Additive funds – Kommersant

Even in difficult economic conditions, the dividend yield of many Russian companies will be double-digit this year. According to the Moscow Exchange index, it is already about 11%. You can also participate in the growth of the market through specialized dividend stock funds. But with such investments, it should be borne in mind that they often lose out to broad market funds due to the stocks of fast-growing companies present in them.

Dividends adjust the index

For the ninth week in a row, the Moscow Exchange index is finishing with a steady growth. According to the results of Friday trading, it consolidated near the mark of 2640 points, the maximum value since the beginning of April 2022. In a week, the index rose by more than 3.3%, and in nine weeks the increase was almost 22%. This is facilitated by both the weakness of the Russian currency, the recovery in oil prices, and the dividends of Russian companies.

At the end of the first quarter, Dmitry Puchkarev, an expert on the stock market at BCS World of Investments, estimated the total amount of payments to be more than 875 billion rubles, most of which is accounted for by Sberbank shares. On Friday, April 21, Sberbank shareholders approved dividends in the amount of 25 rubles. per share (ordinary and preferred), which corresponds to a dividend yield of over 10%.

In general, analysts estimate the dividend yield of the Russian index at 11-12%, which is noticeably higher than deposit rates.

According to the Central Bank, since the end of February, the maximum rate on deposits of the largest banks has remained stable at 7.68% per annum.

Limited choice

You can participate in the growth of dividend stocks through mutual funds with dividend strategies. Five such funds are available to private investors on the Russian market: two open-ended and three exchange-traded mutual funds. Almost all portfolios included shares of Sberbank, Gazprom, MMC Norilsk Nickel, LUKOIL, PhosAgro, MTS, Surgutneftegaz. Earlier, dividend funds for US shares were available on the Russian market, but due to the blocking of the NSD/Euroclear interdepository bridge, such investments were frozen.

Market participants note that in the last year, the effectiveness of a strategy focused only on dividend securities is lower than the rate on the market as a whole.

According to Investfunds, in the first quarter, such funds generated an income of 11-14%, while funds in the broad equity market grew by 10-24%. In the 12 months ending in March, dividend funds returned 13-15%, while broad equity funds returned 9-30%.

Long term

Artem Mayorov, director of the asset management department at Ingosstrakh-Investments Management Company, draws attention to the fact that dividend shares usually have a lower sensitivity to the market. This is determined by the beta coefficient, which characterizes the movement of an individual stock relative to the market as a whole. According to Mr. Mayorov, the sensitivity of dividend stocks to the market is 50-70% of the dynamics of the broad market index, that is, the beta coefficient is 0.5-0.7. At the same time, high-tech companies such as Ozon and Yandex have it above 1.

“In pursuit of higher dividend yields, such strategies sacrifice stakes in growth stocks (IT, fintech), which have high growth rates and multiples, but at the same time bring the main profitability to clients through value growth,” notes the managing director of the equity department of the management company Sistema Capital Konstantin Asaturov.

Due to their lower volatility, dividend funds are better suited for the long-term investment of individuals who want to invest in stocks, but are not ready to take on the maximum risk of this asset.

The results of funds on long horizons speak of greater stability of such investments. Over the past five years, dividend funds have generated returns of 27-35% for their investors versus 15-54% for broad market funds.

Vitaly Gaidaev