Dividends Are Irrelevant (Sort Of...)

[@ThePlainBagel]

*Correction: The five factor model includes market beta as a factor, not quality

[@Wasnt-1]

dividends are not irrelevant it's actually what makes a stock great as investors can have an assurance of gains thru dividends even if their investments would go down into the gulag

[@markmastoroudes9417]

😊​@@Wasnt-1

[@jose91807]

@@Wasnt-1 That is based on the market not being efficient, if you believe it is. the amount of the dividend will decrease with the stock price

[@dahiyahbk]

@@Wasnt-1are you for real? I hope you know that the dividend amount is also variable and companies even miss payouts very often and I am talking about large companies and banks.

[@brentfarvors192]

Correction: You are a hack, and aside from general.explanations, have no concept of how an average investor thinks/acts. Ifnnot for dividends, I would have gone broke more.than once, during market crashes, as would %85 of those that trade passively...Think of dividends as playing with "house $", in a casino, because that's essentially what it is; Stock profits on an annual basis, while keeping your original bet on the table...vs, losing any "growth", when the market dumps for a week or more. Stocks go up, and stocks go down. With a dividend, YOU (yes, you), always get payed!!!

[@DominicGreene72]

Richard, you gotta stop with this rational "nuance" nonsense, I need to be able to pick a side and blindly defend it to the death

[@SirAlexanderdeLarge]

How dare he! 😁😁

[@_..-.._..-.._]

Wouldn’t be modern without flipping a coin and then defending that side with all his might at thanksgiving.

[@neuvocastezero1838]

Yeah, and he should spend more time showing us pics of his Lambos and private jet!

[@DusVen44]

@@neuvocastezero1838That Lambo better be in a garage… with books.

[@darkfangulas]

Earning a $2 dividend gets me more excited than earning my $1300 pay check

[@OUSTET]

Fr 😂😂😂

[@fikonfraktare]

I would rather earn 1% off a 100 people's efforts than 100% of my own efforts /John D. Rockefeller

[@Wanderingbuffalo12]

Are you a student or someone who works part time? Because 1300$ is way below the minimum wage.

[@ajbahlam]

@@Wanderingbuffalo12 or a foreigner in a sweat factory

[@cyjanek7818]

​@@Wanderingbuffalo12even in Europe you can be aerospace engineer and earn less than that, USA salaries are higher (cost of living too so it isn't that simple)

[@bigjigyeah]

I've always thought Warren Buffett's explanation was the easiest to understand. If a company can reinvest a dollar of earnings to earn more than a dollar, they should retain the earnings. If they can't, they should pay it out as dividends (or stock buybacks depending on the price of the stock)

[@magalengo]

Exactly, but that is thinking like an actual business owner. And not an ivory tower economist who wants prestige for theories that don’t reflect the real world.

[@ReservedInvestments]

100%

[@wamyam]

any company could have unexpected stagnation for unforeseen and prolongated reasons even despite blowing through capital that could have been dividends, in which case, had you had those dividends for yourself and reinvested them, your investment could have still been growing with accelerating compounded returns. eventually the compounding return rate can become stronger than even huge price drops. it can be a solid way to diversify your growth strategies in a long term portfolio as everything has pros and cons

[@vincentrobitaille4564]

@@magalengo lmao what are you even talking about ? Because return optimisation is pretty much essential in economics...

[@superdingo9741]

Any company is able to earn more than a dollar on that dollar. It might just buy treasuries and give you a bit more. But I don't think you will be happy about such earnings.

[@jessehopper8996]

The case for dividends being relevant that makes the most sense for me is the "passive income" crowd having a preference towards dividends. Because even if they are the same as taking capital gains, I can see how not needing to manage capital gains would be attractive to them.

[@EK-gr9gd]

There is a big difference between selling assets and receiving profits, even when profits reduces the price of an asset. A price of an asset, which you hold, can increase again, an asset you sold is gone., and needs to be reacquired.

[@charlielipthratt7291]

​@EK-gr9gd - Especially during down years! I don't think this is addressed enough during these videos.

[@thenoideaman]

Additionally, brokerage fees are still reality in many countries - especially while trading foreign stock exchange papers.

[@burkles4456]

idk, capital gains are just added to your tax bracket. Unless you make a whole lot it wont affect you.

[@EK-gr9gd]

@burkles4456 Taxation is a completely separate issue. No one cares about your tax sheet.

[@CliftonHamilton]

Dividends are great for a mature company- if there is no more organic growth available for a company, but the company has a long-term market, I would rather they pay me the profits out in dividends then expand into markets where they have no expertise. I've watched many mature companies reinvest their profits by buying unrelated companies and expanding the footprint of the company, only to realize they overpaid and have no expertise in the area, resulting in large losses for the company (and investors) when they eventually have to write-off the garbage investments.

[@wolfheadedconjuror]

This

[@jamiemiller6156]

Reading comments, this is the first one that actually makes sense. You cannot comment on this subject without understanding capital allocation. A company can reinvest profits, pay down debt, buy back shares and pay a dividend. What they should do depends on the situation of the individual company. All of them are good ideas in the right situation and bad options if the situation is not right.

[@raaaaaaaaaam496]

Microsoft pays a dividend and grows like crazy.

[@Zveebo]

For me, my FIRE strategy is based around dividends partly because of psychology (it makes it easier to know I do not ever intend to sell my stocks, rather than have to manage how much I sell each month or quarter) and partly because of stability (with dividends generally being less volatile than stock prices) so enabling me to plan better for the future. For now it’s working well, but I totally get that this is a personal thing.

[@BusterDarcy]

Aren’t dividends just as if not more volatile since they are a percentage of the market value and are subject to change from quarter to quarter?

[@Zveebo]

@@BusterDarcy Nope, it depends on the policy of individual companies - very few are tied to stock market value.

[@FaustsKanaal]

It is usually either a percentage of profits or a fixed amount set by the company. Stock price doesnt figure into it.

[@BusterDarcy]

@@Zveebo I see where I was confused - it’s often displayed as a percentage of the stock price, but that’s not how it’s set by the company. So the percentage may go up or down as the price of the stock fluctuates while the set dollar value actually stays the same. My bad!

[@mikeyman1974]

@@BusterDarcy you might be thinking about cover call etf’s but most stocks unless they are very volatile are very consistent and will increase their dividends every year or so. The only time they will cut a dividend is if it’s unsustainable or i’ve seen in cases like MPW they cut their dividend in order to pay of outstanding debt. However that just would bring people back to doing your research on a stock and not just buying into high yield just for the yield rather than the fundamentals of a company

[@MillennialMoron]

The less provocative way to say this is "dividends are already priced in" 😅

[@lanceareadbhar]

I like to think of dividends as selling a fraction of your shares usually every three without having to do anything.

[@cleric7788]

Best answer.

[@Morphballistic]

Honestly I appreciate Richard’s clickbait so it motivates me to pay attention more 😅

[@rossiiel]

Correct!

[@fsdds1488]

Or "Dividends doesn't always means good business" But still I would prefer divided stocks given similar financial and managerial position, simply because cashing out stocks also have opportunity costs (like what if there's big capital gains after I sold?), while by fixating my position on a dividend stock I can use that cash for other investments, I might miss out other opportunities due to limited cashflow but I also reduced the extra volatility of my portfolio brought by actively selling and buying stocks. So it's really my own investment goal and styles that makes me love divided stocks, not because dividend makes a company great.

[@newtypehack]

My honest favorite thing about this channel is when you do the exact same thing I do when people ask me a complicated question and want a simple answer: respond with "sort of, it depends." Definitive answers are so rarely applicable so I love when somebody treats me like an adult and assumes I am willing to listen to the explanation. Please keep up the good work.

