Dividend Stocks To Consider

In the months leading up to the fiscal deal, high-dividend stocks have been taking some hits. High-yield stocks have lost an average of 2.89% over the past three months, according to Morningstar.com, the worst performance of any of the eight types of stocks that the research site tracks. While fiscal cliff and higher taxes on dividends may not be the only reason, no doubt these concerns were playing some role in dividend stocks' sluggishness.

The research comes from O'Shaughnessy Asset Management, the firm headed by quantitative investing guru James O'Shaughnessy. Looking at stock returns from 1926-2011, OSAM found that high-dividend stocks outperformed the broader market by just about the same margin, on average, during periods when dividends were taxed as regular income, periods when dividends were exempt from taxation, and periods when dividends were taxed at 15%. The group found just one example of a dividend tax increase in the neighborhood of what the fiscal cliff could cause (1953-54), and found that high-dividend stocks actually outperformed following that increase.

Source: MSN Money

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