The Standard & Poor's Guide to Building Wealth with Dividend Stocks

The Standard & Poor's Guide to Building Wealth with Dividend Stocks

Improve your investment returns with expert advice from the world's leading financial information organization Investors are rediscovering the profitable advantages of dividend-paying stocks, due to the "bird in the hand" nature of regular dividend payments, dramatically reduced historical volatility, and the current reduction in the federal dividend tax rate. The Standard & Poor's Guide to Building Wealth with Dividend Stocks tackles all the key issues for adding the stability and performance of dividend stocks to your portfolio, providing hands-on techniques for identifying the best dividend-paying stocks and companies, using dividend tax law changes to improve returns, and implementing innovative dividend stock strategies. Joseph R. Tigue is retired managing editor of Standard & Poor's financial newsletter The Outlook and a leading authority on the strategies and benefits of dividend investing. Author of The Standard & Poor's Guide to Long-Term Investing and coauthor of The Dividend-Rich Investor , his comments and insights have been featured in BusinessWeek and other financial publications as well as on various TV programs Standard & Poor's is the world's foremost provider of independent credit ratings, indices, risk evaluation, investment research, data and valuations. An essential part of the world's financial infrastructure, Standard & Poor's has played a leading role for more than 140 years in providing investors with the independent benchmarks they need to feel more confident about their investment and financial decisions. The powerful insider guidance you need to make dividend stocks a lucrative component of your portfolio Reflecting their importance, dividends have historically accounted for more than 40 percent of the S&P 500 index's total return. Dividend stocks offer exceptional stability combined with long-term capital growth potential in every economic and market environment. For decades, dollar-smart investors have found them to be the ideal hedge against inflation and eroding earnings power. Highly regarded by the wealthiest, most knowledgeable investors, dividend stocks offer a solid financial opportunity once you understand the intricacies and pitfalls of investing in them. The Standard & Poor's Guide to Building Wealth with Dividend Stocks provides you with a clear, step-by-step program for making dividend stocks the cornerstone of your portfolio. Here in a single definitive volume you will find: Specific financial and operational details you should look for when deciding on the best dividend stocks for you - Capsule descriptions of seven stocks that recorded dividend growth of at least 250 percent from 1995 through 2005 - Listing of nearly 100 companies with dividend reinvestment plans (DRIPs), along with websites, details, and Standard & Poor's rankings where available Written in a clear, straightforward style by Joseph R. Tigue, one of the world's leading authorities on dividend investing strategies, The Standard & Poor's Guide to Building Wealth with Dividend Stocks offers proven, rock-solid guidance on making dividend stocks a cornerstone of your long-term investment strategy. A long-accepted rule of thumb on Wall Street, as well as among investors of every size and approach, is that solid, dependable companies reward their investors with cash dividends. Dividend-paying companies offer tangible, bottom-line proof that they are here to stay, and not dependent on the whims of a volatile stock market. In addition, veteran investors have learned through experience that dividends are an ideal hedge against inflation and eroding earnings power. Is it any wonder that, over the past century-plus, the majority of multimillion dollar stock portfolios have been built around dividend paying stocks? The Standard & Poor's Guide to Building Wealth with Dividend Stocks is an authoritative, single-source guide to adopting dividend investing strategies that will pay you with substantial, lifelong rewards. Written by dividend investing authority Joseph R. Tigue and built upon the knowledge and resources of the investing experts at Standard & Poor's, the world's leading provider of investment facts and information, this ready-to-implement investment tool features: Techniques for uncovering companies that couple higher-than-average dividends with the ability to continue paying those dividends - Typical income-paying stock classes, including utilities, financials, Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), preferred stocks, and more - Strategies for compounding and accelerating your equity growth through partial or full dividend reinvestment - Convenient methods for buying a diversified portfolio of dividend stocks through mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) - Detailed strategies for successful dividend investing, including dollar-cost averaging and relative dividend yield Regular dividend payments require that companies have consistent cash flow, which indicate strength. In an in