[@manemrob1510]

Perfectly covered Richard. Dividends, buybacks, reinvesting, they can all be either good or bad for shareholders depending on the situation. Reinvesting is good when management can execute to get great ROIC on this reinvestment. Buybacks are good if the share price is cheap relative to intrinsic value, and dividends are fine if the cash is excess and otherwise not needed by the business.

[@lotoex]

I could be very wrong about this, but in a vacuum wouldn't it be better for individuals to get a dividend that is reinvested in the company (I know you can't force people to reinvest) vs buybacks because in both scenarios the stock price increased. However in the dividend (and forced buy back) you also have more shares now. Example the company was going to spend 100m buying back shares, but instead it gave the 100m to it's share holders and made them buy it. I guess my question is would the stock go up by the same amount if the company bought 100m in shares vs if investors bought 100m in shares.

[@manemrob1510]

@@lotoex hypothetically speaking I think this would be the same because you either buy more shares but the outstanding share count stays the same, or you own the same # shares but the outstanding # of shares decreases due to company share buyback... Hence your % of ownership goes up the same in both situations. Technically speaking every shareholder can't simultaneously buy more shares because you can't buy shares without someone else selling you their shares.

[@manemrob1510]

@@SigFigNewton True and it is usually a good indicator that management is shareholder friendly. It also gives you the opportunity to redeploy the capital as you see fit.

[@lotoex]

@@manemrob1510 So if I am understanding correctly in a buyback the outstanding share count goes down and thus indirectly decreases the payout ratio. Making future dividends safer, as well as easier to increase the CARG

[@MianoraStonecrow]

Correct me if i'm wrong. But i was under the impression, that most dividend investors see capital gains as equally valued as opposed to capital gains being the king. For us dividend investors (among other factors), i would say two things are most important. 1. If i receive dividends instead of selling shares for cashflow, i won't ever lose any shares and for the majority of my time accumulate shares. 2. I don't have to ever time my sell, to benefit "the most". I'm never getting any headache cause of market volatility, not do i care about a bear markets, cause i'm getting cash no matter what. Not only that, but i'm actually more happy seeing red in the short term then seeing green! All of this has even more weight, when you invest into ETFs instead of individual companies, cause then you really don't have to pay much attention to any underlying companies in the ETFs.

[@alquinn8576]

yeah you have more shares, but the actual equity those shares represent is lower because the company gave its money away. If you are accumulating still, then why do you need cashflow? Is that an emergency fund (you can still have one w/o a dividend heavy strategy). After you stop accumulating, there is sequence of return risks and I'm not sure how much dividends might help then, but companies can lower or eliminate dividend payments as well (I know there are many that have been doing it forever, but as pointed out here, they might be industries with less growth potential, so holding the shares long term may have cost you returns over the long run). (I'm dividend-agnostic in my investments, which are mostly index funds.)

[@Azathoth43]

The majority of dividend investors I've listened to invest for the income. If you don't need the income, obviously, they reinvest. With that in mind the issue with saying you can use your capital gains as income makes me think, yeah, but if you need it for income (retirement etc) you may eventually sale all the stock. Where as a dividend you'll still own the stock and receive the dividend. A lot of nuance to these discusions.

[@jab2393]

Dividends are a form of stability when people buy and sell on speculation and emotion

[@famicomnintendo]

I think if you are young you could benefit more with growth stocks, but as you're nearing retirement, having dividends coming in allows you to generate income without selling. Being forced to sell stocks when the market is down can cost a lot of money

[@TanyaLairdCivil]

Exactly. That is one clear benefit of it. A lot of stocks have their values heavily inflated by, for lack of a better word, vibes. Look at companies like Tesla, which had its valuation boosted to absurd levels far beyond current revenues or even beyond any reasonable hope of future profits. And that's before you even consider meme/cult stocks like the Gamestop fiasco awhile back.

[@Nevy21]

But they are not. Companies can go through hardships. Companies can reduce dividends. Companies can restructure. That's the point of the dividend irrelevance statement.

[@ordinaryhuman5645]

@@famicomnintendo And when the market is down and companies aren't making as much money they're more likely to cut dividends. There's no free lunch. A lot of people have forgotten this because we haven't had a proper downturn in more than a decade.

[@famicomnintendo]

you have to choose well, some companies have never cut their dividends in over 50 years@@ordinaryhuman5645

[@TheShimmeringHexagon]

The reason I prefer dividend-paying stocks is because non-dividend-paying stocks fall into the "Greater fool theory", in that the only way you can make money from them (assuming they remain non-dividend-paying) is if somebody else pays more for it. While I understand that from an abstract perspective there should be no difference, purchasing an asset that doesn't bring me income simply feels wrong. To build on Warren Buffett's farm example: I would never want to buy a farm where I can only make money from it by selling it to someone else.

[@jerryspringer6096]

Dividends are at risk of not being paid out though?

[@tomlxyz]

It's actually not different. Dividend paying stocks are still subject to greater fool theory. Say, a company pays 4 % dividends and goes bankrupt in 5 years. That's a loss in total. Just like said in the video, you could just regularly sell stock to get the dividend effect. You have to hold far more equity than you'd get out as dividends each year, so the risk is still high with dividend stocks To get to the farm analogy: every farm is at risk at stopping having enough yield to be profitable

[@karlputz6721]

I don't think that a stock needs to pay a dividend right now, but there has to be some mechanism for extracting wealth from the stock at some point in the lifetime of the stock. He mentions cashing out capital gains, but I don't see how an individual investor does that. Other than the company being sold in whole (the final fool) I don't see another mechanism for getting paid besides dividends.

[@TheShimmeringHexagon]

@@jerryspringer6096 Yes, risk is never fully avoidable, but that is another topic. My comment was a very condensed summary of a macro-level point of view of these two categories of stocks and in reality there are going to be a lot of ifs and buts that could be discussed at length.

[@sor3999]

@@tomlxyzI don't think you understand what greater fool theory is... Dividends do not rely on finding a buyer who will pay more than you did.

[@OneNewHope]

If you want to actually feel like you're owning a business, then dividends make sense. Everyone is on the buyback train, but I think a company bidding up it's own stock price is far less stable than taking the direct payout. As someone in the middle class, all my investments are in tax advantaged accounts. The "tax benefits" don't matter to me as much as the reliability/stability/psychology of dividends

[@lucasfachinelli]

It's very interesting to learn about this. To summarize, it all depends on the context and where you invest. In Brazil, dividends are not taxed, but there is a tax on capital gains. Therefore, a dividend strategy seems more advantageous in this scenario. Additionally, Brazil has something akin to REITS, known as Fiis, which are funds that invest in real estate and are legally required to distribute 90% of their monthly income as dividends. This is similar to buying and renting an apartment, but with the benefit of requiring lower capital and avoiding typical property management issues. Some of these can offer dividend yields ranging from 8% to 14% annually.

[@richardcarlin1332]

I'm a dividend growth receiver (retired) and use this money to live. Dividends provide me with income and I don't have to sell shares, which is very important especially in a down market. The number of shares I own remains the same, so the price doesn't matter. Companies also usually raise their dividends to match inflation, which for me is important. I treat dividends like gradually filling a water trough. The company during three months fills the water trough with profits. At the end of the quarter, some of the water is taken out and given to the share holders. Yes, the water trough isn't as full, but it will fill up to again be distributed.

[@xvx4848]

Seems like a weird strategy when you could just hold bonds.

[@SeaJay4444]

"I don't have to sell shares, which is very important especially in a down market" Not reinvesting your dividends in a down market is essentially the same as selling off your shares in a down market. It might be psychologically more comfy but it isn't actually better.

[@richardcarlin1332]

I do have bonds and bond funds. The key is to diversify investments. I also own growth stocks, but I'm living on my dividends and interest income. Growth stocks will fund future major purchases.

[@nonawolf7495]

Well said Richard - I couldn't agree more . Dividends are a part of my retirement income stream - and on the months I don't need cash, I simply reinvest the dividends and grow my position.

