Hartford Funds recently conducted one of the most in-depth research studies on dividend stocks over the last 94 years.
The results will blow your mind.
Here is what they found: 👇
1. Since 1960, staggering 85% of the S&P 500's cumulative return has come from reinvested dividends and the power of compounding.
$10,000 invested in the S&P 500 in 1960 without reinvesting dividends?
Turned into $982,072.
$10,000 invested in the S&P 500 in 1960 while reinvesting dividends?
Turned into $6,399,429.
2. From 1973 to 2024, companies that grew or initiated dividends produced the highest total returns (10.2%/year).
Why would this be the case?
Think about what a stock growing its dividend often means:
- Cash flow can cover the dividend
- Management is confident earnings will continue to grow in the future
- It forces management to focus on the highest ROI projects
- Management is focused on long term objectives
Remember: Dividend growth and share price appreciation are byproducts of free cash flow growth.
3. Not only have dividend growth stocks provided better historical returns-
They have also been less volatile. (Lower beta and lower standard deviation)
4. Since the Global Financial Crisis, there’s been a striking divergence between institutional and retail investors when it comes to income strategies.
Institutional investors have poured nearly $47 billion into equity-income funds since 2008.
Meanwhile, retail investors have pulled out nearly $123 billion from those same funds over that same time frame.
Are institutions ahead of the curve?
5. From 1940–2024, dividend’s contribution to the total return of the S&P 500 Index averaged 34%.
In the 1940s and 1970s, dividends accounted for over 60% of the total returns.
And in the 2000’s… The S&P 500 had negative returns.
Dividends were the only source of positive return that decade.
That’s exactly why living off dividends can help protect retirees from sequence of return risk.
Covered Call ETFs have the potential to immediately boost the yield of your portfolio.
But I will warn you, there are plenty of bad covered call ETFs out there.
Want to know if a covered call ETF can provide sustainable high yield?
Look for growing NAV.
Here's why: 👇
Covered call ETFs generate income by selling call options on stocks they hold.
But here's the catch: If the NAV shrinks over time, the ETF has fewer valuable assets to write calls on.
Less valuable assets = lower call premiums = declining income.
A growing NAV means the ETF can consistently generate strong premiums and maintain (or even grow) its distributions.
Distributions are only one part of the return picture. Many covered call ETFs trade sideways or slowly decline in NAV because they cap their upside by selling calls on 100% of their portfolio.
Some (like $QYLD) show chronic NAV decay, which erodes long-term total returns.
A growing NAV helps ensure that you’re not just getting your own money back via distributions you’re actually building wealth.
A married couple in the US can earn up to $126,700 in dividends every year and pay zero in taxes.
Here's how: (thread 👇)
Generating $126,700 of federal tax-free money is almost equivalent to generating a before-tax salary of $165,000 (since you would pay approximately 25% in federal taxes)!
In other words, you would need to earn $165,000 from your day job to have the exact same net pay of $$126,700 with qualified dividends.
Remember, the tax code wasn’t designed for employees; it was meant for business owners & investors.
So, how does this actually work?
Qualified dividends get a preferential tax treatment.
According to the IRS, if your taxable income is less than $96,700 and you file jointly, you will pay $0 in tax.
Hartford Funds recently conducted one of the most in-depth research studies on dividend stocks over the last 94 years.
The results will blow your mind.
Here is what they found: 👇
1. Since 1960, staggering 85% of the S&P 500's cumulative return has come from reinvested dividends and the power of compounding.
$10,000 invested in the S&P 500 in 1960 without reinvesting dividends?
Turned into $982,072.
$10,000 invested in the S&P 500 in 1960 while reinvesting dividends?
Turned into $6,399,429.
2. From 1973 to 2024, companies that grew or initiated dividends produced the highest total returns (10.2%/year).
Why would this be the case?
Think about what a stock growing its dividend often means:
- Cash flow can cover the dividend
- Management is confident earnings will continue to grow in the future
- It forces management to focus on the highest ROI projects
- Management is focused on long term objectives
Remember: Dividend growth and share price appreciation are byproducts of free cash flow growth.