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number cruncher

What are we looking for?

The best dividend stocks in the country.

More about today's screen

We finish off our week of looking at George Vasic's research on Canadian dividend growth stocks. Today we look at the UBS Securities Canada Inc. strategist's suggested portfolio of 12 dividend stocks.

His goal was to create a broadly diversified portfolio of dividend growth stocks - something that hasn't been easy in the past. Historically, financial stocks have dominated dividend growth in Canada, but other sectors are emerging with growing dividends just as financials have stopped or slowed increases since the financial crisis.

Mr. Vasic's list is compiled of UBS "buy" or "neutral" rated stocks that have the highest true yields (dividend yield minus the compound average growth rate of shares outstanding - see yesterday's Cruncher for more) among stocks with dividend growth track records.

His portfolio is 33 per cent weighted to financials (versus 31 per cent for the S&P/TSX composite); 25 per cent energy (versus 27 per cent for the composite); 8 per cent materials (versus 20 per cent for the composite); and 33 per cent other (versus 22 per cent). The materials sector is underweight because only one materials stock, Methanex Corp., qualifies.

How has this approach performed?

Mr. Vasic compiled a portfolio using the same methodology two years ago and it outperformed the S&P/TSX composite by 586 basis points since then (-6.5 per cent, versus -12.4 per cent).

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