[@uberboiz]

@@xvx4848 It's not a weird strategy if you understand that: (1) the coupon on bonds is fixed; and (2) fixed income is not the same as fixed purchasing power.

[@chirstianpeyre5530]

You need to get a financial planner or expert on investments to aid diversify your portfolio to commodities index funds, digital assets etc, to provide illumination and guidance in the financial markets.

[@valeriejeanmathis874]

Investors should exercise caution with their exposure and exercise caution when considering new investments, particularly during periods of inflation. It is advisable to seek guidance from a professional or trusted advisor in order to navigate this recession and achieve potential high yields.

[@marilynfriare961]

Honestly this cannot be overemphasized, professionals helping people mitigate unforseen circumstances and mistakes .It's always good to have a financial plan,

[@ThistainByrthle]

indeed, most people downplay the roles of financial planners until burnt by there mistakes. Productivity is optimized and keeping up to date strategies and analysis makes it more lucrative. I've been able to navigate the volatilities and scaled up 880k from 220k with professional guidance.

[@gabrielbruhnr]

No doubt being financially free and not having to worry much about health care and other expenses cannot be overemphasized, making smart plans and setting up diversified investment portfolios is quite essential.

[@gregorridavichko]

No doubt being financially free and not having to worry much about health care and other expenses cannot be overemphasized, making smart plans and setting up diversified investment portfolios is quite essential.

[@maxpayne7419]

I think of Dividends as kind of like dollar cost averaging the “sale” of stocks in my non registered portfolio. And I like the preferential tax treatment of Canadian dividends. I just think of dividends as one of many income streams in retirement (eg pensions, OAS, CPP, RIF, dividends, interest income, etc). I never sell stocks (except to rebalance every 6 months to my chosen asset mix of 70% stocks, 30% bonds - which means I only sell stocks when they are up).

[@greenmario3011]

To me one of the big benefits of dividends was always as a partial hedge against bad decisions. Lets say your gains under normal circumstances are the same regardless of if a company issues dividends, as the theory proposes. If the company makes a terrible decision that severely hurts the stock price, something not uncommon in more dynamic sectors. If you've been getting your returns through dividends than you just get less income, but if you've been getting your income in the form of increased stock value than it can lead to serious losses.

[@chowsquid]

But in that scenario, the bad decision already tanked the stock price, so your investment lost a lot of value even tho your div current isn’t affected….yet.

[@greenmario3011]

@@chowsquid but a stock crashing doesn't erase the dividend payments you got in the past while it can erase previous returns in the form of stock value if it goes below your original purchase price. Not a problem if you're regularly selling off a portion of your portfolio but for someone looking to hold long-term it can do more damage than if your returns are in the form of cash rather than stock value.

[@txn4yt7mc5]

​@@greenmario3011lmao how can you be so dense. if the company you talk about never paid dividends it would have a higher share price to begin with thanks to the retained earnings. dividends are not free they come out of your capital appreciation

[@David-ud9ju]

If they've done something that bad then the dividend is almost certainly going to be reduced or cut entirely.

[@me-myself-i787]

By that logic, you might as well just hold cash, since you don't want your money to be inside the company.

[@servalous]

I have dividend stocks and non dividend stocks and use my saved income and dividends to expand my portfolio. In the end it's your decision on what you want.

[@CaedenV]

1) My good days come in lump sums, so when I get a chunk of cash to invest, then I tend to buy into a dividend stock that looks like it is on sale. Then, as the dividends come out of that investment I use it to divest and slowly balance out my portfolio into other sectors or investment types. 2) I perhaps have attachment issues. I will repair something until I am blue in the face before I replace it. I will wear something until it is full of holes before I throw it away. And when I buy a stock I don't want to even think about selling it for years or decades unless it is specifically a shorter term play... and even then I tend to sell the initial investment and keep the difference as stock for that longer term hold. If I sell and the price goes up, then I kick myself for selling too early. If I sell and it goes down, then I buy right back in, which defeats the point of selling if I was trying to free up cash for something else. Dividends let me get around my attachment issues so I can keep what I bought, while still freeing up money to do other things. 3) With dividends the tax hit is lower than standard income, and (at least so far) dividends are not a significant portion of my income. I view this as a way to spread that tax burden out over time. But if I buy into a stock, wait for it to jump, and then sell, then I would be taking on that tax burden all at once, and I don't particularly see how that works to my advantage. If I had $10M invested and was making thousands of dollars of dividend income a month then maybe that would be a different story... but we aren't there yet, and may never get to that level lol. 4) In the long term, my goal is steady income that I don't have to think about. Dividends provide that. I don't want to be 70 years old during a market down turn, freaking the hell out about selling Stock A vs Stock B because one company may potentially do better or recover quicker than the other, or debating if I just don't sell at all and hold through the down turn and subsist on rice and beans until things improve. I think I'd rather be dividend heavy, and take that more steady income rather than worrying about all of the different scenarios that may or may not play out. 5) Most dividend companies are significantly less volatile in stock price. Again, I'm no day trader. I review my accounts every few weeks, look for some trends on my watchlists, make a few limit orders, and hope for the best. If they don't trigger, then I feel like I dodged a bullet and can free that cash up for the next play. If they do trigger, my buy orders tend to be on the low side, so I feel like I got a deal. But I don't have the time or lifestyle that allows me to watch the markets daily... I have a very full time job, and kids, and life... and I have a *slightly major* case of ADHD, so I'm frankly not going to have the discipline to watch every move of the market, and I'll just kick myself for missing every possible opportunity trying to maximize my trading on shorter time scales.

[@vb8801]

This was so relatable lol

[@TheEmolano]

I think 4 is the best argument that can be made for dividends. Imagine having to sell low tonot starve.

[@me-myself-i787]

Dividend-paying companies are no more stable or financially sound than other companies, and most dividend-paying companies won't continue paying dividends in a downturn when they're no longer making money.

[@FxAndrej]

Indeed. Point 4 is heavily underestimated by the adherents of the 4% rule (gradually sell accumulated assets, market growth will compensate). They think they won't suffer mentally.

[@kyungshim6483]

Having studied finance and economics for a very very long time, all the points made by The Plain Bagel AND Ben Felix are valid. But there is still a part of me that likes the idea of having money in my pocket instead of money left with the management of the business. I can chose what to do with that money, i.e., to consume it or to reinvest it into whatever investment vehicle my heart desires.

[@chowsquid]

You can do the same by selling shares

[@mxk]

What you describe is a common behavioral bias called loss aversion. Selling something feels like a loss because you are giving up future returns. Dividends feel like a win because the loss (drop in share price) is less visible and not initiated by you. It's ok to say it makes you feel good as long as you understand that you're acting irrationally.

[@sor3999]

@@mxkDoes paying down a principal of a loan reduce your interest paid over time? Or am I acting "irrationally"?

[@sor3999]

@@chowsquidNot even remotely the same. Dividends come from the company. Selling shares requires a bigger fool.

[@UrMom-yf2nr]

Mxk is too dumb to finance his own money. So he lets someone else do it for him. And when that someone else screws around with his cash and pockets it for themselves, that’s when mxk realizes he should’ve learned how to manage money and keep cash in his own pockets

[@lukeeaton2364]

I like the psychological aspect of the relatively stable, predictable dividend payouts for several of the reasons mentioned in the video. Treating the payments separately from the principal investment that is 'untouchable', being able to invest the dividends into new opportunities without selling stocks, also the regularity of dividend payments being reinvested creates a dollar cost averaging effect.

[@Omar-et7sb]

Only that it's not predictable. During severe market crashes, dividends go down too. Simple backtesting of popular Dividend ETF's can prove this.

[@tonycrabtree3416]

@@Omar-et7sbDividend Aristocrats look them up.

