Here you will find a few of the more common questions asked by fellow Dogs of the Dow investors. If you have a question that is not answered below, feel free to let us know and we’ll be happy to add it.
How do I get access to Dogs of the Dow X?
Dogs of the Dow X is included with Dogs of the Dow Ad-Free.
I have to login each time I want to access Dogs of the Dow X. How can I fix that?
You only need to sign in once to access Dogs of the Dow X with the same browser as much as you want without having to sign in again.
One potential reason for having to login each time could be that your browser’s settings or one of your browser’s plugins is not allowing a cookie to be set in your browser when you sign in. As a result the server doesn’t know that you have already subscribed.
Therefore, to make sure that your browser can access all Dogs of the Dow X content, make sure that your browser accepts cookies.
Also, when logging into Dogs of the Dow Ad-Free, make sure to check the remember me checkbox.
Why have the Dogs of the Dow outperformed the market over the long term?
There are several reasons for this. Here are a couple… By definition (see Dog Steps), the stocks of the Dogs of the Dow provide investors with relatively large quarterly dividend checks. Those dividends add up. A second reason is that a high dividend yield is often a result of a stock that has struggled (typically because the the company has fallen on hard times). So when a Dow Jones Industrial Average company becomes one of the Dogs of the Dow, its stock price is often relatively low and undervalued. In time, value investors attracted by a high dividend yield move in and the stock price begins to rise. For Dogs of the Dow long-term, total return performance figures, see Dog Years.
How much does it cost to invest in Dogs of the Dow?
$0. The Dogs of the Dow website is free and stock broker commissions are $0 to buy and $0 to sell.
How much do you charge for Dogs of the Dow X?
Dogs of the Dow X is included with Dogs of the Dow Ad-Free and just as with Dogs of the Dow, stock broker commissions are $0 to buy and $0 to sell.
Is there anything I can do to show my appreciation?
Yes, you can help support Dogs of the Dow in addition to ongoing independent dividend stock research devoted to you by getting Dogs of the Dow Ad-Free.
If I was to purchase the ten Dogs of the Dow today, which stocks would I buy?
For a list of the stocks that would make it as a Dog of the Dow as of the most recent close, check our Current Doggishness page. You could choose to continue to use today’s date as your anniversary date. Or, if you prefer, you could make your first adjustment on the at the end of this year ( December 31st ) and be in sync with all the tables and charts provided on this site.
Must I use December 31st as the anniversary date?
Though using December 31st as the anniversary date is the most common way to go, feel free to use any day of the year as your anniversary date. The point is to remain disciplined, consistent, and long-term.
If I use a day other than December 31st as the anniversary date and hold for one year will I get exactly the same results as those that use December 31st as the anniversary date?
Your results will not be exactly the same due to the fact that you will not be holding the exact same stocks during the exact same periods. What we can say though is that your performance will be similar. So feel free to set your own anniversary date. But once again, and we can’t emphasize this enough, the key is to remain disciplined, consistent, and long-term.
On Dogs of the Dow anniversary date, should I liquidate my entire Dogs of the Dow portfolio and then simply purchase the following year’s Dogs of the Dow with the proceeds?
You may but when brokers commissions (if you have any) and taxes are taken into account you will find that liquidating your entire Dogs of the Dow portfolio is not the most cost effective way to rebalance your portfolio. For details on how to rebalance your portfolio we suggest you take a look at the following frequently asked question.
On Dogs of the Dow anniversary date, how exactly should I rebalance my Dogs of the Dow portfolio?
For a straight forward explanation on how to best rebalance the Dogs of the Dow, get our free Dogs of the Dow Checklist.
Can I buy partial shares of a stock so I can allocate exactly 10.00000% to each of the Dogs of the Dow stocks?
Yes. Though only if you use a broker (e.g. Charles Schwab – a Top Dog Broker) that allows you to buy fractional shares. If your broker does not allow you to buy fractional shares, you will not typically get an exact 10.00000% allocation for each of your ten Dogs of the Dow stocks. This slight variation in allocation should not be a cause of concern. Your investment performance will still be very close to that presented in our performance tables.
What is the benefit of rebalancing every year?
Rebalancing your Dogs of the Dow portfolio back to its 10% per stock allocation will result in more shares going to the stocks that have underperformed on a relative basis. This is a dollar cost averaging type of effect. Also, rebalancing prevents your portfolio from becoming overly weighted in one or two stocks after years of investment thereby reducing the volatility of your portfolio.
How does a S&P Dow Jones Indices committee decision to change the composition of the Dow Jones Industrial Average effect the Dogs of the Dow approach?
When the S&P Dow Jones Indices committee announces that they will change some of the stocks which make up the Dow Jones Industrial Average, no action is necessary up until your Dogs of the Dow anniversary date (i.e. the one day per year that you have chosen to adjust your Dogs of the Dow portfolio). Simply continue to hold on to your current Dogs of the Dow stocks. When your anniversary date arrives, choose the Dogs of the Dow and/or Small Dogs of the Dow using whichever 30 stocks make up the Dow on your Dogs of the Dow anniversary date.
Why does the S&P Dow Jones Indices committee change the composition of the Dow Jones Industrial Average?
The S&P Dow Jones Indices committee wants to ensure that the Dow is composed of 30 large, blue chip stocks which will best serve as a proxy for the market as a whole (less the transportation and utility sectors). As the U.S. economy evolves, so too must the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
How often does the composition of the Dow Jones Industrial Average change?
We have created a Dow Deletions table listing the changes over the last 90 years.
Can I be notified of any changes that take place at Dogs of the Dow?
Yes. Simply sign up to receive our free Dogs of the Dow Newsletter.
How can I easily navigate through the site?
There are two ways to quickly and effectively navigate the Dogs of the Dow website. One way is to simply use the site links located at the bottom of each page. If you prefer, you can simply search the Dogs of the Dow website and/or get a stock quote with stock chart (including the stock’s average year chart) by using the search box located near the top right corner of any page on the desktop and below any pages content on mobile.
How often are the various performance tables updated?
All daily performance tables as well as all stock pages are updated daily immediately following the close (YTD Performance, Daily Performance, Current Doggishness, Dogs of the Dow X, stock pages, as well as the entire section devoted to the Dow). In addition, there are many stock screens that are updated throughout the trading day (e.g. Dogs of the Dow Today).
Where can I get the latest quotes on the Dogs of the Dow?
For the price of all the Dogs of the Dow as well as the Dow 30 stocks as of the most recent close, see our YTD Performance Tables as well as our Daily Performance Tables. If you’re interested in researching a stock — any stock, you can simply search the Dogs of the Dow website and get a stock quote along with stock charts by using the search box.
Which browser do you recommend?
Dogs of the Dow is designed to work with any modern browser (Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Opera, Safari, and Microsoft Edge).