Joseph Lisanti

There are 148 ETFs focused on dividends. We looked at the eight cheapest, and then whittled even further.

Buffett can put cash to better use than paying dividends. But the majority of CEOs lack his skill so investors and their advisors should be happy when corporate boards pay shareholder dividends.

The answer depends on your perspective, and whether fear or greed is the defining mood on Wall Street.

Quality is a nebulous assessment and can change over the years — remember Sears? — but appears to portend outperformance using most companies’ measures.

The financial crisis hurt banks' ability to pay dividends — now they may be on a comeback.