You’ve Come a Long Way, Baby

When I sought a good plan for investing during the 1960s,  women were discouraged from having too much interest in the male-dominated Investment world.  Then I discovered dividend investing,  and found that income is not only a path to steady returns, but also a source of comfort when the market hits maximum turbulence, as it has recently.

I discovered this strategy has also become popular with people who are planning to retire early and need income—but also growth. Income from  the S&P 500 stock dividends over the last 25 years( 2004-2024)has grown an average percentage of 7.33%.

While this includes both capital appreciation and dividend income,  it’s notable that dividends contributed significantly to the total return.

Coincidentally, the strategy has seen the same level of annual dividend growth. When you’re getting that kind of income and it’s growing, it’s possible to outpace inflation.

The comfort and consistency of a dividend income stream gave me the confidence I needed to be a successful investor. When a company that’s actually made it through the pandemic, and the great financial crisis earlier in the century, and continues to pay its dividend, there is a pretty good chance that the company is committed to it.

The more challenging part of the analysis is to figure out what a company’s management and board philosophy is, beyond the dividend. Do they say they are committed to the dividend—that’s what you’re looking for.  There’s something comforting about a strategy where income—even $1,000. a month extra is consistently delivered into my account.

It started with a book I read by the late Geraldine Weiss, known as “the Grand Dame of Dividends, —“Dividends Don’t Lie—”which changed the course of my investing strategy. She was also the first woman to launch a successful investment newsletter, now managed by Kelley Wright—Investment Quality Trends—consistently rated as one of the top newsletters.  I learned to identify good value, blue chip dividend stocks with low downside risk. In her initial writings, Ms. Weiss used only her first initial—G.  It was an attempt to conceal her gender—a sad commentary on the times, when women felt they had to bolster their credibility by obfuscating their identity.

https://www.stockscreening101.com/investing-strategy-dividend-yield.html

i also learned to gauge when a stock is undervalued or overvalued. The company may be an excellent one; a stalwart blue chip, but what is a good entry point to buy the stock? or for that matter, to sell it.

The time tested strategy of Dividend Investing still works fine today.  How many remember the old Virginia Slims cigarette advertising motto, “You’ve Come a Long Way, Baby.”  It was changed in the 1990’s to “Its a Woman Thing.”  How bland—no verve— no panache.

Check out the S&P 500 dividend aristocrats; a stock market index composed of the companies In the S&P 500 index that have increased their dividends in each of the past 25 consecutive years