There are two elements of the financial return that owners of common stock experience; capital gains and dividends. Dividends tend to be the ugly stepchild of the Financial Services Industry because they don’t make any money off of them. Last year, if you owned a portfolio consisting of entirely Dow component stocks you would have received a dividend payment in the neighborhood of 3.2%, nothing like the 31% return on the S&P 500, but nothing to scoff at.  Your dividend return can nev...