. Though it underperformed the S&P/TSX composite by a bit last year, the 2MP averaged total returns of 10.4 per cent over the past 10 years while the index averaged 6.9 per cent.
There’s not a lot of turnover in this portfolio because the giants in many sectors tend to remain the same. A perfect example is Canadian National Railway. According to IncomeResearch.ca, it has increased dividends for 24 straight years. Over the past four years, dividend increases have averaged 14.6 per cent. It says the recent share price, which yields about 1.7 per cent, reflects expectations of future annual dividend growth of about 10 per cent.
For anyone who enjoys the peculiar satisfaction that comes when one of your stock holdings splits in two, 2019 was bereft of joy,. Just two Canadian companies completed stock splits last year, a drought made more severe by the fact that the S&P/TSX Composite Index surged 19 per cent. Convenience-store operator Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. and software company Enghouse Systems Ltd. were the sole splitters last year, according to FactSet.
Why is interest in stock splits fading? The key reason has been percolating for years: Retail investors can now buy any number of shares for the same flat fee , which means that even a $1,000 stock isn’t out of reach. Market meltdowns during the dot-com bust and the financial crisis of 2008 also appear to be playing a role. Companies may be less inclined to split their stocks out of fear that their timing could be off.
globeinvestor Hey ! That’s the global warming chart! WTF!