As a child most of heard (or watched) Aesop's fable The Tortoise and the Hare. The story is about confident hare that brags about how fast he can run while poking fun at a slow-moving tortoise. The tortoise having tired of the hare's fodder challenges him to a race. The hare jumps out to an early lead and decides to take a nap midway through the race. When he awakes, he finds that the tortoise made steady progress and beat him to the finish line.
Have you ever stopped to ponder just where are all these get-rich-now infomercial millionaires? I know several people who have purchased one or more of these get-rich-now kits, but I don't know of anyone who actually got rich from purchasing the kit. Warren Buffett and Bill Gates didn't build their fortunes with a get-rich-now kit. They worked hard built it steadily over time.
In much the same way, a disciplined approach to investing, such as dividend growth stocks, can be highly effective. Though it may seem boring to many, I find it exciting to see my income growing as the finish line approaches. Consider these slow and steady growers with 35 years or more of consecutive dividend growth:
Abbott Laboratories (ABT) is a diversified health care products company that is now focused on nutritionals, diagnostics, generic drugs, and medical devices, following the spinoff of its R&D-based prescription pharmaceuticals business.
Yield: 2.4% | Div. Growth: 8.3% | Years: 44
3M Co. (MMM) provides enhanced product functionality in electronics, health care, industrial, consumer, office, telecommunications, safety & security and other markets via coatings, sealants, adhesives and other chemical additives.
Yield: 2.5% | Div. Growth: 7.3% | Years: 58
Genuine Parts Co. (GPC) is a leading wholesale distributor of automotive replacement parts, industrial parts and supplies, and office products.
Yield: 2.5% | Div. Growth: 6.9% | Years: 60
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) is a leader in the pharmaceutical, medical device and consumer products industries.
Yield: 2.7% | Div. Growth: 6.7% | Years: 54
PepsiCo, Inc. (PEP) is a major international producer of branded beverage and snack food products.
Yield: 2.8% | Div. Growth: 7.2% | Years: 44
McDonald's Corporation (MCD) is the largest fast-food restaurant company in the world, with about 35,000 restaurants in 119 countries.
Yield: 3.1% | Div. Growth: 3.5% | Years: 39
The Coca-Cola Company (KO) is the world's largest soft drink company, and also has a sizable fruit juice business.
Yield: 3.2% | Div. Growth: 6.1% | Years: 54
There are really no shortcuts to long-term wealth. Many of those that win the lottery end up losing the money through mismanagement (or worse.) Dividend Growth Stocks may be slow, but they are also steady; and slow and steady wins the race.
Full Disclosure: Long MMM, GPC, JNJ, PEP, MCD, KO. See a list of all my Dividend Growth Portfolio holdings here.
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