It pays dividends to manage shares astutely

The past couple of weeks have provided a timely reminder to anyone who has exposure to company shares that volatility and risk are core elements of the equity market.

Wobbles about what the US Federal Reserve said, concerns about Chinese monetary policy and a sense among many that equity markets had rallied too fast brought a sharp and nervy sell-off. It, once again, underlines the key importance of dividends when managing your shares.

Over the last 50 years the divided yield in the market is nothing spectacular, at around 3% presently, so you’d probably think it is a useful income-source but not as exciting as capital growth. Company newsflow, including regular results or transactions tend to dominate the way equities are presented in public.