The Most Promising Dividends

Dividend payers deserve a berth in any long-term stock portfolio. But seemingly attractive dividend yields are not always as fetching as they may appear. Let's see which companies in the business software and services industry offer the most promising dividends. You should understand just why you'd want to own dividend payers. These stocks can contribute a huge chunk of growth to your portfolio in good times, and bolster it during market downturns.

"Between 2000 and 2009, the average dividend-adjusted return on stocks with market caps above $5 billion and a trailing yield of 2.5% or better was a whopping 114%. Compare that to a 19% drop for the S&P 500." When hunting for promising dividend payers, unsophisticated investors will often just look for the highest yields they can find. While these stocks will indeed pay out the most, the yield figures apply only for the current year. Extremely steep dividend yields can be precarious, and even solid ones are vulnerable to dividend cuts.

Source: Motley Fool

Related Articles:

• We Were Dividends, Before Dividends Were Cool
• The 2010 Dividend Stock Ideas List
• 7 Investor Traits to Achieve Success
• The 2010 Dividend Aristocrats
• Protecting Your Dollars With Foreign Currency