The Dividend Capture Strategy | Basics, Examples, Risks & Advantages

Up to date on October twenty seventh, 2023

At Positive Dividend, we consider that the perfect funding technique is to establish high-quality firms with robust enterprise fashions which have paid dividends for lengthy durations of time. A very good instance of such names is those who have earned the title of Dividend Aristocrat, that are these S&P 500 firms with at the very least 25 years of dividend development.

You possibly can obtain our full listing of the 67 Dividend Aristocrats, together with necessary metrics corresponding to dividend yields and market capitalization, by clicking on the hyperlink under.

The Dividend Aristocrats have efficiently navigated a number of recessions whereas rising their dividends on the identical time. Dividend development throughout financial expansions is one factor, however elevating funds throughout a downturn is an indication of an organization that has items or companies that clients want even in a recession.

Proudly owning shares of this kind for lengthy durations of time whereas reinvesting the dividends to accumulate extra shares is our most well-liked approach to purchase wealth.+

Whereas we sometimes comply with a long-term funding technique, we consider it is very important think about numerous different paths that may result in monetary freedom.

This text will look at the dividend seize technique, the benefits, and dangers of the technique, and supply just a few examples of shares that may very well be a great way for the investor to make the most of this technique.

Dividend Seize Technique – The Fundamentals

The primary merchandise that buyers within the dividend seize technique have to know is that this funding philosophy facilities across the dates related to the dividend, together with the declaration date, the ex-dividend date, the date of document, and the pay date.

Most buyers are already accustomed to these dates, however a fast assessment might be useful within the dialogue of the dividend seize technique.

The declaration date is the date that the board of administrators proclaims {that a} dividend can be paid. The opposite dates necessary to the dividend and the quantity paid are additionally said.
The ex-dividend is the date that the inventory trades with out the dividend being paid. Buyers have to personal the inventory previous to this date to be entitled to the subsequent dividend fee. The dividend to be paid can also be mirrored within the share worth as it’s accordingly diminished by the quantity of the dividend on this date.
Date of document is the day that the corporate information the shareholders which are eligible to obtain the dividend.
Pay date is the day that shareholders obtain their dividends.

Of those dates, a very powerful to these utilizing the dividend seize technique is the ex-dividend date. The idea of the whole dividend seize technique is that the inventory have to be bought earlier than this date, or the dividend won’t be paid to that investor.

The safety can then be offered on the ex-dividend or after, and the investor will nonetheless obtain the dividend on the pay date.

In principle, the value of the safety ought to fall by the quantity of the dividend on the ex-dividend date, as these buyers won’t obtain the fee. For instance, the investor purchases shares of firm ABC at $50, and the subsequent dividend fee is $1.00. This could consequence within the share worth opening at $49 for ABC.

However this isn’t at all times the case in real-time. Suppose the investor waits to see the market’s response to the inventory, and shares finally rally to $49.50. The investor then sells their place. When the dividend is distributed just a few weeks later, the investor has a complete revenue of $0.50 per share because the $0.50 loss per share from promoting solely partially offsets the $1 dividend.

Benefits of the Dividend Seize Technique

As a result of the dividend seize technique relies totally on the ex-dividend date, one of many chief benefits of the technique is that it is vitally easy. Dividend seize might be achieved with any inventory that pays a dividend, offering, in principle, virtually limitless methods to safe dividend revenue.

The investor can merely make a listing of shares that pay a dividend and the upcoming ex-dividend. This could present a highway map of what securities to purchase, what day to make the acquisition, and the sale.

And since the place is offered on the ex-dividend date or shortly thereafter, the variety of dividends to be acquired can result in sizeable revenue ranges. The investor doesn’t have to attend each three months to obtain their subsequent fee as they might usually do in the event that they had been a long-term proprietor of the place.

On this case, dividend seize can imply a number of dividend funds virtually any day the market is open. These dividends can then be added to the funding sum, which may buy extra shares and, thus, extra dividend revenue.

The dividend seize technique might be profitable even when the investor has restricted funding funds. Admittedly, long-term dividend development investing can take years, if not a long time, and huge quantities of capital to achieve success. Dividend seize can generate excessive ranges of revenue utilizing minimal quantities of capital because the investor has extra alternatives to obtain funds.

As a result of buyers are specializing in simply the subsequent dividend fee, there’s very restricted danger related to a possible dividend minimize. Even when the corporate cuts its subsequent dividend, the inventory is owned solely earlier than and after the ex-dividend date. Shareholders are entitled to the complete dividend fee that was declared.

Whereas we stress understanding what you’re shopping for earlier than doing so, this technique can restrict the period of time wanted to analysis potential investments or watch for an ideal entry level. Buyers would as a substitute focus their power on creating a listing of shares to personal and understanding the upcoming ex-dividend date.

Valuation isn’t as necessary because the holding interval is probably going just a few days as a substitute of months or years, and subsequently the chance of shopping for a safety at elevated ranges is much less of a priority. The worry of shopping for a inventory at its absolute peak isn’t a danger that dividend seize buyers have to be centered on.

Lastly, let’s return to our instance of firm ABC. Let’s say that ABC had some optimistic information that coincided with the ex-dividend date say an analyst’s improve or an organization announcement that it was making a major acquisition. The inventory worth might rally additional. If the share worth on the time of promoting had been above the acquisition worth, then the investor would see the earnings from that in addition to the dividend when it was paid just a few weeks later.

