Jock:
I produced a list of "dividend increase champions", so I don't see why you should point out the absence of GM, USX, Woolworth etc. They wouldn't have qualified to be on my list anyway.
As for adding AAPL, NOVL etc. to your list, I am not so sure as you if it will still outperform my list, but even if it does, it is no longer the sexy 20000% anymore! And as I have seen, the average tech investor (and I know quite a few smart ones there) never ever gets anywhere near that! Even more importantly, if the market tanks, they will have nothing to hang on to. A stock that pays dividends has a built-in "cushion" to break the fall. And the increasing dividends is a good incentive for investors to flock to in times of uncertainty.
As for your salient point -- yes, the greatest growth in any generation may have been driven by the beginnings of a consumer explosion, but rarely have investors been able to capitalize on it by picking only the winners and avoiding the losers. And unless somebody somewhere invents a "Time Machine", it is likely to remain that way! |
