The Dividend Mailbox®

More on dividend growth investing  -> Join our market newsletter!Even though dividend growth stocks typically have a high degree of predictability, that doesn’t mean you can’t end up with surprises. Outside dividend cuts, some of the most significant surprises can come from legal liability - often arising from the distant past. Companies routinely face challenges in the courtroom and are well-equipped to handle their cases, but occasionally they are forced to cut a check with a lot of zeros. The problem for investors is that there is no quantifiable way to know what legal liabilities might be lingering out there. This episode is packed with specific companies as Greg dives into two stocks from the tobacco industry and two from the telecom sector. He examines the legal history of British-American Tabacco ($BTI) and Altria ($MO), alongside the potential future liability of AT&T ($T) and Verizon ($VZ). In doing so, he also breaks down their performance as companies and gives you a snapshot of how we analyze dividend growth candidates. Send us a textDisclaimer: Past performance does not guarantee future results. This episode is for educational purposes only and is not investment advice. If you enjoy the show, we'd greatly appreciate it if you subscribe and leave a review RESOURCES: Schedule a meeting with us -> Financial Planning & Portfolio Management Getting into the weeds -> DCM Investment Reports & Models Visit our website to learn more about our investment strategy and wealth management services. Follow us on:Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn | X

More on dividend growth investing  -> Join our market newsletter!If you want to be a successful long-term investor, you must know your discipline and be willing to stick to it. All investing strategies come in and out of favor in the marketplace and they ebb and flow over time. In 2022, we saw high growth and tech companies underperform, while dividend growth companies held up well. So far in 2023, we’re seeing the opposite. However, switching your investment strategy based on short-term performance is almost always ill-advised. Of course, having discipline is easier said than done, but gaining perspective can help.  In this month’s episode, Greg zeros in on how discipline and dividend growth are one and the same. He breaks down some of the largest wealth creators in the market and examines what exactly is driving the current market rally. He discusses the importance of knowing why your portfolio is performing the way it is but stresses that short-term performance is unimportant for the bigger picture. Later, he looks at a few dividend growth ETFs and finishes the episode with a listener’s question about investing from abroad.  Send us a textDisclaimer: Past performance does not guarantee future results. This episode is for educational purposes only and is not investment advice. If you enjoy the show, we'd greatly appreciate it if you subscribe and leave a review RESOURCES: Schedule a meeting with us -> Financial Planning & Portfolio Management Getting into the weeds -> DCM Investment Reports & Models Visit our website to learn more about our investment strategy and wealth management services. Follow us on:Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn | X

More on dividend growth investing  -> Join our market newsletter!By now, almost everyone has heard of the turmoil in the banking sector. The current scenario is much different from that of 2008 yet investors are nonetheless on edge. That has presented the long-term investor with an opportunity to scoop up well-managed banks at an attractive price. But buyer beware, there is a big difference between the haves and the have-nots. Although there may very well be more turbulence in the short term, there are a few candidates worth analyzing.  Considering the sell-off in the banking sector, Greg presents a new investment idea to add to our model portfolio. He makes the case that M&T Bank ($MTB) is conservatively managed and poised for continued dividend growth, even in rough seas. Later he explains why we sold a third of our Clorox ($CLX) position and addresses a listener’s question about cash investments. Send us a textDisclaimer: Past performance does not guarantee future results. This episode is for educational purposes only and is not investment advice. If you enjoy the show, we'd greatly appreciate it if you subscribe and leave a review RESOURCES: Schedule a meeting with us -> Financial Planning & Portfolio Management Getting into the weeds -> DCM Investment Reports & Models Visit our website to learn more about our investment strategy and wealth management services. Follow us on:Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn | X

More on dividend growth investing  -> Join our market newsletter!In this month’s episode, Greg sits down with Jeff Weniger, Head of Equity Strategy at WisdomTree. For the unfamiliar, WisdomTree is a fund and ETF manager with roughly $90 billion in assets under management. What makes WisdomTree’s funds special is that most of them focus on dividend and dividend growth strategies. One of their largest funds is the US Quality Dividend Growth Fund ($DGRW), which incidentally is our largest core position and is one we have mentioned over past episodes. Among their other funds, $DGRW is exceptional for gaining exposure to quality dividend growth.  Jeff has spent decades in the finance world and specializes in the management and creation of strategy-focused ETFs. Prior to joining WisdomTree, he was Director & Senior Strategist at BMO, working directly with the CIO of the firm from 2006 to 2017. He is a CFA charterholder, and earned his MBA from Notre Dame.  As head WisdomTree’s equity strategy, Jeff has invaluable experience in equity markets and provides unique perspectives for long-term investors and the macro environment. During Greg and Jeff’s discussion, they cover the history of dividends, the difference between US and overseas dividend culture, why “boring” actually performs well, and why having a lottery ticket mindset can lead to mistakes. The interview is full of topics that the dividend investor should keep in mind and ultimately serves as a powerful reminder of why dividend growth investing is a long-term strategy that works.EDIT: This episode was originally uploaded with an hour of silence that followed the episode. The current audio file has been edited and corrected. Send us a textDisclaimer: Past performance does not guarantee future results. This episode is for educational purposes only and is not investment advice. If you enjoy the show, we'd greatly appreciate it if you subscribe and leave a review RESOURCES: Schedule a meeting with us -> Financial Planning & Portfolio Management Getting into the weeds -> DCM Investment Reports & Models Visit our website to learn more about our investment strategy and wealth management services. Follow us on:Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn | X

