A history of dividends

Newton's Tineke Frikkee and Simon Nichols examine the history of dividend payments and challenge the common misconception the focus on dividends is predominantly a UK phenomenon.

The first ever dividend was invented in 1602 by the Dutch Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie (VOC)  – the Dutch East India Company. The VOC was the first company to resemble the publicly listed companies we have today, whose capital is divided up into shares. The VOC invented dividends as a method of distributing the profits of its joint shipping ventures. At this time, dividends were the only form of returns and, in the absence of disclosure standards, the only indication of a firm’s health. The first British dividend followed shortly, from the British East India Company, formed in 16...