Y esta es la discusión que me hizo adoptar la compra de acciones DGI como mi principal estrategia de inversión:
Lowell Herr, Contributor
Chowder,Thank you for the interesting article. I did not completely understand the following paragraph.“The equity portfolio, while underperforming the S&P 500 in total return generated 55.4% more in income. That’s a considerable amount of money that the S&P 500 can’t make up for in total return and by selling some shares to make up the difference” The above paragraph implies that dividends from the equity or dividend oriented portfolio were not part of the Internal Rate of Return (IRR) calculation. I must be missing something. If selling shares of the S&P 500 index cannot make up for the dividend advantage that comes from the equity portfolio, then the equity portfolio must have outperformed the S&P 500 in total return.What was the IRR comparison or difference between the S&P 500 index and the equity portfolio over the 20-year period?Lowell
03 Dec 2014, 07:37 AM
bryan.g.forsyth
herr,those two sentences stuck with me as well. for any given period, if total return of one portfolio outperforms another, then, by definition, the outperforming total return portfolio can sell shares to make up for any difference in dividend income (which, by definition, is a component of total return).you can argue all day and night about where prices will be in the future, where dividends will be in the future, but on the date that the total return is calculated, it’s impossible for a an outperforming total return portfolio to NOT be able to sell shares to equal the dividend income of a worse performing portfolio, from a total return standpoint.
03 Dec 2014, 08:32 AM
Chowder, Contributor
As I said in the article, it’s all about me and my goals. … Heh, heh.I don’t want to sell shares to generate cash. I want to collect the dividends and leave the assets alone.Since these under-performing companies did earn 54% more in income, the Index would have to do considerably more to earn the same amount of income as those 7 companies.I understand some will say I can sell shares because the cap appreciation was better, but I don’t want to have to sell. I want selling to be an option, but I prefer to hold the asset and harvest the income those assets generate.Once again, as I stated above, if I wanted to discuss IRR I would have included the other 30 plus companies that did outperfom the S&P 500 on total return.
03 Dec 2014, 10:25 AM
bryan.g.forsyth
Chowder,i completely understand your goals, and i very much appreciate the manner in which you communicate them, your transparency, your motives, and your honesty regarding ETFs and other investment vehicles of which you are admittedly not as knowledgeable or concerned.notwithstanding the above, i think my post was irrefutable. one might not WANT to sell shares. one’s goal might focus on income. i’m not making any judgment there either way.all i am saying is that an investor, given the above example of portfolios and total return comparison, can create on his own the same income (or more!) by selling shares. period. full stop.
03 Dec 2014, 11:12 AM
Chowder, Contributor
Yes bryan, they can sell shares. I can too. … Heh, heh.I get your point. I appreciate it.
03 Dec 2014, 11:15 AM
David Fish, Contributor
There’s a paradox here that causes some confusion, and it revolves around the conflicting ideas of greater total return and “harvesting” of shares. The main problem is that comparing the total return focuses on measuring a fixed number of shares from start to finish, but in one case (the need to sell shares), the investor would end up with fewer shares and therefore, LESS total return. Consider: When we say that A had greater total return than B, what are we measuring but the starting units, without variation. So, for example, 100 shares of A had greater total return than 100 shares of B. But if we introduce the income/withdrawal element, that changes if B pays more in dividends and A is forced to sell shares to match the income/withdrawal rate. A will obviously end up with fewer than 100 shares, so its “real world” result will be lower. How many shares will A…which was superior on a unitary basis…end up with? It could be 99, 90, 75, even 50 shares. What has been lost is the compounding element of the sold shares…and the “lost” value is greater the earlier the selling starts and the greater the number of shares that need to be sold. In effect, “negative” compounding offsets the simplistic unitary comparison of “A had greater total return than B.”
03 Dec 2014, 11:18 AM
mjs_28s
"all i am saying is that an investor, given the above example of portfolios and total return comparison, can create on his own the same income (or more!) by selling shares. period. full stop."Of course one can and anyone can see the reasoning behind it.However, during extended flat markets or down markets your risk of running out of money way too soon is significantly increased.If you are harvesting dividend income and not touching principle or barely scrapping principle you will not out live your dollars.
03 Dec 2014, 11:20 AM
Christinebitg
David F, I disagree with this statement:"The main problem is that comparing the total return focuses on measuring a fixed number of shares from start to finish, but in one case (the need to sell shares), the investor would end up with fewer shares and therefore, LESS total return."The reason that I disagree is that it does not take into account whether those shares have appreciated in value.If the share price of a company doubles, it does not trouble me to have to sell 10% of my shares. I’m still up by 80%.The same thing would be true if a stock splits.Christine
03 Dec 2014, 11:27 AM
ScottU,
Christine,"The reason that I disagree is that it does not take into account whether those shares have appreciated in value."I humbly offer this: What happens if you have to sell five shares a year for 10 years to make sure your income level is where you desired? When you start your comparison you have 500 shares, when you end, you have 450 shares. In the examples given, the shareholder at the end has the higher total return, but has never taken into account the shares they harvested.I can see both sides of the discussion, but you can’t harvest and keep the shares for your total return number.Scott
03 Dec 2014, 11:34 AM
David Fish, Contributor
Christine,I understand your objection, but I think that you are looking at just two points in time…for example,when you buy and when the stock has doubled. What about when the stock is up 10% and you have to sell? Then, imagine that your remaining shares are up 15% or 20%…and you have to sell.So what I’m talking about is the fact that the stock/ETF with the lower yield would have to sell steadily over time…so the “stake” is eroding from the very start (and sold shares do not appreciate, even if the price does).
03 Dec 2014, 11:37 AM
David Van Knapp, Contributor
Every time I have seen this issue discussed, even by Warren Buffett, the proposition that selling shares does not reduce your stake (I am not misquoting here) MUST be supported by two presumptions. The first is that the company continues its earnings growth at x percent, and the second is that the valuation of the shares (PE ratio, or in Buffett’s case, PB ratio) stays the same.Without those two presumptions, the proposition fails. Of course, out here in the real world, those two presumptions are the ones that go south in a bear market. Earnings slow or fall (as in a recession), and valuations fall as people flee the market. The double whammy is what creates bear markets.(To his credit, Buffett does acknowledge that when you sell shares, your percentage ownership falls. Not everyone acknowledges that. He just focuses on price, not percentage ownership. But he still makes the two presumptions.)Dave
03 Dec 2014, 12:39 PM
bryan.g.forsyth
there is no paradox. focusing on share count is a red herring.all that matters are these:your total market value. your total dividend income. your necessary expenses.if your dividend income is not sufficient to cover your expenses, then you simply sell shares and subtract that dollar value from your total market value.over time (hopefully!), you will continue to receive price appreciation adding to your total market value. over time (hopefully!), you will continue to receive dividend income to offset your expenses.if one has prepared properly earlier in life, one’s total market value and total annual return will far exceed one’s necessary expenses. making ‘running out of money’ a moot point.if you dont have enough total market value, you can run out of money. if you dont make enough in dividend, you can run out of money. if your expenses are simply too high, you can run out of money.share count is a red herring. it need not be discussed whatsoever in this scenario.
03 Dec 2014, 02:04 PM
Ted Fischer, Contributor
Agreed, HOPEFULLY your price and earnings appreciation will be more than enough over time to HOPEFULLY offset the income deficit that HOPEFULLY doesn’t balloon if you are forced to sell additional shares to make ends meet through a market correction. Or you could simply generate the desired income through a stable and growing dividend stream.