Buy Dividend Stocks to Prepare for Slow Growth, TD’s Cooper Says

Large companies that pay dividends will lead North American stock markets over the next three to five years as government austerity limits economic growth, said Bruce Cooper, head of equities at TD Asset Management.

International Business Machines Corp., Kraft Foods Inc., PepsiCo Inc. and Canadian Oil Sands Ltd. are among the best bets to outperform estimated returns of about 5 percent a year from the U.S. and Canadian stock markets, said Cooper, a vice chairman at the unit of Toronto-Dominion Bank that manages about C$190 billion ($200 billion).