Compared to American companies, European companies have a higher average dividend yield and lower valuations, which are attractive for those investors who prefer to be more defensive in the last stages of the cycle.
Igor de Maack (Natixis) | Years of negative rates may well be coming to an end, with a reversal of investor sentiment for bonds over the last few weeks. In fact, the French 10-year rate is now verging on 0%. However, these years will leave their mark in terms of the extravagance of the monetary policies implemented for the purposes of “Saving Private Capitalism”, lost on the battlefield of excessive debt and driven into the trenches of complex finance.
According to a report about dividends from Allianz Global Investors, European companies have an investor-friendly dividend policy compared to their international peers. At the end of December 2018, their average dividend yield across all market segments (based on MSCI Europe) was around 3.8 %.