[@Skyriderx10]

For me, its supplemental income... like, I have access to extra income from my portfolio that I can either reinvest it, or keep it while increasing my contributions to 401k/HSA/stock purchase plans from work without changing my lifestyle... It gives me flexibility

[@Omar-et7sb]

@@Skyriderx10 It's not extra income. It's portfolio gains that you are choosing to keep in your pocket no different (besides tax considerations - moot for retirement portfolios in tax advantaged accounts) than any other income from capital gains.

[@Skyriderx10]

@@Omar-et7sb at the end of the day, its extra cashflow for me that I would not have had to support my other investments... Without that, I would have never been able to max out my retirement contributions... If it comes at the cost of paying a higher tax on dividend income, then oh well, thats the price of flexibility, but then again, im not anywhere near that threshold where it makes much of a difference

[@apoch2001]

Dividends, if reinvested, are a psychological trigger to keep at it. Share prices go up and down but your number of shares grows , short of share consolidation

[@rayzerot]

"Share prices go up and down but your number of shares grows, short of share consolidation." ... you just described growth investing haha

[@jeanbonneau6711]

I think the view on dividend really depends on your tax rates and if you understand the taxation on investment return. Earlier I was really on dividend. It was like free money every 3 months. But now every new dividend I receive from eligible stock are taxed at around 40% and non-eligible at 48%. Capital gains are only taxed at 26%. And you pay the capital gain taxes only when you sell. I'm from Canada

[@Kathywake23]

I've been wondering about this very thing about how taxes are taken out of dividends vs capital gains. Naively, I assumed they would be taxed the same. Guess it's time to go more research.

[@chowsquid]

Yup…you leveled up as an investor. And you can level up some more with tax loss harvesting. And carryover. Which with div, you can’t. Div is fine in a locked up account like IRA or 401K or HSA.

[@tz8785]

@@Kathywake23 In some countries it is taxed the same.

[@Spot5-zg7ge]

wow, 40% tax on dividends, what country?

[@superdau]

@@Kathywake23 Here in Austria dividends and capital gains are taxed the same. You can also deduct trade losses from dividends. The tax is applied on the net amount of capital gains and dividends. Still, dividends are worse if they are payed outside of Austria because the source countries already keep a tax ("withholding tax") and you only get a part of it the easy way. Capital gains tax is 27.5% in Austria. Canada for example takes 25% of the dividend as withholding tax, but only 15% of that can be credited towards the Austrian tax (Austria/EU and Canada have some kind of agreement on that). To reach Austria's 27.5% from the credited 15% I have to pay another 12.5% tax here on top of the 25% withheld by Canada for a total tax of 37.5% of the dividend. There are ways to get back the 10% payed over the local rate, but it involves annoying (and sometimes costly) paperwork including the tax authorities in both countries and the broker. Barely worth it unless you get a lot of dividends in another country (I have quite a few German stocks paying dividends for example and might jump through the hoops).

[@genericwatcher2439]

Dividend stocks are an important part of every portfolio. The problem is when people go all in on one strategy.

[@Bess2k2]

About 60% of my portfolio pays a dividend and I love it.

[@famicomnintendo]

nice, steady stream of income :)

[@owenb8636]

Me too. Even if they have less or no capital growth, I just love getting the payments lol. A part of my portfolio is for capital growth and that's fine, I like a balance

[@MrAlbinopapa]

I'm only 5 minutes in while writing this, but you kept mentioning selling off capital gains to replace what would have been a dividend payment, however, that assumes you have made capital gains or the market isn't crashing while you're trying to pull the money out. Besides that, saying dividends are irrelevant would be like saying interest or compounding interest is irrelevant. Now, let's say you invested 10K in 2021 right before the bear market. If your chosen stocks don't offer dividends you're stuck losing value with nothing to gain. If the chosen stocks offered dividends you are now remaining in your positions and are getting some ( albeit a fraction ) of that investment back and can choose to allocate that extra cash elsewhere or reinvest to dollar cost average and compound those dividends. Saying dividends are irrelevant based on the decrease in value is short sighted as stock prices usually recover either because people reinvest their dividends back into the company or by simply adding to their positions, meaning the devaluing is temporary and you get to keep both the dividends and a possible capital appreciation thus adding to the returns on investments. I understand the notion of growth investing while young and value investing or dividend investing you're older and near retirement, but to say they are irrelevant is simply wrong. I also understand through personal experience, investing in stocks that offer higher yields for the sake of higher yields can be a lot more risky. Especially during financial hardships like what we're going through now. I'm on a fixed income and without dividends I wouldn't be able to grow my portfolio because I have nothing left to add to my positions without the dividends. So, for me they are not irrelevant.

[@David-ud9ju]

You still have to sell your dividend shares at some point as well, so the same arguments apply. Also, if a stock is crashing, its dividend will probably reduce as well.

[@MindFieldMusic]

Good insights. I generally agree with these points, but dividend growth is a reasonable counterpoint (assuming the divided payment doesn't limit the company's ability to reinvest responsibly and grow). If I need income I think I'd rather get that from a steadily growing business paying me the excess of what they need to reinvest to grow, rather than having to sell a portion of my stake in the business and thus be entitled to a smaller portion of its future cash flows.

[@pablojefcobar]

I invest in some dividend stocks to recoup my expenses when buying stocks and ETF’s as my portfolio is like 10% stocks (which pay dividends), 90% ETF’s (which do not pay dividends). A dividend return of 50 Euros per year is the goal as this would cover it. (I live in Belgium we get taxed on dividends but not on the growth of worth of a stock, so investing in non dividend yielding stocks or accumulating ETF’s is a lot more interesting)

[@funfungerman8401]

yo how many taxes your pay on dividends? here in ger we have 25% but we also have a tax-free amount per year that just got increased to 1.001 (before it was 801€) of course only applying to the profit relization, also do you guys have also some agreements with some country because of 2x taxation, so that it isnt 2 x 25% as example (a.e US-gouverment taxes it, and then your taxes it again (germany/belgium etc)

[@pablojefcobar]

@@funfungerman8401 yo! Well we pay 30% but have tax-free for around 800 euros. I only invest in Belgian stocks so I don’t have the problem of double taxation. My regional spreading happens through my ETF’s. Hope that helps 😉

[@myronmayfield6238]

I have been a dividend only investor for a long time. I would certainly say dividends are not irrelevant. Everything that is argued is more behavioral than anything to do with dividends. However dividends are paid out of profits and every shareholder gets the same amount (per share). Buybacks and capital gains vary widely on when you sell. That is the biggest argument why dividends are important. IMHO

[@alexkarasz6186]

Perhaps talk about "QUALIFIED" Vs Ordinary Dividends and their tax implications, seems like an important distinction

[@ShorlanTanzo]

Yes, stock drops to match the dividend distribution, but the price also elastically bounces back on the promise of continued future dividends. Point 2, when a company cuts its dividend program, the stock price drops off. Why? If divs are just a distribution of money that already is held at the company, there should be zero change in price off this news, but there is, and its clearly because there is a fundamental value that investors place on consistent dividend distributions. This value on its own supports the stock price substantially. There are some companies that are net negative profit, but their stock price is strong. There are some companies that are close to break even or making money but their price suffers. All of this points to a value system based on investors' perceived value, not on actual fundamental value. Yes, some people might invest based on those fundamentals, but most of the stock price is supported by speculation.

[@AntonPNym]

I picked a dividend strategy for the equity portion of my TFSA simply because it was the simplest & quickest way to diversify it without racking up a big pile of transaction costs; add a year's contribution to the previous year's accrued dividend cash and use the pile to buy a whole new equity each year. Particularly in the early years of building a portfolio, saving on broker fees that way is tempting.

[@andyb2028]

I also like using dividends and capital gains to buy whole new shares and open new positions when I don't want to put more into my account, but i still want to grow the number of shares I have

[@pfeilspitze]

These days, if you're paying broker fees to buy and sell things, consider getting a new broker. (Assuming you're an investor. If you're a trader then lots of things are different.)

