The Dividend Imperative: How Dividends Can Narrow the Gap between Main Street and Wall Street

Conclusion

My conclusions are straightforward: investors should assess their stock market holdings as they would any other business undertaking. Money may be placed in high-risk, potentially high-return start-up ventures, or it may be put in mature and stable cash distributive enterprises. If it is the former, certain expectations apply. By definition, the wager is going to be speculative. If it works out, perhaps at some distant time in the future, the company will be able to make steady cash distributions to the owners. Or the stake can be sold to someone else who sees worth in those future cash distributions. In the meantime, it is a “trade,” not a long-term investment. There is nothing wrong with having a “trade” or even a lot of them in ...