A word on Debt

As long term investors, security and income are paramount to success. A growing income stream is very welcome as long as the underlying companies paying out the dividends remain healthy. Given the current financial crisis, a companie's debt load becomes a more important factor to consider going forward. As capital becomes more difficult to obatin, companies with large debt loads in many cases will have problems financing day to day operations.  As investors, conservation of capital becomes more and more important moving forward. In the past, a company with a strong franchise but a high debt load may have been considered for inclusion in our list. This will change now until capital markets stabilize. 

This should also serve as a reminder to all that over the long run, strong balance sheets with little debt, strong business franchises, and comitted management will ultimately pay of in higher returns down the road, or as today's markets show us, preservationof capital duringthe rough times.

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