Dividends are an important part of total returns when investing in equities. Dividends account for large differences in returns between price returns and total returns. In addition to that, dividend growers are more important for the growth in total returns. The following chart shows the stark differences in return between the S&P 500 Total Return …

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The dividend yield on the S&P 500 is small relative to other developed markets. Currently the dividend yield is at 1.74%. For many years the rate has hovered around the 2% mark. Though the yield may seem insignificant over the years due to compounding the total return gets amplified due to dividends’ contribution. For example, …

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The S&P 500 index declined by about 20% in 2022. Though the index is in the positive so far this year it remains to be seen if it will end the year with a decent return. With a recession on the horizon and interest rates expected to rise higher, volatility might still appear its ugly …

Continue reading ‘Significant Intra-Year Declines in S&P 500 Are Normal: Charts’ »

US equities has one of the worst returns in recent years in 2022. Other developed markets did had similar performance as well. However some emerging markets shined. For instance, Latin American equity markets had a good year relative to their US counterparts. The following chart shows the performance of major Latin American indices in 2022 …

Continue reading ‘Why Did Latin American Markets Outperform in 2022?’ »