More on dividend growth investing  -> Join our market newsletter!Most of the time, using the screening criteria that are characteristic of good dividend growth companies weeds out the bad apples. When you buy companies that have low debt, attractive yield, high return on invested capital, etc., it can feel like you’ll be cashing those dividends forever. However, companies inevitably run into challenges, and you might get a surprise. If you invest long enough, you’ll eventually find yourself with a dividend that’s been cut and a once attractive investment that has soured. The good news is if your portfolio is structured properly, not even dividend cuts get in the way of growing your income every year.On another note, one factor that greatly influences the security of a dividend is debt. Given everything that has happened in the market recently, and with a liquidity crisis in the banking sector, debt has become a hot topic. It is extremely important to understand how debt functions for a company, especially in an environment with rising interest rates.In this month’s episode, Greg takes you on a deep dive into Intel ($INTC). He looks at why we originally bought it, the problems they ran into, and why they recently cut their dividend. He even lays out why it may do better in a couple of years. Later, He uses a couple of different examples to show how debt can be good, bad, or indifferent.Send us a textDisclaimer: Past performance does not guarantee future results. This episode is for educational purposes only and is not investment advice. If you enjoy the show, we'd greatly appreciate it if you subscribe and leave a review RESOURCES: Schedule a meeting with us -> Financial Planning & Portfolio Management Getting into the weeds -> DCM Investment Reports & Models Visit our website to learn more about our investment strategy and wealth management services. Follow us on:Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn | X

More on dividend growth investing  -> Join our market newsletter!When the goal is to compound wealth for decades, there is a significant difference between dividend growth and sustainable dividend growth. While the difference is obvious enough, they are two distinctly different investments and should be treated as such. Although we believe that sustainable dividend growth is ultimately what builds wealth over time, that doesn't mean that other investment ideas should be ignored altogether. When a stock gets cheap enough, even if its dividend is questionable, sometimes you have to jump on it.In this episode, Greg builds on the premise of Episode 18 and examines Oaktree Specialty Lending Corporation ($OCSL), a business development company with a 10%+ yield. At the risk of contradicting himself and the case he made against high yield, he argues that there comes a time when value beats dividend sustainability. While the risks of high-yield investments remain, he uses OCSL to compare dividend growth vs. sustainable dividend growth. Later on, Greg provides updates on companies we have covered in past episodes, and where we view them post-Q4 earnings. If you are interested in the original episodes where we went in-depth into each story, they are linked below:The Clorox Company ($CLX): Ep. 8 - Dirty vs. Clean Opportunities & Ep. 9 - Greater Volatility and More Uncertainty...Emerson Electric ($EMR): Ep. 17 - The Dilemma With Slow Growth3M Co ($MMM): Ep. 15 - You Don't Need A "Winner" to 10x Your IncomeUnited Parcel Service ($UPS): Ep. 19 - Do Dividends Care About Recessions?Send us a textDisclaimer: Past performance does not guarantee future results. This episode is for educational purposes only and is not investment advice. If you enjoy the show, we'd greatly appreciate it if you subscribe and leave a review RESOURCES: Schedule a meeting with us -> Financial Planning & Portfolio Management Getting into the weeds -> DCM Investment Reports & Models Visit our website to learn more about our investment strategy and wealth management services. Follow us on:Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn | X

More on dividend growth investing  -> Join our market newsletter!Heading into 2023, it seems as though the word recession is on the tip of everyone's tongue. At first thought, a recession might make you grimace, but what do they actually mean in real terms for an investor? Truth be told, you never know you're in a recession until after the fact, but it is essential to understand how they affect the economy. If you're a long-time investor, 2008 and 2001 were painful examples of just how fast your portfolio's value can change. So we know recessions are bad for the stock market... are they that bad for dividends?Good news for the dividend growth investor — dividends are resilient through even the worst of downturns.In this month's episode, Greg takes a page out of the market history book to dive into just how recessions affect GDP, earnings, the stock market, and especially dividends. He makes the case that dividends are a much more stable, if not the most predictable, factor to focus on when things get rough. Later he examines UPS as a potential dividend growth candidate. Send us a textDisclaimer: Past performance does not guarantee future results. This episode is for educational purposes only and is not investment advice. If you enjoy the show, we'd greatly appreciate it if you subscribe and leave a review RESOURCES: Schedule a meeting with us -> Financial Planning & Portfolio Management Getting into the weeds -> DCM Investment Reports & Models Visit our website to learn more about our investment strategy and wealth management services. Follow us on:Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn | X

