and turn on the road that leads to monthly dividends for life."

In his summary of 2006 results, Lewis writes: "Our most important accomplishment is that we were able to pay 12 monthly dividends and increase the dividend five times during 2006."

This company's corporate quest is to provide dividend income for its owners. "This philosophy colors every decision the company makes, dollar it spends, management discussions, and all of the employees' activities undertaken each day," says the COO.

I've never seen a company with such total dedication to its dividend. But do these guys walk the walk? You bet they do...

The Monthly Dividend Company is in its 38th year of business. As of January 1, 2008, the Monthly Dividend Company had paid 448 consecutive monthly dividends and 40 consecutive quarterly dividend increases. The annual dividend has grown from $0.90 in 1994 to $1.64 last month.

Here's what some current shareholders had to say about their company:

"I'm retired and I live off SS. It is my largest holding... and has been for years now. It makes up 30% of my portfolio. This is one stock I will never sell." "I have been reinvesting my divvies for the last 3 years. It's amazing how fast my monthly payments have grown... I just wish I'd bought more." "I've owned this stock since 1998. I can't imagine selling it. My original shares pay a 15% dividend and have risen 175%. That's better than 20% per year."

The Monthly Dividend Company's official name is Realty Income Corp. (NYSE: O). From here on, I'll refer to it as "the MDC."

by Tom Dyson