It’s been a blast comparing guaranteed investment certificates and dividend stocks in the past year or two. Finally, it’s a fair fight.
Dividend stocks can give you higher yields, but vulnerability to jarring price drops. That’s why dividend yields are so high right now – prices and yield move in the opposite direction. GICs pay less, but they’re impervious to upsets caused by events in financial markets. Swap a GIC in for dividend stocks and the usual marginal tax rate would apply on interest income - a range of 22.7 per cent in B.C. to 31.5 per cent in Quebec.