Companies which have increased their dividends each year for at least 20 years

Interest rates recently marked a sixth year at a record low of 0.5%. Therefore, it is noteworthy that research from the Association of Investment Companies (AIC) shows that a fifth (21%) of AIC member investment companies which have been in existence for more than 10 years have raised their dividends for at least 10 years in a row.

Some 50% of the UK Equity Income sector has raised dividends for at least 10 consecutive years, whilst 29% of the UK Smaller Companies sector and 27% of the Global sector have done likewise.

Increased dividends
The AIC recently published its updated list of ‘dividend heroes’ – companies which have increased their dividends each year for at least 20 years. The AIC is also publishing research which shows a new generation of dividend heroes: companies that have increased their dividends each year for at least the last 10 (but under 20) years.

Whilst the dividend heroes with 20-plus years of consecutive dividend track records are dominated by the Global and UK Equity Income sectors, the next generation of dividend heroes encompass a broader range of companies from diverse sectors, including UK Smaller Companies, the Asia Pacific, UK All Companies and Europe, as well as the UK Equity Income and Global sectors.

The AIC’s latest research demonstrates the strength of the investment company sector’s income record, with a fifth of members with ten-year histories raising their dividends every year for ten years or longer. It’s encouraging to see that there is a new generation of dividend heroes that have formidable income track records, in addition to those companies that have been raising their dividends for decades.

Source data:
AIC using Morningstar, March 2015.

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