Value Investing News

Once again it is time for a goals/progress update. I am pleased to report that annualized dividend income increased in December, extending the streak to 18 consecutive months of increases after June 2010's decline. Since I began publicly tracking annualized dividend income in November 2007, it has increased in 47 of the last 49 months.

Knowledgeable investors will agree that a well-planned asset allocation should include a defined percentage dedicated to international investments. As an investor in dividend growth stocks, this has been one of the more challenging allocations within my portfolio.

We have all heard it. Mainstream media pundits talking about 'the lost decade' and that 'buy-and-hold as a strategy is dead and gone, if ever it was a viable strategy.' Sorry folks, but I am not buying or holding their position on buy-and-hold. Buy-and-hold is neither dead, gone or even sick, but I will concede - it is misunderstood.

In normal times stock market declines would excite me and I would hope for another 5-10% drop. I love to buy quality dividend growth stocks when they go on sale. A lower price means a higher yield and more dollars in my pocket. Recently, I have had some questions that have puzzled me, and as I looked for answers what I found left me concerned. Here are the three questions:

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Every investor wants to earn more. It is how we define "more" and how we go about earning it that defines the type of investor we are. Income investors want more income. Yield is a significant determinate of income. There are two ways to own a high yield portfolio. They are:

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As I have stated many times, my goal is to create an ever growing income stream from dividend stocks. Secondarily, it is my desire to beat the S&P 500 over time. With that said, I rarely look at the capital performance of individual stocks. However, I recently sorted my portfolio by Total Gain % (total gain/basis) and was mildly surprised at the top performers.