Last updated: 21 December 2021. This is our run-down of the best dividend investment books available this year.
Investors in stocks and shares enjoy profits in two different forms: capital appreciation, and dividends. The best dividend investing books are your guide to extracting the most profits from the latter.
Capital appreciation, also known as capital gains, are realised when an investor sells shares at a higher price than they paid. Investors who invest to maximise capital gains follow a growth investing strategy. or value investing strategy.
Dividends are cash payments, which are paid quarterly or annually to shareholders and are funded by company profits. They tend to be more stable than capital gains. Unrealised capital gains can evaporate as financial markets head south during financial crashes, whereas cash dividends accumulate steadily each year and you can choose whether to reinvest them or not.
It's not a surprise that many investors prefer investing to maximise dividend income by investing in companies which have a strong track record in paying reliable and growing dividends. This is a dividend growth investing strategy.
This page features the very best of the best. Only the best dividend investing books feature in these shortlists, and I've topped them off with my ultimate list of the 5 best dividend investing books available.
All books featured are beginner friendly and don't assume much prior knowledge. With prices ranging from £5 - £25, stocking up on a few of the best dividend investing books can deliver the same value as an expensive seminar for only a fraction of the cost. They can even be read for free with Amazon's Kindle Unlimited free trial.
Click on any title below to see the latest price from Amazon, you'll be shocked at how affordable the most popular dividend titles are. As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases which helps to support this site. This does not impact how I compile the list. Happy reading!
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My Top 5 Dividend Investing Books for 2022
Click covers to see latest reviews and prices1. The Little Book of Big Dividends - Charles Carlson
Financial Expert Rating:
Synopsis:
"Everyone needs to invest, but where do you invest during bear markets?
Smart investors will turn to high dividend paying stocks to get a stable and growing stream of income. Dividend investing-that provides an income beyond any gain in the share price-may be the investor's best weapon. Dividends are safe, largely reliable, and maybe at the their cheapest levels in many years. While the best paying dividend stocks of recent years, such as financials, took a huge beating in 2008, opportunities will abound in 2010 and beyond-if you know where to look.
In The Little Book of Big Dividends, dividend stock expert Chuck Carlson presents an action plan for dividend-hungry investors. You'll learn about the pitfalls, how to find the opportunities, and will learn how to construct a portfolio that generates big, safe dividends easily through the BSD (Big, Safe Dividends) formula. If you're a bit adventurous, Carlson has you covered, and will teach you how to find big, safe dividends in foreign stocks, preferred stocks, ETFs, real estate investment trusts, and more."
Who this book is for:
The best 'first book' about dividends, which I would recommend to any new investor.
The Little Book of Dividends is written by Charles Carlson, a money management firm veteran, who has penned over 8 other investing books.
This is a book which finally communicates all the core points of dividend investing, in a simple and concise way.
In my view, this book is the perfect starting point. From here, choose 1-2 others dividend investing books aimed at more experienced investors. This title will arm you with the knowledge to tackle more technical dividend books with ease.
The Little Book of Big Dividends:
- Contains the simple tools, strategies, and recommendations for finding big, safe dividends
- Helps you put a complete portfolio together that pays dividends every month
- Show you the top dividend paying stocks with their dividend payment dates
Financial Expert Rating:
Synopsis:
"A timely follow-up to the bestselling classic Dividends Don't Lie
In 1988 Geraldine Weiss wrote the classic Dividends Don't Lie, which focused on the Dividend-Yield Theory as a method of producing consistent gains in the stock market. Today, the approach of using the dividend yield to identify values in blue-chip stocks still outperforms most investment methods on a risk-adjusted basis.
With Dividends Still Don't Lie, you'll gain the confidence to make sophisticated stock market decisions and obtain solid value for your investment dollars."
Who this book is for:
A book for those who already love dividends, and want to understand how to get the most out of this income stream with a value-based strategy.
Written by Kelley Wright, Managing Editor of Investment Quality Trends, with a new Foreword by Geraldine Weiss, this book teaches a value-based strategy to investing, one that uses a stock's dividend yield as the primary measure of value.
Rather than emphasize the price cycles of a stock, the company's products, market strategy or other factors, this guide stresses dividend-yield patterns.
Financial Expert Rating:
Synopsis:
"Get Rich with Dividends is the bestselling dividend-investing book that shows investors how to achieve double-digit returns using a time-tested conservative strategy.
You'll discover the keys to identifying stocks that will return twelve percent or more every year, and how to structure your investments for greater security and financial well being. This method is so easy to use, you'll want to teach it to your children early to set them up for financial independence and help them avoid the problems that plagued many investors over the past decade.
