Most emerging markets performed poorly last year relative to developed markets. The question on many investors’ mind now is if emerging markets would continue the dismal performance this year also. I found the following information on emerging markets in a research report by Barclays. Click to enlarge Source: Compass, December 2013/January 2014, Barclays The period …

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I came across the following chart showing the behavior of the typical mutual fund investor: Click to enlarge Source: Behavioural Finance and Mutual Fund Flows An International Study, Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management   Obviously the essence of the chart is applicable to stock and ETF investors as well.   Related: Why We Buy in a Marked-Up Market, …

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Dividend payout ratios are higher in the Asia-Pacific(excluding Japan) region than in the U.S. Historically Asian firms have paid out more in dividends than their U.S. peers. The graph below shows the dividend payout ratio in the Asia Pacific region and the S&P 500 by year: Click to enlarge Source: High Dividend Investing – East Side Story, Nikko …

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The current dividend yield on the S&P is 2.30% as of Dec 20, 2013. Compared to this low yield, some markets in the Asia Pacific region have higher yields while others have similar low yields. The dividend yields of select Asian countries according to data from Financial Times are listed below: Australia – 4.1% China – …

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Some investors tend to invest in equities primarily for price appreciation. They ignore dividends or consider dividends to be of low to no significance. However the strategy of ignoring dividends and concentrating purely on share price growth may not work all the time. This is especially true during times of economic uncertainty or recessions. Dividends …

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