Snapping up dividend stocks, and bagging juicy returns to help me boost my wealth, is one of my core investment aims.
My approach
What is dividend investing? Simply put, it’s buying shares in firms that offer the potential to provide consistent returns in the form of dividends.
It must be said that dividends are never guaranteed, and are only paid at the discretion of the business. In many instances, dividends have been cancelled to conserve cash.
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With that in mind, I’m looking for the best dividend shares that offer the highest chances to offer me regular returns. I look for traits such as industry position, past track record, and future prospects. In addition to this, I want to make sure I’m paying a fair price for a good stock too.
Finally, I’d love to be able to legally pay as little tax as possible on my dividends received. For that reason, I reckon a Stocks and Shares ISA is a no-brainer as the perfect investment vehicle. The magic of compounding can help boost my wealth if I let it build up.
Please note that tax treatment depends on the individual circumstances of each client and may be subject to change in future. The content in this article is provided for information purposes only. It is not intended to be, neither does it constitute, any form of tax advice. Readers are responsible for carrying out their own due diligence and for obtaining professional advice before making any investment decisions.
One pick I’d love to snap up
As dividend stocks go, City of London Investment Trust (LSE: CTY) looks like a great candidate to me. I’d love to buy some shares when I next have some free funds.
This trust is geared towards out-performing the FTSE index, and consists of many blue-chip stocks all under one umbrella. Some examples include HSBC, Shell, and Unilever.
City of London shares have performed admirably in the past 12 months, against a backdrop of economic and market volatility. They’re up 6%, from 409p at this time last year, to current levels of 436p.
So why am I a fan you might wonder? Well, City of London Investment Trust is what’s referred to as a Dividend Aristocrat, to start with.
The firm has increased its dividend for 57 years straight! Yes, you read that correctly. They obviously know what they’re doing over there.
As you can see from some of the examples I provided, having shares from some of the leading businesses in one pot has worked well. Plus, the level of safety and diversification this offers is attractive. Diversification is a great way to mitigate risk.
From a returns view, City of London shares offer a dividend yield of 4.8%. This is higher than the FTSE 100 average of 3.9%.
Despite my bullish stance, I must note some risks that could hamper earnings and returns. The biggest issue for me is the fact that close to 90% of the firm’s holdings are in British-based stocks. This means that any volatility across the economy here could dent the trust’s earnings, and returns.
Overall, I reckon this is a great pick to help me build wealth, with a great track record, and good future prospects too.
