Global dividends fared better than expected in 2020 in the face of severe disruption from the coronavirus pandemic, with a relatively strong fourth quarter keeping total cuts to a 12.2% decline on a headline basis compared to 2019 levels and total pay-outs reaching $1.3trn.
Janus Henderson Investors' latest Global Dividend Index report shows that "the worst crisis since World War II" did not send payouts as low as $1.2bn as originally forecasted by the asset manager. Link forecasts 34% hit to 2020 AIM dividend payouts after Q2 cancellations On an underlying basis, dividends were 10.5% lower in 2020, representing a smaller decline than after the Global Financial Crisis. Janus Henderson's index of global dividends fell to 172.4, a level last seen in 2017. Dividend cuts and cancellations totalled $220bn between April and December 2020, paying sharehol...
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