The learning center company will again be a pure play in day care, having sold off its investments in junk bonds and high-yield preferred stock.

They took the one-time capital gains tax exemption and invested the proceeds from the sale in a diverse portfolio, which includes high-yield stocks and tax-free bonds.

The classification of a high-yield stock is relative to the criteria of any given analyst.

He said he favors buying high-yield stocks in industries like producer capital goods, oil services and utilities.

From 1986 through 1990, the Dow Jones average returned 15.4 percent, compared with 14.6 percent for the high-yield stocks.

Investors with smaller portfolios can follow the Dow strategy by buying mutual funds holding high-yield stocks: the equity-income funds.

"You can't just say, 'I want to own high-yield stocks,' without trying to decide if they are high enough," said Mr. Spare.

There is renewed interest, too, in high-yield stocks as another way to help cushion the shock of markets that have turned exceedingly volatile in recent weeks.

Other high-yield stocks he mentioned are General Motors and Louisville Gas and Electric.

Advocates of high-yield stocks would point to such a list as evidence that investors can achieve growth and income and need not choose between the two.