Where Are My Dividends?

Written by BonnieFreemane on . Posted in Financial Advice

Dear Gil,

I purchased one stock from Sirius and one from XM Satellite radio two years ago from Onestock.com. I sent in the W-9 forms to the addresses listed on the forms. I have yet to receive a dividend statement. I do not know how to get in touch with these companies to gain the statements either. I have emailed the IRS, Onestock.com, and the customer service sites for each company and have received no responses. How can I gain this information? Also is it wise to buy stock now to use towards retirement? I am 30 with a limited income. I'm trying to do what little I can now to retire comfortably. Thanks!
Christa

Dear Christa,

Are you sure that the two companies you mentioned even issued a dividend? Not all companies declare dividends to its shareholders.

In addition, some classes of stock are not eligible to receive dividends, in the even that the board does declare one. I would refer you to your company's investor's relations page. It will indicate whether or not a dividend was issued, when it was declared and paid, and for how much per share. It is important to note that your stock doesn't necessarily realize a gain (or a loss, for that matter) until it is sold. Therefore, if you've held the shares without selling and the stockholders were not issued a dividend, there would be no "statement of income" to issue you. However, the brokerage should send you, at least, a quarterly statement to indicate the value of your holdings. If you're unable to obtain the information from Onestock.com, you can try any financial website of other stock exchange listing. It will give you current stock price, as well as historical data including share prices on given dates and stock or cash dividend declarations.

At the age of thirty, stocks can prove to be a good vehicle to yieldportfolio growth over time. For instance, many blue-chip (solid, time-tested) stock funds have yielded an average of 12% which is certainly better than a money market or savings account. Companies that aren't going anywhere anytimem soon are almost sure to grow significantly over 30-year period. By investing in stock of companies of that type, your ownership stake grows with it. Just imagine if you owned 1%of Walmart when they just started out. You'd be a billionaire today. It is important to note that stocks can also lose value and the return on investment is neither guaranteed nor insured so you're taking a risk. But, if you're unsure of the growth potential of a company, you can always utilize the expertise of a fund manager, as there are many stock funds in the marketplace designed for different levels of risk and investment goals.

Happy Investing!!!