Higher prices dim appeal of dividend-paying stocks

FUNDAMENTALLY, dividend-paying stocks have had a terrific run for the past five years and have double-digit gains in the first three quarters of 2016.

But as money has been moving out of bonds and into these equities in search of income - dividend stocks are yielding 2.5 per cent, nearly a point higher than 10-year Treasury notes - investors find themselves in a quandary.

For one thing, traditional high-yielding areas of the market are trading at frothier levels than in recent memory.