[@jimmy13morrison]

I understand that dividends and capital gains are the "same" but it feels wrong to sell to get money

[@radar7285]

As a finance noob, isn't a dividend good because it guarantees a percentage of gains in the case the stock will fall? Like in a market crash

[@MaTToG001]

You would also be able to sell a portion of the stock and earn a percentage of the stock as well. It would behave similar to a growth stock.

[@kvikende]

Chances are that during a market crash the company won't be paying out dividends. And in an efficient market, market crashes reflect the companies' falling future profits and dividends are a way for companies to pay out profits to their investors, meaning that the expected future dividends are smaller.

[@Mpdarkguy]

If they announce a dividend and go bankrupt right after paying it, chances are you got more out of that dividend than you d get out of selling a bankrupt company , but that’s like a super edge case that doesn’t really make any sense

[@mrslcom]

Dividends guarantee you a cash payment regardless of market conditions, but it doesn’t guarantee you any additional overall gain. Your overall return is the same regardless whether the stock pays a dividend or not.

[@kvikende]

​@@mrslcomA company has no obligation to pay a dividend so there are no cash payment guarantees (at least, beyond the one you just received). If you want a guaranteed cash payments you buy bonds.

[@jamessmith8480]

I am in no camp. But, it seems to me that just trusting that the Magnificent 7 will continue to go up is not a viable investing strategy. A quick thought: What is better? Buy 100 shares, both dividend and capital gains stocks. Then try to get $$/month from them. One you would have to sell and one pays you. At the end of the experiment, you have the same amount of money from both camps. BUT! You have less shares in the capital gains pile than in the dividend pile. Not saying which one is better, I just know which one I'd pick.

[@danycashking]

I don't subscribe to either ideology but think both have their place, the reason I like dividends is because it lets me re-invest and diversify my portfolio. Stock in a single company that keeps growing is nice but can still wipe away a lot of the value overnight due to sentiment changes. A less aggressively growing stock that pays regularly lets me funnel the dividends into other stocks that moderates the volatility of the overall portfolio. So having a 50/50 mix is ideal for me.

[@dylanschang6386]

only 38% of stocks offer dividends, so 50% of your portfolio is relegated to only seeing 38% of the market. Dividends are inherently not diversified.

[@Unkn0wn2002]

​@@dylanschang6386not really a good comparison. Because you can have 10 companies that give dividends and IS a diversified portfolio, just because in the general market it's a lower percentage doesn't mean you still can't diversify dividends.

[@jsjsjjshsjsj5410]

I'm a CFA Lvl II candidate so I recently reviewed the whole dividend theory. My main argument against Modigliani & Miller (whether it be dividend policy or capital structure) is that the assumptions are overly restrictive and do not translate accurately into the real world (as with any model). I think they are useful as a way to add some structure and a kind of framework to understand different policies and decisions, but are too narrow to be used 100% in investment decision-making.

[@stevenporter863]

Saw the Ben Felix video about the irrelevance of dividends. He is absolutely right. Only way to work the dividend is for automatic dividend reinvestment - buying even more shares at the adjusted downward stock price. The problem isn't dividends themselves but they are generally thought of as free 'extra' money or an income stream; when in fact they are the profits that would otherwise be reflected in the stock price. In other words: dividends takes away stock appreciation through a forced liquidation of a piece of the investment

[@Lonovavir]

I only use dividends to buy additional stock/ETF shares. The less money that comes out of my paycheck the better.

[@frodojuniormlg653]

You could try accumulating etfs they reinvest the dividend automatically :)@@Lonovavir

[@vonb2792]

I Sée dividend like float.. pay for stuff to build capital... Like cover insurance or mortgage etc.. sure taxe a bib but you get taxes anyway.. the % of dividend is based on stream néed.. the rest is 100% capital grow

[@frodojuniormlg653]

i think the investors expect higher profits in the future with stocks like that but maybe there is something more going i am not yet aware of@@jackjones4824

[@greg5892]

Price and value aren’t the same.

[@Iesous27]

I like a hybrid model of investing in high yield dividends to help pay for those growth stocks... Dividend stocks can certainly help with income, and I think taxes should be a second though when thinking of choosing a stock.

[@RupertMDoc]

What gets me is stocks are only valuable if they can lead to money. Sure, I can sell them to somebody else for a higher price because they are "worth more," but that just described NFTs logic. Dividend, buybacks, or buyouts, without one of these, you are just holding until the company inevitably goes bankrupt in time and the stock becomes worthless.

[@chowsquid]

The company behind that stock hopefully has something of value that can generate value at a rate satisfactory to the investors. That’s why the stock is the price it is. The price of plain bagel shoppe stock is that price because it can reliably sell X many bagels for Y profit with Z amount of potential growth. If you think those XYZ is not attainable or maintainable, you would price the stock lower.

[@RupertMDoc]

@@chowsquid I get this, and it makes sense for companies actively growing with investors willing to wait to get their payday... but that payday has to come and come from somewhere.

[@sor3999]

@@chowsquid Yes, but if that value isn't actually given back to you, then it's worthless.

[@greg5892]

Yes! It’s the difference between price and value. What does a stock price even reflect otherwise?

[@David-ud9ju]

I'm not sure you should be investing in the stock market with a lack of understanding that terrible. NFTs and crypto are just about how much someone thinks their worth because they have no use or inherit value, but stocks don't work like that. Stock prices go up when revenue and profits go up. Why would a company inevitably go bankrupt? Apple is worth more now than it was when it launched its IPO in 1980 because it has grown as a business and has more customers, more revenue, more profit, etc.. If you think Apple will continue to grow its revenues then you should buy it because it would mean the stock price will go up.

[@bubba99009]

The real point of dividends are to enforce some kind of discipline on the business where they need to continue to generate and set aside sufficient cash flow to pay back capital to its owners on a regular basis instead of hoarding it in a big pile and finding often stupid things to waste it on like an overpriced and ill-advised acquisition or poorly thought out expansion. It's a shame stupid tax policy has distorted things so much here.

[@bobbyward2440]

That is the craziest reasoning for dividends i think i have ever heard and you need to stop listening to whoever told you that

[@jonathanh-e2494]

That all sounds great, but the problem is that company managers know that. Just look at GE, they kept their dividend steady, but that had nothing to due with underlying prudence or good capital management, it was to project that illusion and fool investors like you who treated a dividend as a proxy for sound management.

[@fzigunov]

I think Meta is a great example of what can happen when a company doesn't have a dividend policy.

[@bobbyward2440]

@@jonathanh-e2494 for companies like ge. Or another good example is automaker's..the point of the dividend is to just retain capital. They can not deliver growth, so without a dividend..why would i own the stock..its not that they need to fool you..they dont care about YOU, they need large investers to stay invested so if times are tough they can tap into that capital

[@sor3999]

That has been been the strategy of tech stocks for the past decade to give the illusion of growth by using these ill fated projects as assets on the books while they hold little or negative cash flow i.e. real value.

[@deanthroop8054]

2 things: I buy 4 shares of VOO and pretending there is no dividend, in 10 years when when it has doubled, I have to sell a share and erode my base position, losing growth opportunities. A dividend can be collected or sold without touching my base. Second point, equity prices are almost never rational and if they happen to be at some point, it mever remains. I can name several equities that are so over valued it is ludicrous and several under valued that are mostly punishment for not going along with what a few brokers or brokerages in New York think. I am not advocating one way or another, just saying people advocating dividend irrelevance are ignoring realities and people who will not invest in a company if it does not pay a dividend are short-sighted. Thank you for the conversation and your typical sane and rational approach to the markets.

[@serensolomand8958]

Your first point was covered in the video. It doesn't matter. It's all percentages don't worry about counting shares.

