• 27 FTSE 100 firms have increased their dividend every year for at least the past 10 years
• Dividend growth is so powerful as it almost inevitably drags a share price higher
• 15 of those firms have delivered a 10 year total return of over 500%
The 500 Club
|
Company |
10-year total return |
Current yield on 2008 share price |
|
Ashtead |
5399% |
71% |
|
Hargreaves Lansdown |
1512% |
18% |
|
Croda |
1182% |
16% |
|
InterContinental Hotels |
1000% |
16% |
|
Halma |
815% |
8% |
|
DCC |
758% |
12% |
|
Prudential |
695% |
17% |
|
Scottish Mortgage |
694% |
5% |
|
Compass |
682% |
12% |
|
Paddy Power Betfair |
656% |
19% |
|
Micro Focus International |
641% |
31% |
|
Intertek |
619% |
10% |
|
Whitbread |
610% |
13% |
|
St. James's Place |
595% |
22% |
|
Bunzl |
571% |
8% |
|
FTSE 100 |
146% |
|
Source: Thomson Reuters Datastream, Company accounts.
Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, comments:
“If someone said you could invest in something that handed you over four times the growth of the market you’d be pretty happy, but you’d be over the moon with one stock that’s delivered 35 times the return of the FTSE 100 over the past 10 years.
“That’s exactly what equipment rental company Ashtead has done, turning a £10,000 investment 10 years ago into £539,900 today. The firm is one of just 15 FTSE 100 companies who have increased their dividend every year for the past 10 years and handed savers a total return of more than 500%.
“The combination of reinvesting a steady level of income and decent capital growth can deliver massive gains for investors.
“An investor who split £100,000 evenly between these 15 companies 10 years ago would now be sitting on a pot of well over £1m today in total return terms.
“In addition to that, the annual dividend yield on these stocks today based on the purchase price 10 years ago is a whopping 19%, with Ashtead yielding a staggering 71%. This shows the power of investing for the long term, reinvesting dividends and waiting patiently for the magic of compound interest to shine through.
“It is also worth noting that these calculations run from October 2008, just heading into the final bout of chaos as the Great Financial Crisis reached its zenith, so the 10-year dividend growth streaks and strong share price performances are all the more impressive.”