More on dividend growth investing  -> Join our market newsletter!If you spend much time managing your own money or researching companies, odds are you have been exposed to high-yielding opportunities. From stocks to bonds to real estate, there are plenty of investments out there that present themselves as quality investments while simultaneously generating large income streams. 7%+ yields seem hard to beat, but there is usually a reason why the yield is so high. In a way, the market is essentially showing the investor a blinking warning light, one that indicates that there is risk built into the price of the company. This is not to say that these opportunities don't work, just that dividend growth investors need to be wary of what they entail.In the year's final episode, Greg answers a listener's question about prioritizing dividend growth or yield when nearing retirement age. That opens the door to examining the pitfalls of investing in high-yielding companies, where he provides a framework for analyzing the risk embedded within such investments. Later he compares Williams-Sonoma and Restoration Hardware in response to Berkshire Hathaway's recent addition of the company to its portfolio. Finally, Greg wraps up the episode with some food for thought.Happy Holidays!Send us a textDisclaimer: Past performance does not guarantee future results. This episode is for educational purposes only and is not investment advice. If you enjoy the show, we'd greatly appreciate it if you subscribe and leave a review RESOURCES: Schedule a meeting with us -> Financial Planning & Portfolio Management Getting into the weeds -> DCM Investment Reports & Models Visit our website to learn more about our investment strategy and wealth management services. Follow us on:Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn | X

More on dividend growth investing  -> Join our market newsletter!Constructing an attractive yet sustainable dividend growth portfolio is no easy feat, especially one that meets your expectations. As much as you try, you will eventually invest in a company whose dividend growth rate doesn't meet your expectations. For us, we want to attain a dividend growth rate of at least 6% a year on average, and ideally faster than that. Every investor needs a process for evaluating whether a company is a net positive on their portfolio, or if it’s weighing it down. But it’s not black and white. If the dividend growth hasn’t been there, but the stock price has done well and you've owned it for a long time, reaching a decision can be complicated. The dilemma is: do you sell the company and move on, or can you see a clear path for the company to get back on track? For our 17th episode, Greg looks at Emerson Electric (EMR), a company we have owned for over 10 years. While the stock has returned over 150%, the dividend growth rate has not met our expectations. Faced with the dilemma of selling the company, he takes you through our process of how we figure out what to expect going forward. Later he contrasts this story with Hanes Brands, a company that we eventually sold.Within the show, we use a simple dividend growth model as a starting point. If you would like to follow along, it is linked below:EMR Simple Dividend Growth ModelSend us a textDisclaimer: Past performance does not guarantee future results. This episode is for educational purposes only and is not investment advice. If you enjoy the show, we'd greatly appreciate it if you subscribe and leave a review RESOURCES: Schedule a meeting with us -> Financial Planning & Portfolio Management Getting into the weeds -> DCM Investment Reports & Models Visit our website to learn more about our investment strategy and wealth management services. Follow us on:Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn | X

More on dividend growth investing  -> Join our market newsletter!It's safe to say that the stock market faces some daunting problems currently. To some investors, it's enough to make them change their strategy, seek alternate investments, or pull out entirely. Regardless of the negative consequences those actions can have on your portfolio, haven't investors always faced challenges? As Morgan Housel brilliantly states:  "Every past market decline looks like an opportunity, and every future decline appears to be a risk." Understandably, if you were to listen to all the noise out there, it'd be hard to look past your nose. That is why in environments like this, one of the best things you can do is take a step back and gain some perspective.  In this episode, Greg shares a couple of reassuring stories that illustrate how important it is to stay the course. In fact, if you stay on track long enough, it could result in immense wealth. He examines how a rental property investment might perform decently well, but falls short in comparison to dividend growth. Later he takes a look at NASA's recent D.A.R.T. mission success, drawing a comparison to long-term investing.Send us a textDisclaimer: Past performance does not guarantee future results. This episode is for educational purposes only and is not investment advice. If you enjoy the show, we'd greatly appreciate it if you subscribe and leave a review RESOURCES: Schedule a meeting with us -> Financial Planning & Portfolio Management Getting into the weeds -> DCM Investment Reports & Models Visit our website to learn more about our investment strategy and wealth management services. Follow us on:Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn | X