Author: Greg Patrick, Dividends & Income

This can be a steady way to earn “rent” on your cash and shares if you’re comfortable with the risks.

When you’re building a portfolio to fund your life, you can’t just measure how big a position is in dollars. You’ve got to measure how much income it’s actually throwing off.

The idea behind a dividend capture strategy is simple: buy a stock right before it goes ex-dividend, grab the payout, and then sell the stock right after. But as with most “shortcuts” in investing, it’s not as easy (or as profitable) as it sounds…

Here’s the reality from my own ledger…

The longer we hold, the better it gets.