How Dividend Investors Can Thrive Despite Cuts

Industrial titan General Electric (NYSE: GE) recently slashed its dividend in half, marking its second dividend cut since the financial crisis. As General Electric's previous dividend wasn't well covered, despite its long-running restructuring efforts, that cut should have come as little surprise for investors. Still, for those who don't regularly monitor their holdings -- particularly for those that rely on dividends for a significant portion of their income -- cuts like that can drive two types of pain.

To start, the cut directly reduces the dividend income that the shareholder receives. Additionally -- as happened with General Electric -- such cuts typically bring with them reductions in the company's share price.

As dividends are not guaranteed payments, cuts are a risk that investors face. While you might not avoid all dividend cuts in your portfolio, you can arrange things to reduce the impact they have on your overall financial well-being.

Source: Fool.com