According to Standard and Poor’s (specifically Standard & Poor’s Quantitative Services Group), from January 1926 through December 2007, the dividend component of the total return for the S&P 600 was 40.59% of the return. That’s right, over 40% of the return of the S&P, from 1926 through 2007, came in the form of dividends. Are they playing a big enough role in your portfolio? [Source: S&P]
If you’re like me, you probably don’t think about dividends much, but given the results of S&P’s annual review (the results are always in line with that report, it’s hard to move the meter on 80+ years of history), maybe we should!
Dividends are no secret, they’re often used as the cornerstone of a solid income-generating retirement portfolio because of how reliable they are, so why not incorporate them into your portfolio as a solid base?