Dividend strategies have gained a foothold with market participants seeking potential outperformance and attractive yields, especially in the low-rate environment since the 2008 Global Financial Crisis and the even lower-rate environment we have seen since 2020, as the world deals with the economic fallout from COVID-19. Entering 2022 with continuing global economic uncertainties, geopolitical disputes, high inflation and rising rates, a dividend growth strategy focusing on dividend sustainability and financial quality remains attractive.
With the volatile economic situation that has emerged since 2020, and market uncertainties putting pressure on corporate earnings, high-yielding companies without strong financial strength and discipline may not be able to sustain future payout and could be prone to dividend cuts and suspensions.
Stocks with a history of dividend growth, on the other hand, could present a compelling investment opportunity in an uncertain environment. An allocation to companies that have sustainable and growing dividends may provide exposure to high-quality stocks and greater income over time, therefore buffering against market volatility and addressing the risk of rising rates to some extent.
This argument goes beyond the traditional realm of domestic large-cap stocks. It also works for small- and mid-cap stocks and can be applied to international markets as well.
The S&P High Yield Dividend Aristocrats® is designed to track a basket of stocks from the S&P Composite 1500® that have consistently increased their dividends every year for at least 20 years. This paper investigates the benefits of a dividend growth strategy by analyzing the characteristics of the S&P High Yield Dividend Aristocrats and comparing it to the S&P 500® High Dividend Index—a high-dividend strategy built on the S&P 500 (see the Appendix for an overview of the index’s methodology). In addition, this paper illustrates a few indices that focus on the strongest dividend growers in global and international markets, including Canada, the eurozone, the U.K., Pan Asia and Japan.
