Dividends drive doubling of S&P 500 return in 10 years

U.S. stocks reached the peak of a bull market 10 years ago today, and the aftermath showed the effect that dividends can have on investors’ wealth. The S&P 500 Index’s total return for the past decade topped 100 percent last week, and reinvested dividends accounted for 40 percentage points of the gain. The rest came from share-price changes.