East v West: Where are the best equity income plays?

Different countries have different attitudes to returning cash to shareholders. Traditionally, the US and UK have been the dominant dividend models, with companies in the latter historically paying out a good proportion of their earnings to shareholders in the form of dividends. UK companies also tend to have a strong commitment to progressive dividend policies, with the aim of increasing dividend payments year-on-year. This means that the UK market is home to a number of ‘dividend aristocrats': companies that have managed to consistently grow their dividend over rolling ten-year peri...