Philbin on the quest for income

Investors with the need for a decent income stream should be asking one simple question: are cash, gilts and bonds still suitable to get the levels of income they are looking for? I am not so sure they are, not any more, nor do I think this will be a short-term situation. Since the start of the financial crisis in 2008, not only have low interest rates and inflation kept traditional sources of income at depressed levels but also we have seen incredible volatility of investment returns and of income stream. In 2009, for example, 30% of FTSE 350 companies either cut back their dividends or...