Dividend-paying equities have long formed the backbone of retirees’ portfolios. And the historic stalwarts of these portfolios are well known. BHP, Telstra, and Commonwealth Bank, to name a few.

You might be mistaken for thinking that equity income portfolios are therefore set and forget propositions, made up of a limited number of dividend darlings that will pay out into perpetuity.

But you’d be wrong on both accounts, according to today’s guest.

Dr Don Hamson  is the founder and managing director of Plato Investment Management. Plato manages $11 billion in assets across three funds – an Aussie equities income fund, a global equities income fund, and a global alpha fund. Managing $11 billion in total.

Before that, he was responsible for over $10B in active and enhanced equity investments at State Street Global Advisors.

In today’s interview [in the upcoming interview], Don explains why dividend-paying equities are still the best place to generate income, what makes a dividend sustainable, how to identify dividend traps, and which sectors and stocks have the brightest dividend outlook.

He also names the dividend darlings that no longer deserve the title!

0:00 - START

1:45 - Dividends hold up amid inflation and rate hikes

4:15 - Dividends remain the income backbone

6:00 - The importance of franking credits

9:17 - Dividends vs the bond market

10:47 - Capital vs income

11:45 - Drawdown and sequencing risks

14:13 - Finding dividend growers

16:30 - Dividend traps

24:03 - Buying cheap stocks in hope of a dividend

26:00 - Red flags

31:40 - What makes a dividend "sustainable"?

38:00 - The best (and worst) looking sectors

41:23 - Invest with a short time horizon

43:00 - No free lunch for less than 20 stocks

50:30 - It's not all doom and gloom

58:00 - Don's bottom drawer investment