The Risk Reduction Characteristic of Dividends

Three decades ago Sir John Templeton provided 22 rules for investment success to William Proctor who then shared these rules in his book, The Templeton Touch.  Templeton’s first rule was: “For all long-term investors, there is only one objective – maximum total real return after taxes.”  Around this same time, another famous investor, Warren Buffett, was developing his own investing rules.  Warren made it simple and clear.  When asked what his rules were, he replied, “Rule No. 1: Never Lose Money. Rule No. 2: Never Forget Rule No. 1.” This month we are going to share with you how we believe common stock dividends help in meeting both rules, but first I want to share some thoughts on a few major events that have taken place recently.

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