Taken from the Henderson Global Dividend Index, the data shows global underlying dividends rose by 1.2 per cent, after dividend growth slowed to the same factor from last quarter’s 3.1 per cent.
Henderson Global Investors said the data “reinforced the need for Australian investors to seek income in offshore markets” after underlying dividends for the country fell by 0.2 per cent.
Henderson noted that Australia’s biggest payer, the Commonwealth Bank, held its payouts flat from last year.
Slowing growth in Australia, the UK, and emerging markets is likely to result in more slow growth in the second half of the year, the firm said, as “seasonal patterns mean the emphasis shifts slightly towards those parts of the world”.
Henderson Global Investors also noted that the significant slowdown in US dividends – which at 4.6 per cent for the second quarter represents its slowest since 2013 – should not be viewed as problematic, with Henderson's head of global equity income, Alex Crooke, saying that this marks a stabilisation in the nation's dividend growth.
“The slowdown in US dividend growth is not a cause for concern; it began late last year but should be considered a normalisation to more sustainable levels of dividend growth after several quarters of double digit increases,” Mr Crooke said.
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