[@yesno5286]

i dont like capital gains as much becuase that required me to sell off stock but with dividends i get those capital gains in a tangable manner

[@Da_manndom]

I love your videos! But A few things I think you missed some companies with higher litigation risk such as Altria, cannabis stocks, alcohol stocks, and certain other industries with higher litigation risk it makes sense for them to pay higher dividends to keep that money off there balance sheet and return it to shareholders instead of risking it getting taken by litigation. Also I don’t think you talked about how during bear markets like we are in now that dividend being paid is now either buying more shares if they have a DRIP or at least paying them some return while the stock is down you don’t want to sell shares in a down market and especially for a loss! And third dividends are taxed less then cap gains in the U.S at least in some cases you pay 0% federal income tax I do a combination of high growth and dividends but I do not believe they are irrelevant for those reasons not talked about enough. But always good to hear all perspectives keep up the great videos!

[@jonathanemontgomery]

Exactly. You just know that if Altria announces it has a big cash pile, every Governor with a budget hole will get a huge erection.

[@Magic_beans_]

Another point in favor of buybacks, investors seem to view them as more like special dividends than regular. As our host said, here in the US we have that custom of steady or escalating quarterly dividends. Buybacks have a more distinct beginning and end.

[@potatostarch9363]

A dividend based strategy is viable in my country of Australia due to the implementation of franking credits, which makes dividends incredibly tax efficient.

[@Agent78787]

True, the franking credit system is great. But franking credits are only for Australian companies, so if you're looking for international diversification you'd have to end up dealing with capital gains tax. But that's not too bad either, since there's the 50% long-term capital gains discount.

[@Corpsecreate]

This would be true if franking credits weren't priced in...but they are. Growth companies are actually even more important in Australia because our income tax rate is stupidly high.

[@dcDOC19]

I'm a new dividend investor and I found this video very helpful. Thanks and keep up the good job!

[@pq7185]

Make sure to research short term treasury bills and treasury bond index funds. There are certain times I don't know what I want to invest in and yields are tempting if the government doesn't default

[@pq7185]

I loaded up on dividend stocks for my portfolio early in my career so I could use them to buy stocks in other companies and diversify into growth stocks. This helped when I went through layoffs and market downturns when I couldn't contribute to my portfolio

[@user-zc8nf6tp6u]

But you could have just sold stocks instead of using dividends to buy new stocks. What you were holding didn't go up in price as much because it paid dividends.

[@jsizemo]

@@user-zc8nf6tp6uBut that is only obvious in hindsight. The case for the commenter above’s position is that they didn’t spend time agonizing over bid and ask prices for all the different shares that they own.

[@pq7185]

@@user-zc8nf6tp6u But my dividend stocks didn't go down in price as much either compared to some of my growth stocks

[@dancecrew1996]

@@user-zc8nf6tp6u Correct, and he probably still got the same amount of returns due to dividends mixed with selling those dividend stocks as he would have if he just sold growth stocks. So what is exactly is your point?

[@neilcoelho]

Realising profits by selling shares instead of dividends does not account for the loss of voting right, which is an intangible loss that is difficult to quantitatively measure. Give the excess money to the investor and let them decide how to best spend it whether it be to reinvest or use it for their benefits. It's the investors money and not the management, so investors should decide how they use it.

[@kurdi98k]

1. Stock buybacks are now taxed on the corporate level in the U.S. 2. Blue chip quality dividend payers can help a lot with minimizing the need to sell shares during a major downturn to maintain your desired cashflow. Has to do with market value vs the companies actual finances. 3. Qualified dividends are taxed very favorably in the U.S.

[@ryot3360]

what if the amount the market crashes is less than the opportunity cost of chasing high yield dividends? IE with voo you gain 100,000 in ten years then crashes 30,000 , but with dividends you gain 80,000 and it crashes $20,000, in this case you could sell $10,000 and be equal to the dividend investment

[@kurdi98k]

@@ryot3360 Blue chip isn't high yield dividends

[@SnuubScadoob]

@ryot3360 I mean… don’t chase high dividend yields? That’s the stupidest thing you could do. Do some research before buying a stock. This goes for any investment…

[@AaronVanWolfen]

ADR stocks are the paradise for dividends Japan, Brazil, Chile, Finland... It is easy to find a yield of 6% or more in their stocks.

[@kal-elka-el4028]

I have a dividend portfolio fond of. Watching it grow over the past few years has been delightful, and it doesn't demand much of my time to manage.

[@rainy_wish_studios]

I think in the grand scheme of things dividends are less relevant. But empirically, they might benefit individuals on a case by case basis depending on the person and the company. Dividends just feel good and seem more tangible. Dividends help people stay active in and excited about the investing process.

[@ProjSHiNKiROU]

My super condensed summary: Value is conserved (under efficient market, also mental accounting is bad reasoning), dividends correlate to some favorable traits (but hunt for traits instead of dividends), and taxes can be different (capital gains, dividends, countries).

[@xiphoid2011]

Problem for a lot of us is dividends are taxed as ordinary income, so are taxed at the highest tax bracket you are in. Long term Capital gains tax (for stock held for longer than 1 year) is only 15-20%. So basically those who make more than $45k (single) or $90k (household) is better off with capital gains. Furthet more, you can sell stocks that you lost money on to offset the gains too.

[@Dividendsmattertoo]

52000$ cuz of the standard tax deduction and if you invest in trad ira then you get an extra 6500$ bump

[@greg5892]

Not if they’re qualified dividends.

[@robertbauer3676]

If a company can pay dividends, then it is, most likely, a profitable company. Stock price growth can be achieved by companies which are not profitable, driven by hype for a future that may or may not be achievable. Dividend payouts themselves are not free money, nor are they irrelevant. They are an illustration that you are invested in a functional, profitable, value generating company (much more often than not). Dividends also provide you an easy opportunity for portfolio rebalancing with out the need to sell shares. They are a net good indicator vs pure growth IMO. That said, they are not a magic bullet, and I agree with your points in the video.

[@youtubetim3577]

Point of dividends is to collect dividends and at same time your trimming when up and buying when down. Dividends allow a bottom to "hopefully" be put on a stocks price.

[@RonakDhakan]

Another factor that was not mentioned was the ownership share. Someone who holds a sizeable / controlling share of the company cannot sell a small part of their holding as it might result in dilution of their share below a threshold level thereby resulting in a loss of control. Many times it is these large shareholders that influence the dividend policy. If they need income, they will try to exercise their control on the company to influence the company's dividend policy in favour of larger dividends.

[@greg5892]

It’s no accident that the “dividends are irrelevant” people are more like,y to be the people that own market index funds and not much stake in individual stock.

[@ashwina.vardhan5831]

Dividends are NOT irrelevant. In this market, they tell you that your company is generating profits, which is getting rarer everyday. As a shareholder, you should be picking stocks that have strong fundamentals, otherwise you're just relying on the greater fool theory.

[@markalot]

I ignore dividends for the most part, always reinvest which means I have yearly tax due on dividends earned, but my primary source of income past retirement (I'm 60) will be planned selling of shares from both tax sheltered and taxable accounts. This way I can control my yearly 'income'. Having all one type of stock in retirement can be costly, especially if you've built up a nice portfolio of dividend stocks with no way to shelter the dividend taxes. If you get paid 90K in dividends yearly then you have a 90K income and will be taxed in that bracket, no choice.

[@greg5892]

If your dividends are qualified, that’s taxed at 15% in the US, which is way less than other income.

[@dancecrew1996]

until you get a crash or a drop and you're stuck selling at major loses because you need to sell to even live. Zero planning for emergency situations. You will be the next guy crying online that he lost his money and is struggling. The exact same way every person going into retirement that uses this strategy when the market or your companies drop.

[@markalot]

@@dancecrew1996 No, I have a bucket for a market downturn. There's nothing wrong with dividends, but don't trick yourself into thinking you are somehow insulated from a serious market downturn because you get income from dividends. Might work, but have more than one option.

