(Note: Bill Gates and family have already given millions and millions to charity. It was announced on CNBC that on April 24, 2003 Bill Gates had just donated 28 million dollars to S. Africa’s AIDS program.)

Microsoft had just recently (10/15/03) raised their dividend from eight cents a share to sixteen cents a share, giving Bill Gates, I would imagine, a 96.5 million dollar a year raise. As an individual investor in stock market for almost 40 years I have found that companies that raise their dividend every year outperform those companies that stop or trim their dividends. For example, Dominion Resources had raised their dividend from 1984 to 1994 every year, and then stopped in 1994. Since then company continues to pay a 64½ cent a share dividend, with a dividend yield of around 4 percent a year. The stocks performance since 1994 has been mediocre, rising in price from 40 dollar range in 1994 to 60 dollar range in 2004. Now compare that stock’s performance with Comerica, a company that has raised their dividend for past 35 consecutive years. In April of 2003, Comerica’s stock price was around 37 dollars a share, paying a dividend yield of around 5%. Today, July 20, 2004 stock closed at $58.28 a share, paying a dividend yield of 3.57%. A $21.00 a share move in stock in 1 year and 3 months and in March of 2005 company will probably raise their dividend again for 36th consecutive year. (By way, Comerica’s stock performance for past 14½ years (with dividends being rolled back into stock) has returned a little better than 15% a year, compounded annually.) The simple point I’m trying to make is to invest in those companies that have a history of raising their dividend every year. There are hundreds of them. A company that just pays a dividend is not good enough; find those companies with a historical record of raising their dividend every year.

For more excerpts from “The Stockopoly Plan’ please visit www.thestockopolyplan.com

In perfect Mutual Fund your money is not spread too thin. For example, putting $5,000.00 into, lets say, S&P 500 Index Fund, you would end up owning around $10.00 worth of 500 different companies. Other than obvious fact that your money is being spread too thin, any dividends from companies in Index Fund could possibly be eaten up by management’s operating expenses, advertising fees and whatever other Mutual Fund fees (they’re called ‘hidden fees’)are involved.

In perfect Mutual Fund valuation of a stock is based on how often a company raises its dividend and company’s stock appreciation in market place for past eight years. It is this valuation that earns it its place in perfect Mutual Fund. The perfect Mutual Fund ignores all other elaborate techniques of security analysis to find value in a stock. I guess you could call it a Jerry Maguire, ‘show me money’ security analysis. (Also, in my opinion, too many people spend too much time looking at technical charts trying to predict what a stock or stock market is going to do tomorrow. Just because thousands of people on Wall Street make a living doing ‘technical analysis’ doesn’t mean you have too jump off a building, too.)

In perfect Mutual Fund it is belief that dividend is one measure a company cannot fudge. The money has to be there to pay shareholder. The earnings, P/E ratio (trailing or forward), price to sales etc. will all fall into place if company still has enough earnings every year to continue raising its dividend. The perfect Mutual Fund assumes that if a company, for example, that has a history of raising its dividend for past 35 consecutive years; it must be doing something right!

In perfect Mutual Fund dividends from companies are also a safety factor that will put a bottom (support) on a stock. The dividend yield/return will keep price of a stock from falling too far, in case of a severe drop in stock market. And, of course, in perfect Mutual Fund, lower stock prices accelerate your income.

The perfect Mutual Fund is real!

How to begin and invest in your own perfect Mutual Fund can be found in my book ‘The Stockopoly Plan’. Excerpts from book can be found at www.thestockopolyplan.com