New York, USA – The stock market saw some ups and downs in July, with the SPDR S&P 500 Trust ETF and Vanguard’s Dividend Appreciation Index Fund ETF Shares both showing gains. However, a personal watchlist managed to outperform both, posting a significant gain of 5.16% for the month. Despite this strong performance, 2024 has been a challenging year for the watchlist, which has only seen a meager increase of 0.06% year-to-date.

Looking at the long-term data, there is confidence that the strategy behind the watchlist will bounce back and make up for lost ground in the coming months. July marked the end of the watchlist’s longest streak of underperformance compared to VIG and SPY, surpassing previous losing streaks by two months.

While SPY and VIG have had a better start to the year, the watchlist managed to regain its lead on VIG and narrowed the gap with SPY after a strong performance in July. Since its inception in September 2020, the watchlist has had a compound annual growth rate of 12.25%, slightly ahead of VIG and slightly behind SPY.

The main objective of the watchlist is to identify high-quality companies trading at attractive prices, following a strategy aimed at long-term wealth building. The top 15 dividend growth stocks for August 2024 offer an average dividend yield of 1.49% and have shown an impressive dividend payment increase of 22.51% over the last 5 years.

Two approaches to dividend investing are suggested – dollar-cost averaging into a diversified portfolio of high-quality dividend-paying stocks, or investing in undervalued stocks while diversifying across multiple sectors and industries. The latter approach carries slightly higher risk but offers the potential for identifying undervalued opportunities with strong long-term returns.

The criteria for selecting stocks for the watchlist remain consistent, focusing on factors such as market cap, payout ratio, dividend growth rate, revenue growth rate, EPS growth rate, and quality of management. The process involves ranking stocks based on quality and valuation, with the top 15 stocks chosen for the watchlist based on forecasted returns over the next 5 years.

In August 2024, the watchlist introduced two new stocks – Amphenol and Elevance Health. A detailed dividend analysis of these stocks shows historical dividend yields, growth rates, and future projections. The watchlist aims to provide a starting point for further research into companies with potential for strong returns.

Overall, while the watchlist has had both successes and failures in stock selection, it has identified several companies that have produced significant returns. The strategy is data-driven and quantitative, serving as a tool for identifying high-quality companies trading at appealing prices. It is important to conduct additional research and consider qualitative factors when making investment decisions.