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The week's question
In March 2025, in the thread "Re: OT, out", Umm asked the members: "Do you think it is because America is made up of magical soil that makes businesses based in America magically profitable?" This week it is put to everyone again. The button below opens the small thread re-asking it - read what others have said so far, then give your own answer as an ordinary reply.
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Stocks A to Z / Stocks B / Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A)
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Author: mungofitch ✹✺ SILVER
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Number: of 22354 
Subject: Re: brkb vs vig, I looked at 5 and 10 year
Date: 02/29/24 9:34 AM
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This is a graph of the ratio of VIG total return to SPY total return in the last five years. Is that what you needed?
A horizontal line would mean they had the same returns.

stockcharts.com: SharpCharts | StockCharts.com

It's probably more important to consider what happens in the "typical" period for dividend payers rather than in a specific period. I mention this because there was a very unusual stretch that dividend payers did particularly badly. For example, from Jan 2017 to Jan 2021, an equally weighted portfolio from selected S&P 500 stocks, figures not annualized:

All 500: total return +71%
Highest yielding half of dividend payers: total return +28%
Those with no dividends: +165%.

Note, the "bonus" returns for non-dividend-payers isn't because of a new era of tech or the Magnificent Seven: it's an equally weighted portfolio of many stocks in quite a few sectors.

I noticed this effect because the MI board noticed that our long time favourite screen completely stopped working for a few years, and it got metaphorically tossed on the trash heap. But it sought out high dividend payers, and ALL high dividend payers did badly for a long stretch. It was picking from a barrel stuffed with bad apples. The old screen has done wonderfully since the pandemic.

Anyway, VIG (like anything seeking dividends) will have the occasional stretch that is very atypical. Watch out for that.

Jim
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This community has written 21,861 posts about Berkshire Hathaway. The article-length ones it recommended most:
BRK: Why Not XOM? · 62 recs · 2024
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Summary of 2Q 2026 · 55 recs · 2026
3Q Summary · 53 recs · 2024
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