Dividends & Income Digest: What Have You Learned From Your Mistakes?

This week, Bill Ackman's Pershing Square Capital Management announced that it had sold out of its 27.2 million-share position in Valeant (NYSE: VRX), citing that "the investment required a disproportionately large amount of time and resources." Was the initial investment a mistake? According to Ackman, it was - a big one.
Successful investors are bound to dwell more on their mistakes than on their successes - but there's also much more to be learned from them.
This week's Digest poses the question: What is a big mistake you've made as a dividend investor, and what did you learn from it?
Please share your own thoughts in the comments below.
Josh Arnold
I'd say the biggest mistake I've made when it comes to dividend investing is relying too much on a high yield. I have been caught holding a company in decline or that had a high yield for a good reason - a cut or suspension was coming. I made that mistake more than I care to admit before I learned the hard way not to always just go straight for the highest yields. Dividend investing is about a combination of safety and growth potential, not just finding a 4% or 5% payout. I try to focus now more on sustainability and growth potential, and while yield is obviously important, it is just one piece of the puzzle.
The Dividend Guy
My biggest mistake as a dividend investor was ignoring low-yield dividend stocks at first. When I established my investing model, I systematically... Read more