Dividend stocks are being touted as a substitute for bonds, but the reality is much more complicated

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Tom Bradley: Owning stocks makes sense, but it only works if — and it’s a big if — you stick to the strategy when markets are down

Last week on Bloomberg TV, I heard a strategist from Credit Suisse excitedly pronounce that investors are going to shift from bonds to stocks because the dividend yield on the S&P 500 is now above the U.S. Treasury bond yield. He went on to point out that not only is S&P’s income higher, but dividends grow over time while interest payments don’t.

There is a catch, however, and a particularly important one for retired investors. Banks, utilities, pipelines and REITs are stocks. The underlying companies may be big and stable, but their shares are priced on the not-always-rational stock market. Stock prices fluctuate considerably more than companies’ fundamentals.

So, if you’re receiving most of your investment income from stocks, or are contemplating going that way, I encourage you to do a gut check by answering the following questions. How did you handle market downturns in the past? Think back to the tech wreck and the great financial crisis . Your past investment behaviour will give you a clue as to how you’ll react to adversity in the future, although keep in mind that investing when building your wealth is considerably easier than when you’re spending it.

 

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