[@electrostatic1]

The no-dividend model requires permanent growth, indefinitely and independent of all market and regulatory realities. This causes long term issues.

[@ariavachier-lagravech.6910]

Something I've learned regarding M&M proposition and dividend irrelevance is that those two things are basically the finance version of frictionless question in physics. Miller and Modigliani knew the world doesn't work that way and their propositiond are definitely unrealistic but by making a lot of restrictions it helps to illustrate what would happen when that restrictions exist and conversely it drives others to look for what would happen when those restrictions doesn't exist one by one. So by making those unrealistic proposition it actually helps a lot to learn the realistic scenarios. Thanks half donut half man.

[@jray5363]

Nice physics analogy! And like physics, it sounds like jibber jabber with no basis in reality! Argument for the sake of argument. I’ll stick with dividends, and keep collecting my money every month!

[@YayGrr1]

I disagree because in order to realize the capital gains of a non0dividend stock, you have to sell the stock, making your future possible gains on that stock lower. You would have to then turn around and buy more of that stock to receive the same gains at a point in the future. This becomes even more punishing when you assume steady rising of stock value. You would have to spend more in the future.

[@JeredtheShy]

I suppose this is why the traditional retirement advice is to invest in ETFs, especially the SP500, and not be bothered by dividends existing or not, only looking for share price growth. Then when it really is time for income, you sell that and rotate to bonds or even just sell shares and call that your income. For round two, tell us whether options income is possible, or if the win/lose of options will mean that the investor's return is flat over time.

[@wandaespana2577]

I believe Ben Felix did a video on options income, or covered it on the Rational Reminder podcast.

[@ikhbjhbkm5]

"options income is possible" It's a zero-sum game at best. Where are you on the bell curve of all options traders, and can you be sure of that position?

[@athenaa23]

This is full stop the best finance KZbin channel.

[@gabrielrobinson1279]

I do appreciate the breakdown, one thing I've noticed is generally when I've looked at condensed analysis of a company's growth prospects vs its dividend is there always seems to be a bit of an inverse relationship, so I have been trying to not get too excited especially when I'm seeing these absurd yields esp when the company is in an industry where they would probably be better off on growth. All that said it does make reinvestment just a bit easier despite the fact I have a pretty small amount invested currently. It seems to help trick my ape brain into holding positions even if the line isn't going up, which can be a double edged sword when it's just not a good business. When it is though it has kept me from reacting to news that is ultimately not that bad. My actual hope is that it will offload a bit of the allocation as my portfolio becomes a decent size to where I can focus on allocating into the non-dividend paying parts of my portfolio that I feel have good prospects and are just reaching the ends in a different way. Again, appreciate having a normal finance channel that is confident enough to just given the dry info without the goofy bs that seems to be around this space.

[@teragreg2927]

Dividends are irrelevant if you don’t care about property rights and keep your shares on deposit with a broker. If you have shares registered in your own name like a true business owner - dividends are absolutely necessary.

[@Joe-nh8eq]

No dividends represent the difference between investing and speculating. An investment pays dividends, a speculation requires you to sell to gain capital. Stocks are so fungible and dividend rates are so low in the scheme of things, that it really amounts to more of a philosophical difference, but it’s still something.

[@mfinite689]

I like the idea of dividends for both young people and those in retirement. For young people it gets them thinking that their labor isn't the only thing they can use to pay for their needs. If they can build up a portfolio that starts paying their monthly expenses then they can feel more optimistic in job hopping for better pay and work conditions as well as feel more secure during a job layoff or short-term disability or illness. Having a house rule that your dividends be able to pay your monthly expenses helps reign in "lifestyle creep" since you'll now have to use that new raise in pay to put towards your portfolio and purchase more dividend payers if you want to be able to spend more each month. In retirement I don't want to have to worry about selling off chunks of my portfolio each year to fund my lifestyle. That would immediately create a fear that I hope I don't run out of my portfolio before I die and what happens if I'm retiring in a down market where all of my growth takes a 20% haircut? Ouch. At least with my portfolio of dividend payers, while there may not be as much if any share price appreciation, I still have the underlying stocks while still getting my regular dividends and share price appreciate is mostly irrelevant at that stage in life.

[@icecold9511]

Depending on forever growth is risky as well. Markets saturate. Eventually everyone is already an industry customer. that point growth only comes from the shift from one company to another in a particular industry.

[@kristof6372]

Dividends are not irrelevant. They are useful for portfolios of older people who want to create a steady income stream even in times of (extreme) market distress. But that's about the best argument I would be able to find. Example In 2008/2020 you did get your Coca Cola dividend, even if the broad market tanked +30%. The younger you are the more irrelevant dividends are.

[@djayjp]

1) Dividend paying companies are generally profitable companies vs being unprofitable/speculative. 2) Dividend paying companies tend to be fully developed companies which wouldn't benefit from reinvesting those funds into growing the companies; they are not expected to be fast growing companies. Both of these points affect the relevance of dividends and both are points that are both for and against investing in dividend paying companies.

[@skullrose29]

I feel the main difference between a dividend payment and a sale on capital gains is more about equity. After you sell your gains, you own less of the company. After you receive dividends, you own more. A bull or bear market, however, may make or break the value of your dividends. In a bear market, I would probably benefit from just reinvesting the dividends, but in a bull market, not so much. Depending on the bull market returns, even a discounted stock would still have a higher cost basis than if I bought on the exdate, reducing my returns. Thus incentivizing me during a bull to deposit to core account on pay date, and invest the expected cash value manually on exdate. Time value of money is a very real thing.

[@leeharvey6574]

Great video. I am managing my own investments and do favor dividends stocks domestically due to the simplicity and the tax preference. It is nice to be able to adjust my weighting as I need without realizing as much capital gains, and being young and relatively lower income means I can take advantage of that lower tax now and then adjust myself later in life when capital gains will have more strategic uses in my tax strategy. (Implying I ever reach that bracket, fingers crossed.)

[@markw.8455]

Hello, You said "It is nice to be able to adjust my weighting as I need without realizing as much capital gains..." How does that happen by getting a dividend payout?

[@cursedfan1]

great video but i think you casually mentioned briefly at the end the best part of the dividend, which is that the company has done the math and this is the money they think its worth it to just give u in cash rather than reinvest. you can agree (invest elsewhere) or disagree (drip), and this decision might be impacted by your own situation (you might prefer to treat the dividend as spendable) but to me the real issue is that people dont appreciate the time delay in the declaration date and the paid date. the dividend is the amount of money the company felt it could return to investors at the time it declared it. by the time u get it, it may be best to reinvest it (but u lost taxes) or best to invest it elsewhere. this is where the opportunities come from.

[@enemy1134]

I enjoy the idea that I have recurring revenue that is completely passive, grows every year, and can provide for my family once I'm gone.

[@PassivePortfolios]

If a company which pays dividends goes bankrupt and the stock becomes worthless, at least you kept the cash dividends.

[@ThePlainBagel]

You could say the same thing if you periodically sold a fraction of your position.

[@PassivePortfolios]

@@ThePlainBagel - the problem with that strategy is if you have to sell when the stock is low. It works if you sell when the stock is high.

[@GeographyStuff420]

How could you believe the market is efficient. If it's efficient, there's no point in investing in stocks

[@johnwilson839]

it seems that dividends have a slight diversification difference. Companies that are paying dividends are not trying to concentrate market cap under their management umbrella. In some sense management is suggesting that the broader marketplace might allocate the capital more efficiently than the company.

[@swisstroll3]

I feel that companies should pay dividends or do stock buybacks if the business can’t reinvest the money they receive for more than other choices. But I see most investors as either casino investors who are trying to get rich or storage investors that are trying to defer money for later use (such as education or retirement). For either class, the tax implications are very important.

