In this case, Quantico is a book written by Greg Bear, published by Vanguard Press, NY, 2005. Quantico is the headquarters for the FBI and the book is a thriller having the agents track and stop an anthrax scare. If you add, that for a number of years anthrax was not on the radar of anyone and in the book the President is trying to change the FBI to something else. You have a sense of dedicated workers who are trying to piece together the puzzle pieces. With most thrillers, the action take place all over the US because there never tends to be one nerve center, just a bunch of moving pieces. The questions of what does this mean and what connection is to anything else are the prevailing ones. Add a number of interesting personalities and you will read a good thriller.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, as investors you are trying to put together moving parts of a puzzle to determine is my investment at a low risk and will give me a high return? The answer is maybe if conditions remain what they are, but will they? With dividend stocks, the idea is most of the puzzle is already fixed and as investor you just need to fix a few pieces. Did the company remain profitable? if yes, half of the puzzle is done. Can the company continue to pay its dividend? if yes a large portion of the puzzle is done. Will its people continue to execute the business plan? if yes, almost all of the puzzle is done.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions.