Top Quality Income Performance

To complete the theme of winning stock selections for the close of this holiday weekend, here is the latest interview from WealthTrack with the manager of the JP Morgan Equity Income Fund as we all seek ways to squeeze more cash out of our investments.  Have a good week now that's it's finally warming up.  

Top Quality Income Performance

December 23, 2022

Dear WEALTHTRACK Subscriber,

So far 2022 has been a year to forget for investors. With the exception of a few sectors, most notably energy, and scattered markets such as Turkey and Chile, stock markets have declined significantly, and bond markets have sunk precipitously.

The adage a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush has rarely rung so true. In this case the bird is dividends.

It’s the holiday season so we are revisiting a recent very popular interview with Clare Hart, Lead Portfolio Manager of JPMorgan Equity Income Fund. Her Morningstar Gold analyst-rated, 4-star fund with its laser focus on quality and income has reaped multiple dividends for shareholders since she took over the fund in 2004.  

Income and quality should always matter, but it's markets like these when those characteristics really count.

Historically, since 1930, dividends have contributed about 40% of the S&P 500's total return. Their input has varied widely from decade to decade however. According to a recent Insights Report from the Hartford Funds, dividends played a large role in terms of their contribution to total returns during the 1940s, 1960s, and 1970s, decades in which total returns were lower than 10%. By contrast, dividends played a smaller role during the 1950s, 1980s, 1990s and 2010s when average annual total returns were well into the double digits. They should certainly loom large this year.

Clare Hart, who Morningstar calls "one of the industry's most impressive managers." is a new, recent guest on WEALTHTRACK with a long and distinguished track record of investing in high-quality, dividend-paying stocks. 

She has been the Lead Portfolio Manager of two highly-rated funds since 2004. The flagship, $48 billion 4-star Gold JPMorgan Equity Income Fund emphasizes long-term growth and current income.  The much smaller $3 billion JPMorgan U.S. Value Fund focuses on large-cap companies that are leaders in their sectors and carries a 5-star Silver rating.

Hart will discuss the benefits of focusing on quality and dividends, particularly in a difficult market environment. 

If you miss the show on public television, you can watch it on our website over the weekend, along with our past programs and our guests’ One Investment recommendations.  You can also find the WEALTHTRACK podcast on Stitcher and SoundCloud as well as iTunes and Spotify.

This week is bookended by Hanukkah and Christmas, two religious days celebrating light and new beginnings. We wish you all a wonderful holiday week filled with the happiness and joy of your loved ones and that everyone in your circle makes it safely to their destinations.

As always make the week ahead a healthy, profitable and productive one!

Best regards,

Consuelo