For dividend growth investors, there are certain attributes of investments that are more relevant than others, such as yield and dividend growth. To illustrate the power of dividend growth consider that an investment’s yield-on-cost will double every 5 years if they grow their dividend by 15%/year or 7 years at 10%/year or 14 years at 5%/year.

I am a firm believer that asset allocation plays a significant part in a portfolio’s long-term results. Recently, I received a question asking if you could have a diversified portfolio of dividend stocks. It is an interesting question that deserves further examination.

To ensure a retirement that is free from financial concerns, there are certain things that must be done today. For many people this is not a desirable task. However, building a secure future by investing in quality dividend stocks is neither complicated nor overly burdensome.

Though many dividend stocks are now trading in excess of their calculated fair value, capital appreciation is not the primary reason for investing in dividend stocks. Dividend fundamentals are what drive my purchase decision, and if I could only look at one metric it would be...

As dividend growth investors we are looking for stocks can continue to raise their dividends indefinitely into the future. One metric that provides an indication of a dividend’s sustainability is its payout ratio.

As the year draws to a close there were very few companies of note increasing their dividends this week. With that, I thought it would be interesting to see who might be the big dividend raisers in 2010. Here are seven companies for your consideration:

Driven by computers that cost more than the average person will earn in their lifetime the investment markets move at light speed. To keep pace hedge funds, mutual funds, institutional investors and multi-billion dollar money managers spend large sums of money on high-tech tools to give them an edge.

What makes a good dividend stock? Every dividend growth investor is looking for a stock that will increase its dividend every year I have found that stocks that are able to do this share some common characteristics.

Abbott Laboratories is engaged in the discovery, development, manufacture and sale of a diversified line of healthcare products including: drugs, nutritional products, diabetes monitoring devices and diagnostics. Linked here is a detailed analysis and commentary.

In everything we do, we always want to be the best or be associated with the best. You never hear fans yelling, ‘We’re number 2, we’re number 2′, while holding two fingers in the air.  The same is true when selecting dividend stocks.