The 5% fall in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) over the past month caught many investors by surprise, particularly the dramatic sell off that occurred in some parts of the market such as mining services. It certainly wasn't just the resource-exposed stocks that took a hammering though.
Financial service businesses and retailers were also hit hard. This fact has opened up some interesting opportunities for investors to purchase a number of quality smaller firms that have solid balance sheets, the potential to grow at a faster rate than their larger peers and that pay dividend yields above 6%.
BT Investment Management (ASX: BTT) is the separately listed wealth management arm of Westpac Bank (ASX: WBC) and is run by Emilio Gonzalez, who was previously a senior member at fund manager Perpetual (ASX: PPT). The BT ship has been steadied under Gonzalez's watch and looks well positioned to grow and expand its cross-selling potential with Westpac customers. Based on forward expectations, BT is currently trading at a dividend yield of 6%.
Fellow fund manager IOOF Holdings (ASX: IFL) is also well positioned to grow thanks to its successful bolt-on acquisition strategy and the tailwind of superannuation contributions. At $7.32 a share, the company is selling on a forecast dividend yield of 6.2%.
Automotive Holdings (ASX: AHE) offers investors exposure to car retailing, logistics and property assets. With a large and diversified footprint of automotive franchises, Automotive Holdings is well positioned to gain from the record high new car sales that Australia is currently recording. With the stock down 8.6% over the past month, the forecast dividend yield has expanded to an enticing 6.7%.
Investing alongside a billionaire can be a clever move, particularly when that billionaire has a substantial proportion of his or her wealth in the investment too. Solomon Lew has built his fortune from what is affectionately termed 'the rag trade'. His investment vehicle Premier Investments (ASX: PMV) houses a number of businesses including Portmans, Just Jeans and Smiggle. The stock has lost 11.5% of its value over the past month, which means the company now trades on an undemanding forward price-to-earnings ratio of 13.6 and a prospective dividend yield of 6.2%.
Foolish takeaway
With the market quickly bouncing higher off its recent lows, these reasonable valuations and high yields may not last long.
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Motley Fool contributor Tim McArthur owns shares in BT Investment Management and Perpetual.