Total Payout Yield Is Better For Estimating Equity Returns Than Yield Alone

It is widely known, and accepted, that dividends make up the majority of market returns over the long term. Indeed, according to Standard and Poor’s dividends are responsible for 44% of the last 18 years of S&P 500 returns. Between 1929 to March 2012, the S&P 500 produced a total return of 9.4% per annum but if you deduct dividends, the return falls to only 5.2% per annum for price appreciation alone. These figures might not seem like much at first glance, but over the long term, the additional financial profit available is enormous. Convexity And Money Volatility Points To…