Knowledge is Power: Disadvantage of Index Funds, East European Stocks, Frontier Markets Edition

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The S&P 500 is up by 19% YTD on price basis. Including dividends it has increased by 21.05%. The following stocks reached a new 52-week high yesterday:

Home Depot Inc. 238.17
Nike Inc. Cl B 95.89
Royal Bank of Canada 81.61
TJX Cos. 60.54
PNC Financial Services Group Inc. 144.32

With that said, below are some interesting reads for the weekend:

 

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Gold Jewelry on display at The National Archaeological Museum, Athens, Greece

How Much Did Dividends Contribute To Australian Stocks’ Total Return Since 1900

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The Australian equity market has one of the highest dividend yields in the world. With franking credits the current yield is around 6%.

Since the 1900, the average annual return for Australian stocks is 11.8%.Dividends contributed over half of this return as shown in the chart below:

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Source: Five great charts on investing for income (or cash flow) by Dr.Shawn Oliver, AMP Capital

Unlike the volatile capital appreciations (blue) dividend returns are mostly stable over the years. This is because companies consistently pay dividends and most avoid cutting or suspending dividends.

From an investor standpoint, smooth dividend payments not only provide stable income yearly and but also helps to cushion portfolio returns during volatile years. Unlike dividend price appreciation is not reliable.

Related ETF:

  • iShares MSCI Australia Index Fund (EWA)

Checkout: The Complete List of Australian ADRs

 

The Top 50 of S&P Global Platts Top 250 Energy Firms 2019

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The S&P Global Platts Top 250 for this year was published last month. These firms are ranked based on asset worth, revenues, profits and return on invested capital. This ranking considers only publicly traded energy firms.

The following table shows the Top 50 of S&P Global Platts Top 250 Energy Firms for 2019:

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Source: S&P Platts

The complete list of firms can be found here.

A few observations:

  • Out of the top 10, Russia is represented by 3 firms
  • China’s Sinopec(SNP) came in at number 10.
  • With 2nd rank, US oil giant Exxon Mobil (XOM) was only below Shell.
  • Equinor(EQNR) of Norway is worth watching for growth next year.

Disclosure: No Positions