I take advantage of bouncing back on the latest dividinde article about our imperfect nature as investors. If we are lucky enough to be very self-critical about our skills in the stock market, the world of work, on the contrary, pushes us to always want to achieve perfection.
"You signed 600 new clients last year? Well done. For next year, I'm setting you a target of 800. And then, you should also reduce your costs by 25%. In fact, we're going to audit you to help you with this process. You'll have to get out the supporting documents for all your expenses from the last five years. From now on, I'm asking you to have all your documents signed by the head of sales, the head of accounting and the director. Oh yes, and by the way, if you can avoid looking so tired when you arrive in the morning, that would help everyone. I remind you that all our employees are "SABRES" (Smiling - Pleasant - Handsome - Funny - Elegant - Seductive), according to the internal directive. So make an effort, damn it. You'll understand that under these conditions I can't pay you the bonus planned."
It's a slightly rearranged melting pot of remarks heard during my professional career. They reflect well what companies expect from their employees: their staff must be efficient, cheap, beautiful, smiling, in a good mood every day and cheap. In short, perfect. Since we are on the contrary by nature imperfect, the professional world puts us in a state of permanent tension, which makes us even worse in its eyes.
When you invest in dividends, on the other hand, you don't have to be perfect. Whether you're tired, in a bad mood, sick or hungover, the little pennies keep coming in regularly. You can even afford to make mistakes, to buy at the worst possible time aristocrats, you will not only continue to be paid and even get a raise of 10% per year. Think about it... how many times has your boss given you a raise like that, especially if you have miserably messed up?
Dividends don't expect anything from you. You have no accountability, no goals to achieve, no schedule to stick to, and no fake-ass laughter to etch on your face. You can sit back and enjoy your imperfect nature. Bling, bling, bling... the little bucks keep falling from the sky.
This is also perfect as it is.
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Very in-depth analysis of the professional world and its flaws!
If I make a potpourri of my 20 years of slavery, I can come up with the following few examples:
– Do everything well all year, but you only get charged for the 2 or 3 days you weren't at your best.
– Setting unrealistic goals to ensure that the employee will not be able to achieve them (a very simple cost-saving measure).
– Bad faith: for example, the boss makes a mistake but places the blame on an employee so as not to be pulled by his boss.
– The colleague who has been giving you the cold shoulder for years over an insignificant sentence he misunderstood, over a coffee machine issue, over a promotion he thought he deserved more than you, etc.
Next to all this schizophrenia and pettiness, dividends are a breath of fresh air, fragments of freedom.
Furthermore, as you explained so well in your e-book (a delicious and essential read for anyone seriously aspiring to financial independence!!!), the great paradox is that the more successful you are at work, the less time you have for yourself. On the contrary, the more successful you are as an investor, the more you have the opportunity to have more free time for yourself again. 🙂
Thank you for your compliments!
In fact, work is still poorly paid.
The more we work, the more we are asked to do, for the same or almost the same pay. Not to mention the young people I saw on TV the other night who work loaded with free diplomas for their bosses as interns.
Whatever. Reminds me of my late grandfather who even had to pay to get a job.
Money and power are concentrated in the hands of a few wealthy people, and all other mortals must work hard to pick up the crumbs. The whole system works so well because people have blinders firmly fixed around their eyes and a golden carrot in front of their noses: the world of consumerism and its omnipresent marketing.
The only way out is to imitate the rich: become a homeowner and spend less than you earn. Only capital allows you to live decently. Not work.
For diversification purposes and because of their very high (but stagnant) dividends, I am tempted to buy a British oil company, but I must admit that I know nothing about this sector… I have the choice between Royal Dutch Shell and BP. The first one seems to be a better option on paper: it offers a slightly higher dividend and a slightly lower P/E. What is your point of view?
We're not brothers for nothing... RDS has also passed under my radar several times in recent days!
I have a very clear preference for the latter over BP:
– RDS is cheaper than BP, especially relative to FCF (but a little more expensive relative to sales)
– The dividend is better covered by profits at RDS than at BP, and this is even more true in relation to the FCF
– profitability, net margin and FCF margin are better at RDS
– debt is lower at RDS
– the number of shares outstanding increases in the short and long term at BP, while it decreases in the short term at RDS
– overheads are very low at RDS, while at BP they are quite low
– volatility and beta are lower at RDS
– Piotroski’s score is 8 at RDS, 6 at BP
In short, there is no comparison. But I have not yet placed an order for RDS.
Thanks bro for your detailed answer, I will follow RDS closely in the coming days. The yield is currently 6%, I would like to try to get 6.2 or 6.3%. These tremors in the stock market (thanks to the blond-haired Down syndrome patient!) are starting to offer some opportunities.
One wonders if he is not manipulating the market...
I was just wondering the same thing!
One tweet and the entire global market goes crazy.
Then the SEC (American stock market police) pisses off Elon Musk for much less than me!
Exactly. And you'll see that in a few days he'll tweet that he's reached a "fantastic" agreement with his Chinese friends. And boom in the other direction.
