Dividends reinvestments lift STI annualised 10-year returns to 9.2%

Singapore

THE Straits Times Index (STI) generated annualised total returns of 9.2 per cent over 10 years from end-2008 to end-2018, thanks to the boost from reinvestment of dividends.

Excluding reinvesting dividends, the 30 STI component stocks would have yielded lower annualised returns of 5.7 per cent over the same period, local bourse operator Singapore Exchange (SGX) noted in a report on Jan 3.

"Dividends have played a key role in these annualised returns, and following the 6.5 per cent decline in total return for the STI in…