Should I go for dividend or growth?
If you are looking to create wealth and have a longer time horizon, staying invested in growth will enable you to enjoy longer returns. But if you are looking for a more immediate return and steady cash flow, dividend investing could be the best choice for you.
Stocks and mutual funds that distribute dividends are generally on sound financial ground, but not always. Stocks that pay dividends typically provide stability to a portfolio but may not outperform high-quality growth stocks.
The NAV of growth option will always be higher than the dividend option because the profits re-invested in the growth option may grow in value over time. The total returns of growth option are usually higher than dividend option over sufficiently long investment horizon due to compounding effect.
There are a couple of reasons that make dividend-paying stocks particularly useful. First, the income they provide can help investors meet liquidity needs. And second, dividend-focused investing has historically demonstrated the ability to help to lower volatility and buffer losses during market drawdowns.
Growth stocks typically don't pay dividends. Growth stocks are often put in contrast with value stocks.
To generate $5,000 per month in dividends, you would need a portfolio value of approximately $1 million invested in stocks with an average dividend yield of 5%. For example, Johnson & Johnson stock currently yields 2.7% annually. $1 million invested would generate about $27,000 per year or $2,250 per month.
Dividend-paying companies tend to be mature and established, offering stability during market volatility. Growth investing prioritizes capital appreciation and appeals to those seeking higher returns, but carries increased volatility and higher risk compared to dividend investing.
In terms of reducing risk, dividend payments mitigate losses that occur from a decline in stock price. But the risk reduction benefit of dividends goes beyond that basic fact. Studies have historically shown that dividend-paying stocks outperform non-dividend-paying stocks during bear market periods.
Company | Dividend Yield |
---|---|
Big 5 Sporting Goods Corp (BGFV) | 18.70% |
Ready Capital Corp (RC) | 13.68% |
Arbor Realty Trust Inc. (ABR) | 13.52% |
Dynex Capital, Inc. (DX) | 12.64% |
Portfolio Dividend Yield | Dividend Payments With $100K |
---|---|
1% | $1,000 |
2% | $2,000 |
3% | $3,000 |
4% | $4,000 |
What I wish I knew before becoming a dividend investor?
Payout Ratios Above 100% Are a Red Flag
Dividends are supposed to be a mechanism by which companies share their financial success with the shareholders. While dividends do not, strictly speaking, have to come from earnings it is not sustainable for a company to pay out more than it earns.
Dividend stocks offer consistent cash flow, potentially less risky than growth stocks because the investor gets money at regular intervals. Growth stocks have the potential for higher returns for investors.
Dividend-paying Stocks
Shares of public companies that split profits with shareholders by paying cash dividends yield between 2% and 6% a year. With that in mind, putting $250,000 into low-yielding dividend stocks or $83,333 into high-yielding shares will get your $500 a month.
- CrowdStrike. CrowdStrike (NASDAQ: CRWD) is a cybersecurity company that offers an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven platform to spot cyber threats and boost its clients' online security. ...
- Workday. ...
- Netflix.
Stock | Implied upside from Feb. 21 close |
---|---|
Accenture PLC (ACN) | 3.6% |
T-Mobile US Inc. (TMUS) | 12.8% |
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) | 11.5% |
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) | 6.4% |
In a market that generates a 2% annual yield, you would need to invest $600,000 up front in order to reliably generate $12,000 per year (or $1,000 per month) in dividend payments.
A well-constructed dividend portfolio could potentially yield anywhere from 2% to 8% per year. This means, to earn $3,000 monthly from dividend stocks, the required initial investment could range from $450,000 to $1.8 million, depending on the yield.
Stock | Market Capitalization | 12-month Trailing Dividend Yield |
---|---|---|
Gladstone Investment Corp. (GAIN) | $500 million | 6.9% |
Modiv Industrial Inc. (MDV) | $112 million | 7.7% |
LTC Properties Inc. (LTC) | $1.3 billion | 7.2% |
Realty Income Corp. (O) | $44 billion | 6.4% |
You can earn monthly dividend income in a few ways: Buy an ETF that pays monthly. Buy a stock that pays monthly. Stagger quarterly paying dividend stocks.
However, the investment amount required to produce the desired income is considerable. To make $2,000 in dividend income, the investment amount and rate of return must be $400,000 and 6%, respectively. If the rate is lower, say 4%, the upfront investment is $600,000.
Can you live off dividends?
The short answer is yes – it's entirely possible to live off dividends in retirement. In fact, more and more people are doing it every day. The key is to start early, invest wisely, and reinvest your dividends so your portfolio can continue to grow.
Dividends can be classified either as ordinary or qualified. Whereas ordinary dividends are taxable as ordinary income, qualified dividends that meet certain requirements are taxed at lower capital gain rates.
Symbol | Name | Dividend Yield |
---|---|---|
CONY | YieldMax COIN Option Income Strategy ETF | 38.96% |
NVDS | AXS 1.25X NVDA Bear Daily ETF | 34.07% |
NVDY | YieldMax NVDA Option Income Strategy ETF | 34.00% |
RATE | Global X Interest Rate Hedge ETF | 33.42% |
How Much Money You Need to Retire on Dividends. As a rough rule of thumb, you can multiply the annual dividend income you wish to generate by 22 and by 28 to establish a reasonable range for how much you need to invest to live off dividends.
- Dividend payments aren't guaranteed.
- Dividend income is taxable.
- Interest rates can affect dividend payments.
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