Income is the lifeblood of retirement, but by definition, once you quit working, your income will be coming from new sources -- like your portfolio. To cover your needs, you could regularly sell some assets, but for a number of reasons, many retirees don't see that as the most appealing option. That's why so many seek out high-yield dividend investments that provide steady streams of cash flow to their owners.
One difficulty with that strategy, though, is that many of those options carry higher levels of risk -- which is the bane of the retiree's portfolio. The trick, then, is to find high-yield investments that moderate that risk.
It isn't easy, but there are several excellent choices. One of the best is to buy an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that also sports a high yield, because these investments tend to spread out their bets -- and diversification reduces risk. We asked a trio of Foolish investors to pick their favorites in that category, and to explain why they recommend them. Their choices: iShares Preferred Stock Index ETF (NYSEMKT: PFF), iShares Residential-Real Estate (NYSEMKT: REZ), and Vanguard REIT ETF (NYSEMKT: VNQ).
Source: Fool.com