They can definitely get on the Mueller 2.0 report!
Following the debacle earlier this week, Trump says he is "thinking" about postponing customs duties and the markets are rising fantastically! Is it just me who finds this or are the financial players pawns who waltz to the rhythm of Trump's words and are enriching themselves almost on nothing at the moment?! Very happy to be neither a buyer nor a seller in this totally absurd context. My portfolio continues to grow in a way that makes me hallucinate, but less quickly than if I had 100% of shares. But honestly, if that were the case, I would feel like I was investing 100% in Trump! And that would make me sleep badly at night and I would have ulcers during the day...
This guy manipulates the markets with impunity. 1 put here, 1 tweet, then 1 call there and another tweet. Shameful.
Again and again, to remain calm, it is better to be cash, even in part, and/or invested in the long term. Real assets such as real estate and gold also do good during this induced uncertainty.
When we see the mental health of the 'great' of this world, it's scary...
Trump is crazy and that's why I treat myself with dividends 😉
We're going to launch a Top Models-style series with this story.
What did we say:
https://www.abcbourse.com/marches/trump-se-dit-pret-a-un-accord-commercial-historique-avec-la-chine_474727_PX1p.aspx
This guy redefined insider trading to a whole new level.
Buying Royal Dutch Shell (B) today, the 6.4% dividend (and its 70 years without dividend reduction) has become irresistible! Thanks Donald for these sales… 😉
The market is a veritable house of cards right now. There are only a few headlines at the very back of the castle holding the building together.
When this is released, on a simple Tweet from Trump (who will have taken care to shorten it just before), it will shake up badly!
And a new tweet!
I bet he synced his tweeter account with IB
And today he is friends with the Chinese again and things are going the other way! I hate this political stock market that reacts to everything except the fundamentals.
That said, this increased volatility creates great opportunities. Recently I have strengthened Altria (yet another dividend increase and now 50 years of increases!) and Luzerner KB. I also bought Bucher for the first time (I will have to write an analysis).
In return, I sold almost all my real estate assets that I now consider to be completely overpriced: SPS, Mobimo and Allreal. I will buy them back at a lower price, but at these prices I am unable to keep them.
Bucher? In Valais we have Buchard, but nothing to do with it!
All joking aside, it looks pretty good, cheap, nice dividend. Looking forward to reading a review!
I too will have to start getting back to work, the holidays are over 🙁
And then to put Trump's nonsense into perspective, we have to tell ourselves that his whole circus only pushes "investors" further away from reality: the fundamentals. And that's all good for us in the long term. There are going to be some great opportunities when all these people wake up. Right now I'm already drinking in the milk because gold, US long-term bonds and several of my "old school" stocks are making a huge comeback.
Good morning,
As I read this post, a little question is nagging at me.
Companies with growing dividends ultimately operate thanks to the employees who work there...
So, if these employees become demotivated (like you?), how could these companies continue to pay their dividends?
Kind regards.
Ah, I can't count the number of times I've been asked this question 😉
To vary my answers, I would like to ask other questions in turn:
– what would happen if all tenants wanted to become owners?
– what if all workers wanted to become independent?
– or that all customers wanted to produce their own goods?
Owners, bosses and businesses don't worry about it because not everyone wants to and/or can do it.
There will always be tenants who are happy to have someone rent them a property, workers who are happy to have a fixed salary paid to them each month by their boss, and customers who are impatient to buy the latest trendy thing.
Life is like that. We are all different and that is fine. According to the 16 personality types, only a very small number of us (around 5%) have the profile to become financially independent. This figure drops even further if we take into account skills. Not everyone manages to save and/or invest, even if it is not that complicated. Means can also play a certain role, even if we can also get there starting from nothing.
Fortunately for them, most people find what they are looking for in the world of work. They develop there, maintain their network, and enrich themselves a little there. For some, it is also an outlet for their private life. Even if everything is not rosy every day, they also console themselves by receiving their salary, spending it, consuming, and diving into the consumer society.
I don't need to work (in salary mode) and consume (in rat race mode) to be happy. So I don't find my account there. However, that's not why I'm 'unmotivated' to work for a boss. For that, I would have to have already been one at some point 😉
Okay, I get the idea; let's hope for us that the FIRE movement remains marginal then :) !
Very often, to keep employees motivated, companies of all sizes offer shares to their employees. In this way, employee X gets a little of the fruit of his work, other than a salary, if the company does well.
Hello Jerome,
I have a little question regarding dividends, since I am still a neophyte and I am waiting for your book which will arrive today 🙂!
For the collection of the dividend on the stock market, is it pro rata temporis of the time that the action was released? Or is it enough to have it the day before to receive 100% of the dividend?
Thanks again to you.
Matthew
Hello Matthew
you just have to have it before the "EX" date to receive the dividend. If it is a dividend paid semi-annually or quarterly, as is often the case in the USA, you will obviously receive the amount only for this period.
A++