nvesting is a long-term play. It’s a means to grow your wealth over a longer period, especially when you compare investing to saving, which is generally better for your short-term financial goals.
But what if it was possible to invest for the long-term and earn an extra income in the short-term at the same time. That would be a double win, wouldn’t it?
Well, you CAN!
What you’ll need to do is look at investing in stocks that pay dividends to shareholders on a regular basis.
Dividend stocks: The ‘fruit trees’ of the stock market
Investing in dividend-paying stocks is like planting a tree that produces fruit every year. When you invest in a company that pays dividends, you're essentially buying a stake in a business, so that when it generates profits, you may benefit as being one of the shareholders that it would pay a portion of those profits to.
So, like a fruit tree that produces a crop every year, dividend-paying stocks can provide a regular income stream that grows over time. Rather ap-peel-ing, don’t you think? (See what we did there? … Ok, we’ll stop before someone gets hurt.)
Dividends: The TL;DR of everything you need to know about dividends
What is a dividend?
A payment made from a company to qualifying shareholders on a regular basis (usually monthly, quarterly or annually), based on its profits for the period. The amount is decided by the board of directors and distributed as a percentage per share.
Dividends can be made as a cash payment or given as additional shares called stock dividends. Certain ETFs will also pay dividends, based on dividend-paying shares it holds.
Important dates for dividends investors
Declaration date: The date the company approves and announces the payment of a dividend, including the amount or size of the dividend as a value or percentage per share, as well as the record date and payment date.
Record date: Also known as the date of record, this is the ‘cut-off’ date at which investors need to be listed as shareholders to qualify for the dividend payout. This date is set by the company.
Ex-dividend date: The first day when a stock trades without a dividend. It’s generally 1 – 3 working days before the record date and set by the stock exchange, not the company. This allows for share ownership processing and settlement before the record date. If you buy a stock on or after the ex-dividend date, you won’t qualify for the declared dividend payment.
Payment date: As the name suggests, this is the date that the dividends are paid to shareholders.
Now that you have a better understanding of what dividends are, you may be wondering how can you find dividend stocks to invest in?
You’ve come to the right place!
How to find dividend investment opportunities on Nemo
If you’re new to Nemo, you may not know that we’re here to help you beat investment FOMO and never miss out on opportunities. We do this by creating nemes (like memes, just better), that are collections of stocks based on industries, common themes or other criteria.
Today, our featured nemes are those that highlight handpicked dividend-paying stocks.
4 Nemo nemes with dividend investment opportunities
1. Popular Dividend Stocks
These are some of the most popular stocks on the stock market, that also happen to pay dividends. You’ll find companies like Apple, Visa, Nike, Starbucks and McDonalds to name a few.
Check out the Popular Dividend Stocks neme.
2. Dividend ETFs
ETFs are already a great way to help diversify your portfolio. These ETFs not only fit that bill but include dividend paying companies too.
Discover the Dividend ETFs neme.
3. High Yielding Stocks
This neme packs in the stocks that meet 3 core criteria:
- Have paid over 9% dividend yield (more than 9% of their current share price) over the past 4 quarters.
- Have a market cap more than $1bn.
- A variety of industries and sectors to offer you more choice.
See stocks in the High Yielding Stocks neme.
4. Livin’ on Dividends
Take a moment to bow to the kings of dividends. No, really. That’s what we call these companies – dividend kings. We’ve given them this regal title because they’ve been consistent with their dividend payout for a minimum of 50 consecutive years.
Explore Livin’ on Dividends neme.
Now’s the time to plant those investment seeds
There’s a wonderful Chinese proverb that goes ...
“The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The second best time is now.”
So, don’t wait another moment to check out Nemo's dividend stock opportunities and get on your way to reaping the fruits of your investments, in the way of dividends.