Dangers of the Dividend Seize Technique

Whereas the benefits of dividend seize look like nice, there are additionally some clear dangers related to the technique.

Returning to our instance of firm ABC, there may very well be information on or across the supposed time of promoting, both to the market normally or the inventory particularly, that causes a unfavorable market response. As an alternative of declining by simply the $1.00 dividend on the ex-dividend date, ABC might fall far more than that.

If the investor offered the inventory at $45, then the loss can be $4.00 per share after including the dividend fee, which might imply a discount in obtainable funds to take a position for the subsequent buy. Assuming the obtainable capital for funding is already restricted, this could be a significant setback.

Whereas researching the corporate’s fundamentals may not be a significant precedence, profitable implementation of the dividend seize technique requires curating a listing of investments that will take time and planning. A date to purchase and promote would have to be established to make the subsequent buy.

In essence, this technique requires the investor to be a day dealer, which might be troublesome underneath regular situations, however particularly painful on days when shares are down considerably. Veering from the deliberate shopping for and promoting dates can result in lacking ex-dividend dates and future funds.

Dividend seize removes lots of the tax breaks that long-term holders of inventory get pleasure from. This doesn’t apply to tax-deferred accounts however does to taxable accounts. For a dividend to be often called a certified dividend, the underlying inventory have to be held for at the very least 60 days in the course of the 121 days earlier than the ex-dividend date. The tax fee of a certified dividend is 15%.

Since few dividends acquired underneath this technique can be thought-about certified, they’re taxed on the investor’s regular revenue tax fee. In all probability, the non-qualified dividend can be taxed at the next fee whatever the tax bracket.

Examples of the Dividend Seize Technique in Motion

There are many choices to select from as many firms pay dividends, however these with low yields would doubtless not be very best candidates because the revenue acquired wouldn’t justify the chance.

Identical with the lower-yielding however increased development shares, corresponding to Apple Inc. (AAPL) or Microsoft Company (MSFT). Most of these shares don’t supply a lot in the way in which of dividend revenue, so buyers would wish to make sure that the share worth would rally on the ex-dividend date to revenue from these names. That may be a important danger as high-growth shares are inclined to have extra draw back potential when markets fall.

Due to this fact, buyers wishing to comply with this philosophy most likely want to think about higher-yielding shares. In fact, with increased yields typically come increased dangers. Whereas dividend seize does restrict the impression of dividend cuts, higher-risking securities may also have outsized strikes to the draw back, placing the whole technique prone to failing.

With a view to restrict total danger, we consider that these following this technique goal high-quality names with robust enterprise fashions and a long time of dividend development, as they’re sometimes seen because the extra steady of investments.

Figuring out names with a low beta would even be necessary. There may not be as a lot upside potential within the inventory on the ex-dividend date, however this might additionally restrict a steep discount within the share worth even when the market has a extreme down day on the deliberate time of promoting.

One instance that meets all of those standards is AbbVie Inc. (ABBV). AbbVie was spun off from mother or father firm Abbott Laboratories in 2013. Since then, the corporate has produced very robust outcomes, talking to the energy of its enterprise.

Immediately, AbbVie focuses on one foremost enterprise phase—prescription drugs. It focuses on just a few key therapy areas, together with immunology, hematologic oncology, neuroscience, and extra.

Supply: Investor Presentation

Together with the time it was a part of Abbott Laboratories, AbbVie has raised its dividend for 51 consecutive years, making the corporate a Dividend King.

AbbVie can also be within the healthcare sector, which is often one of many extra steady areas of the financial system. This sector is often in favor even during times of financial misery, which may present stability in a recession.

Actual property funding trusts, or REITs, may very well be good candidates for the dividend seize technique as they’re required by legislation to pay out at the very least 90% of revenue within the type of dividends to buyers. Because of this, shares on this sector typically have elevated yields.

Take Realty Earnings (O), for instance. The inventory yields 6.1%, which is greater than 3 times the typical yield of 1.7% for the S&P 500 Index. Realty Earnings has raised its dividend for over 25 years, which makes it a Dividend Aristocrat.

Supply: Investor Presentation

And whereas most firms pay their dividend quarterly, Realty Earnings pays dividends every month.

A dividend seize technique may work greatest with an organization that distributes month-to-month funds, because the ex-dividend dates are often comparable month to month. There are lower than 80 month-to-month dividend-paying shares, so the alternatives are restricted.

Realty Earnings has earned the nickname The Month-to-month Dividend Firm as a consequence of its greater than 1 / 4 century of creating month-to-month funds.

Shareholders have acquired greater than 600 month-to-month funds, and the belief has raised its dividend over 100 instances since Realty Earnings went public in 1994.

Last Ideas

Lengthy-term dividend development investing is the most well-liked income-focused technique, however the dividend seize technique does have its positives. This technique can present the next frequency of dividend funds and could be a great tool for these with restricted funding capital to create revenue.

That stated, this technique requires nice consideration to the necessary dates related to the dividend, significantly the ex-dividend date. An investor must be very disciplined when shopping for and promoting securities to maximise dividend seize possibilities of success. This entails the chance of a loss and forfeits any tax advantages associated to the long-term holding of securities.

Lastly, if the investor had been to pursue this technique, we’d stress that they concentrate on high-quality firms, the identical that we recommend long-term buyers buy. Because of this, plus the dangers concerned with dividend seize, we firmly consider that long-term dividend development investing is the perfect to construct wealth.

The next articles comprise shares with very lengthy dividend or company histories, ripe for choice for dividend development buyers: