, Columnist
Utility Investors Set Themselves Up for a Shock
The sector makes sense as long as interest rates stay low, but that’s no guarantee.
The Fed puts utility shares on sizzle.
Photographer: Joseph Sywenkyj/Bloomberg
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A big bet on low interest rates may not be the sure thing that many investors think it is.
Stock investors have been piling into utility stocks, which are up 18.3 percent in the past year, including dividends. That’s far better than the broad market S&P 500 Index, which is up 10.5 percent in the same period. It’s even better than the 17 percent return of technology stocks. Among the S&P 500’s sectors, only real estate investment trusts, which have been boosted by high dividend yields, have performed better.