The hunger for dividend stocks and high-yield investment continues. But unfortunately, many investors shoot themselves in the foot by seeking out big dividends without understanding the risks. Take RadioShack (RSH -5.28%). The struggling electronics retailer is clearly circling the drain, but last summer boasted a 12% dividend yield if you annualized 12.5 cents on a share price just north of $4. Unfortunately, it eliminated its dividend, and shares have now fallen over 40% to boot.

Chasing yield this way is dangerous. But a simple alternative can give you exposure to a basket of high-income equity investments like this and mitigate your risk. Those plays are high-dividend exchange-traded funds that include the Market Vectors Preferred Securities ex Financials ETF (PFXF -0.18%), the PowerShares High Dividend Yield Financial Portfolio ETF (KBWD +0.20%) and the Global X SuperDividend ETF (SDIV +0.78%). None of these are junk bond funds, mind you, and all have high-dividend equities behind them. But be careful, do your research and trade carefully because they are on the small side when it comes to volume and assets under management.

Source: MSN Money

Related Articles:
- A Simple Approach To Earn More Than 4% In Dividends
- 5 Basic Materials Stocks With Growing 3%+ Dividends
- What To Do When A Stock Fails To Raise Its Dividend
- A Diversified Approach To International Dividends
- 9 High-Yield Dividend Achievers With 25 Years of Increases