[@stonks4days1]

At the end of the day it's not about being right or wrong only profitability and what works for each investor. I used to be big on dividend investing but the value and profitability factors encompass "dividend growth" companies with more diversification with companies that are just as robust as their dividend-paying peers. If 2 companies are similar with similar returns except for the dividend policy you should stick with the company that doesn't pay the dividend unless you're using the dividend for paying bills as a managed distribution if you don't want to sell shares yourself but otherwise you should let the company reinvest in its own highly profitable business and just sell shares later.

[@samuelpentowski6077]

The biggest reason in my eyes that dividend investing is superior is there is a finite amount of shares to sell off. If you need to sell 10 shares of a company a month to maintain your retirement, but only have 1000 shares, you would run out of money after 100 months. With dividends you won’t touch the principal so as long as the company continues to pay dividends you never need to touch the principal. The downside here is requiring a larger investment to maintain your standard of living. Dividend kings keep up their dividend increases usually slightly ahead of inflation. So your cost of living increases are baked in. Whereas with the standard 4% rule requires more and more of your portfolio sell off every year with inflation. So, the 4% rule is better for smaller portfolios that aren’t able to scale into the millions. These investors would have a time limit to maintain their lifestyle, but would have a retirement. Little to no inheretence to pass on tho. But dividend investors with portfolios able to live off dividends? The entire portfolio is up for inheretence, so generational wealth is much greater. I believe dividend investing is superior, but does require a larger initial investment to be successful.

[@mikeyman1974]

The problem with growth stocks is the only way it can be worth while is if you either get in early or buy during a crash. If you have to hope things will rebound that is a major risk that makes no sense.

[@IndexInvestingWithCole]

That is 100% wrong

[@mikeyman1974]

@@IndexInvestingWithCole how is it wrong unless you’re day trading. If you’re buying into a company long term you’re hoping it’ll continue to grow it’s share price over the course of your life most companies do have a cap for how much they will grow or could hit a tipping point than fade out of existence by another company or some other variable. At least give me an example of a company that doesn’t pay a dividend that people can invest in now or in the last ten years that still has substantial share price appreciation

[@MisterGlassy]

I left a critical comment on Ben's video (I'm an avid viewer and agree with him much of the time) with an argument that Dividends create growth incentive. Your nuanced talking points out paced my own critics and yet somehow felt more balanced. Impressive!

[@highsol222]

Dividend investing can be a trap. Just buy the stock because the company is good. Forget the yield.

[@michaelswami]

Thanks for this balanced video. Markets are efficient, in the long run, but not in the short run, but that isn’t especially pertinent to the dividend irrelevance argument. I know they aren’t free money, but I pursue a dividend growth strategy, not yield chasing. What I don’t get is most people espousing the dividend irrelevance thesis exhibit outright hostility to dividend enthusiasts. I don’t care what they do, why do they care what I do?

[@GC13]

Great video. I feel like dividends are psychologically targeted to me since it's extra money that just appears and I can then go re-invest it. Even if it all washes out in the end it certainly FEELS better, and the aspect of management not wasting money on poor growth opportunities is nothing to sneeze at either.

[@jacobsweet7327]

My philosophy on dividends is that *usually (big asterisk there) the actual growth of the stock is more steady (or the capital gains). Typically dividend stocks are a bit more mature and the days of exponential growth is over for the company. Because of that I view dividend stocks as more of a “safe” investment. That provide a fixed income to balance out a portfolio. Where as a non-dividend stock is a bit more risky but the growth of the stock is usually a lot more than a dividend stock like mentioned in the video. I know this isn’t necessarily true and shouldn’t be taken as gospel, but it’s what I do and it’s been working for the past few years so I’m not complaining.

[@willg3220]

I didn't know the share price drops the dividend amount...

[@weksauce]

Dividends are strictly dominated by not-dividends. In the case of no-tax accounts like Roth IRAs, dividends are equal to not-dividends. In every other case, it's better for the investor if dividends AREN'T paid. The investor collects the same return whether it's through dividends or any alternatives, but most investors most of the time in most situations don't pay tax on not-dividends and do pay tax on dividends.

[@greg5892]

This assumes that markets are perfectly efficient and conflates price with value. And you do indeed pay tax on gains if you want to realize them, say if you want to buy other stock. What you’re saying only holds true if you are talking about a single stock. Dividends offer flexibility to invest in something else, and if they are qualified have the same tax burden as realized capital gains.

[@weksauce]

@@greg5892 No, this does not assume that markets are perfectly efficient, nor does it conflate price with value. "you do indeed pay tax on gains if you want to realize them" Obviously true, and irrelevant. "What you’re saying only holds true if you are talking about a single stock." No. I'm talking about any stock or basket of stocks, and the company behind the stock paying dividends vs not paying dividends. "Dividends offer flexibility to invest in something else" Sure do, the "flexibility" of 1-7%, typically. Hardly a meaningful advantage. And, if the company's doing that, it means they have nothing worth investing in internally, so they're returning that to you, and doing so in the least tax-efficient way available to them. They could even do a stock buyback with the same money, and NOT trigger income tax! "if they are qualified have the same tax burden as realized capital gains" Whole point of smart strategy is to COMPLETELY avoid capital gains AND income tax. Pay NO tax, whatsoever, on the vast majority of wealth and liquidity.

[@Simon-jj2pu]

In the U.K. and Spain (where I now live), I use income version of funds to help with tax returns and also dividends are treated for tax as savings income and not capital gains (and as such have a separate tax regime). Note.. I am in drawdown on the investment accounts not in accumulation mode

[@BenFelixCSI]

Nice video, Richard. Well balanced.

[@trace2077]

In Canada dividend earnings within a TFSA do not incur the same CRA per transaction “day trading” penalties that comparable share trading activity might. (Not that people should be day trading in their TFSAs, or at all, but it does seem like a notable nuance)

[@Lithilic]

I never really understood the obsession with pursuing dividend stocks solely for the dividend payout. If you are looking to make a living on dividend payments, you'd have to be well off enough to afford such a large investment in the first place for those payments to be sizable enough, as well as be able to hold that position long term so that it pays off. It never seemed like a strategy to get rich off of if you aren't already rich.

[@AJohnson0325]

You just need compound interest over a long period of time for a dividend snowball to work. If you have a high income and a long time to invest then it’s totally doable. Investing over a longer period of time is probably more important than having a high income. Look at the case of Ronald Read. He only had low paying jobs but consistently invested in blue chip stocks. He died a multimillionaire.

[@_d0ser]

Bro, no idea what you're talking about, I just got my $1.20 dividend from T for all my shares! I mean sure, I'm down like $5,000 on the position overall, but hey I can buy 1/2 gallon of gas now!

[@farah4535]

​@@_d0serThat's impossible for a stock that yields 7%. Consult with CFP. I don't think you should do it yourself. Don't give up, man.

[@darthnatas953]

10:03 This right here is why dividends are anything but irrelevant. My company made money through it's core business activity, and that money is mine and is paid out to me. I can invest it as I see fit, rather than the exectutives trying to find ways to spend the stockpile of cash, sometimes on stock options, executive compensation, new offices, furniture, vacations, retreats, corporate jets, woke public relations, human resourse divisions, ill advised investments, buybacks during periods of high stock prices, et al. No, just send me the profits and make more next quarter, thank you.

[@sor3999]

You might miss out on potential on paper wealth! Think of the on paper wealth!

[@unlimited-limitless]

I like Div. Stocks more than non Div. Stocks because I get the dividend and I have the freedom to do whatever I want with the money.

[@lastspring]

For me it's agency cost. Oof, that's a big one. I hear: "But it's owner's equity! They can't do anything with it but reinvest it back into the company!" Yeah, right. Press "X" to doubt. Those monies have a sneaky way of finding their way out of the balance sheet to the benefit of the executives.

[@jroig824]

The total return of a stock is dividend + price movement which generally correlates with eps growth on the long run. So unless it is an asset play, you always have to sum the estimated eps growth plus estimated sustainable dividend to calculate the potential return of your investment.