You may wonder where to begin when starting a dividend portfolio. There are many good companies that pay out dividends from which to choose. One way to narrow down the choices is to consider the Dividend Aristocrats and the Dividend Kings.

Both the Dividend Aristocrats and the Dividend Kings represent companies that have increased their dividend payouts consecutively for twenty-five years or more. The Dividend Kings go one step further. These companies have paid out consecutively increasing dividends for over fifty years.

All of these companies are well-established. The benefit to considering any of them is that they have proven that they can weather economic adversity. They continued to pay dividends even through the Great Recession when many companies slashed or eliminated their dividend.

These companies have an established brand image or market position. Some are well-known names with loyal customers such as Johnson & Johnson. Others are companies that provide crucial services to other companies. They are not well-known to the average consumer, but there products and services are beneficial to the running of other businesses.

There are seventeen companies in the Dividend King's list for 2014. The newest additions this year include Colgate-Palmolive and Nordson Corporation. The list does change from year to year. This is because some companies fall off the list when they cut or eliminate a dividend. Also, when they fail to raise their dividend. Others join the list as they meet the requirements to be kings.

The same applies to the Dividend Aristocrats who require only twenty-five years of dividend increases. These companies are all members in the S&P 500. The Aristocrats list has many more companies than the Dividend Kings. These include companies such as Exxon Mobil and Clorox.

There is no guarantee that a Dividend Aristocrat or King will be a good investment. But these companies are an excellent place to start your research. You can have a certain level of security that these companies will continue paying dividends. This is because investors often punish a company when it quits paying a dividend. Companies do not want to lose investors. They do not want to see their stock's share price decline. It is in their best interest to pay out those dividends consistently.

Dividend investing is one way to invest for your future. The Dividend Aristocrats and Dividend Kings are a great source to consult for dividend companies to add to your portfolio. They represent some of the most reliable dividend-paying companies.


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Investing $10K in 2014 (Sandra's Investing Basics)