Market risk is high and interest rates are low, making it a perfect time to get started on a more sensible wealth generation strategy. With expert guidance toward finding and investing in these unique but conservative and proven stocks, Get Rich with Dividends is the only book on dividend investing you'll ever need."
Who this book is for:
Get Rich With Dividends might have a catchy (and slightly in-your-face) title, but the punch of the book matches the boldness on the cover.
Get Rich With Dividends isn't just a get-rich quick book. It's a focused title which explains how you could earn double-digit returns from dividend investing.
This is an achievement, because the average dividend yield of the FTSE 100 or S&P 500 index of large companies rarely tops 4%.
Of course, no returns come without risk, and this book doesn't shy away from important companion topics such as risk management.
Also featured:
- Set up an investment system that requires little to no maintenance
- Achieve double-digit average annualized returns over the long term
- Focus on other things while your money works for you
- Increase returns even with below-average growth in share price
Financial Expert Rating:
Synopsis:
"Dividends - the distribution of part of a company's earnings to shareholders, usually twice a year - can be a valuable income stream for anyone. Designed for longevity but particularly pertinent in times of low interest rates,
The Dividend Investor is packed with real-life examples and analysis of how to gain such added income through reliable shares with healthy dividends. Topics made simple with Hobson s classic style include: ratios, yield, dividend cover, the dividend payout ratio, total return, cash flow, burn rate, gearing or leverage, interest cover, earnings per share and the price/earnings ratio. Plus the advantages and disadvantages of shareholder perks. If you're looking to make the most from your investments, then this book is for you."
Who this book is for:
If you recognise the author name, it's because Dividend Investor is the brain child of best selling finance author Rodney Hobson, author of bestseller Shares Made Simple, which features on our list of the top 10 investing books.
Rodney is back with a brand new book designed to help you build a balanced share portfolio that provides dividend income, whether you re just starting out or ready to retire.
Financial Expert Rating:
Synopsis:
"Investing In Dividends For Dummies shares the fundamental information you need to know about one of the steadiest investments you can make: dividends.
This approachable resource provides you with the details necessary to make confident, educated decisions regarding the dividends that you choose to add to your portfolio.
Instead of guessing which investments will complement your current strategy, leverage the information offered by this easy-to-use text to determine how to best incorporate dividends into your investment tactics—and do so with confidence."
Who this book is for:
I'm a big fan of the 'for dummies...' series of finance books. I find that these books have a visual layout which appeals to me. They break down a new topic in an easy-to-digest manner.
Investing in Dividends is currently rated 4.1/5 stars on Amazon, based on 15 reviews.
Like many other officially published titles, you shouldn't be put off by low review counts.
Cheap, lower quality eBooks sold for £2 naturally sell in high volume and those authors find it relatively easy to generate positive reviews on the basis that a bargain price leads to low expectations in the mind of the reader.
Earning a 4 star review from real customers who have paid £15 for a title is a much more useful test of a book's worth.
The best dividend investing books spark imagination
"Do you know the only thing that gives me pleasure? It's to see my dividends coming in."
Dividend investing is a thrilling topic to read, for several reasons.
Dividends are a form of passive income
First of all, dividends are one of the most popular form of passive income. Passive income - income which arises without any incremental effort on the part of the earner, has a magical quality about it.
Passive income can be created in other ways, such as by starting an online business, or collecting royalties or other license fees.
Unlike those options, dividend sources can be quickly and easily diversified in an investment portfolio, providing a degree of stability and security which could allow the shareholder to place more reliance on that income.
This is why so many early retirees use dividend income to support themselves in their retirement.
This gives dividend investing books an aspirational edge - some are indeed written to directly cater towards readers who wish to use dividend income to retire earlier or with a higher income.
Dividends are satisfying to receive
As the John D Rockefeller quote above suggests, it's mightily satisfying to count your dividends.
In a world of rock-bottom interest rates, bank accounts often pay paltry interest, if any at all.
In contrast, some companies pay a dividend yield of up to 10% per annum. That's a significant payment to receive for holding some shares.
It's easy to see how shares with a high dividend yield can help compound the size and value of an investors portfolio holdings over the long term.
While dividends are not guaranteed, and they may fall in size or cease entirely, they are widely seen as a more stable element of investor return compared with speculative gains from increases in share price.
This makes dividends more enjoyable to track and measure over time, as dividend income is more likely to produce that aesthetically pleasing upward curve which we all like to see when monitoring our investments!
As I mention in my dividend growth investing guide, a 'dividend focus' can also reduce the stress and anxiety associated with holding a volatile investment, because the dividend income produced by your portfolio will likely me less volatile than its market value.
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