Sure Dividend Review: Is This Dividend Newsletter Worth It?

Dividend-paying stocks are one investment that will let you earn consistent income from stocks, even during a bear market. With many dividend stocks to choose from, it’s impractical for investors to buy shares of each one.

It’s vital to find high-quality companies with strong expected total returns and a low chance of reducing their dividend payments.. Investors can utilize Sure Dividend to make the research process easier when building a dividend stock portfolio. 

This Sure Dividend review shares how the platform works and ways investors can benefit from the service.

What is Sure Dividend?

Sure Dividend is a dividend investing newsletter that looks for high-quality dividend growth stocks. The service has more than 7,000 active premium members. Ben Reynolds founded Sure Dividend in 2014 and still runs the service.

It is ideal for investors who want to earn dividend income from individual stocks that can exceed the average dividend yield of an S&P 500 index fund. Investors near or in retirement may also consider this product to earn passive income.

In addition to free articles, investors can subscribe to one of the platform’s three premium newsletters — the Core, High Yield, and Growth newsletters — or to The Sure Analysis Research Database, which includes them all.

Dividend income is one way investors can grow their net worth over the long term, even from businesses with consistent share prices. This investment idea won’t make you rich overnight, but you can earn recurring income.

Premium members receive a monthly Top 10 list featuring the service’s best investment ideas. The company’s highest tier of service, the Sure Analysis Research Database, also has a research platform covering over 900 securities.

How Does Sure Dividend Work?

There are three newsletters that recommend various income stocks and REITs. These investment suggestions have sustainable yields and a favorable five-year share price growth forecast.

The investment analysis contains these factors:

• Dividend risk score
• Five-year forward expected total returns
• Five-year forward expected growth rate
• Fair value price
• Expected valuation return

All of the premium research incorporates the above metrics to rank the best investment ideas. 

Premium subscribers will also have access to these research tools (depending on the tier of service joined):

• Investment lists: Monthly write-ups of the best dividend stocks and REITs
• Dividend spreadsheets: Downloadable sheets categorizing dividend stocks
• Portfolio building guides: Educational resources for investors
• Stock analysis: PDF reports for over 900 stocks with quarterly updates

A single newsletter is a good starting point for investors building a dividend growth portfolio, and you can add the other newsletters or the research database later. The newsletters are sold individually now, so you can start with just the one that fits your goals.

The Sure Analysis Research Database offers more research tools for investors who want the full research behind the recommendations, while the newsletters maintain a model portfolio with buy and sell recommendations.

How Much Does Sure Dividend Cost?

Previously, you could subscribe to a single newsletter for $199 per year. The company then sold bundles — the Dividend Ideas Plan for $99 per year and the Dividend Pro Plan for $499 per year, with The Sure Analysis Research Database at $999 per year — but both bundles are now closed to new members, although existing subscribers can continue to use them as normal. Today, each newsletter costs $49 per month, and The Sure Analysis Research Database costs $999 per year.

The Sure Analysis Research Database

The Sure Analysis Research Database is the company’s premium service, at $999 per year. It gives you full access to the platform’s research tools and includes everything: all three newsletters — The Sure Dividend Core Newsletter, The Sure Dividend High Yield Newsletter, and The Sure Dividend Growth Newsletter — plus both Top 10 report services, Top 10 Dividend Elite and Top 10 REITs.

Benefits of this subscription include:

• Quarterly analysis updates for over 900 securities
• Weekly Top 10 securities email
• Three-page research reports
• Daily spreadsheet updates
• All three newsletters and both Top 10 report services

This service is best for investors who want the full research database behind every newsletter and report, rather than a single monthly Top 10 list.

New members can start with a 7-day free trial before billing begins.

The Three Newsletters — $49 per Month Each

Today the newsletters are sold individually, at $49 per month each. The Dividend Pro Plan bundle, which packaged them together, is closed to new members. The three newsletters are:

These newsletters are below:

• The Sure Dividend Core Newsletter (formerly The Sure Dividend Newsletter): Focuses on expected total returns to suggest stocks, with an average yield of around 3%. It is published on the 1st Sunday of each month.
• The Sure Dividend High Yield Newsletter (formerly Sure Retirement Newsletter): Suggests investments yielding 3x or more the S&P 500’s yield, with average yields around 5%. It is published on the 2nd Sunday of each month.
• The Sure Dividend Growth Newsletter (formerly Sure Passive Income Newsletter): Uses safety and growth data to make suggestions, with an average yield of around 2%. It is published on the 3rd Sunday of each month.

Each newsletter delivers a monthly Top 10 list of its best ideas, with a one-page summary for every stock idea, and comes with a portfolio-building guide to add recommended stocks to your existing allocation.

Closed Legacy Plans: Dividend Ideas and Dividend Pro

The Dividend Ideas Plan ($99 per year) and the Dividend Pro Plan ($499 per year) were bundles that packaged the newsletters and report services together. Both are now closed to new members, although existing subscribers can continue to use them as normal. The Dividend Ideas Plan did not include a portfolio-building guide, but it did include risk ratings for many investments.

Plus, you will get actionable buy recommendations for high-quality dividend growth stocks with 25+ years of rising dividends and REITs with 4%+ dividend yields.

These research tools can be an excellent alternative to a stock screener.

The two Top 10 report services are:

• Top 10 Dividend Elite Service
• Top 10 REITs Service

These reports are published on the first and second Sundays of each month, respectively. Both report services are closed to new members as standalone products; they are included only with The Sure Analysis Research Database.

Every stock idea receives a one-page summary analyzing these factors:

• Company overview
• Current events
• Safety and dividend risk (i.e., is the current dividend yield sustainable?)
• Growth
• Value
• Expected total return

The top 10 rankings remain fairly consistent month-to-month with few replacements. You can also see the risk scores for all covered securities with at least 25 years of rising dividends.

Downloadable Sheets

In addition to the monthly reports, you can access many Excel and Google downloadable sheets that contain a running list of stocks fitting a certain trait.

These include:

• Dividend characteristics: Blue chip stocks, Dividend Aristocrats, High-yield, etc.
• Stocks by payment date: January dividend stocks, February dividend stocks, etc.
• Index lists: Dividend-paying stocks in the S&P 500, Russell 2000, etc. 
• Industry and sector lists: REITs, MLPs, healthcare, energy, utilities, etc.
• Guru investor lists: Berkshire Hathaway, Gates Foundation, etc.
• Miscellaneous: Large-cap stocks, low beta, high beta, closed-end funds, etc. 

Consider this service if you have a smaller investment portfolio or like to casually dabble in dividend stocks. It’s also sufficient if you’re happy to do more of your stock research outside of the platform.

Is Sure Dividend Worth It?

Joining the platform is worth it if you want expert insights on high-yield dividend stocks and REITs. It’s too easy for uninformed investors to simply chase the highest yield without realizing the underlying risk.

All subscriptions let you view the risk ratings for companies with high dividend yields and a long history of paying dividend income. This information can help you build a diversified portfolio that can eventually help you live on your dividend earnings.

While you should still do your own due diligence by inspecting the company’s investor relations page and other third-party resources, you can quickly find which companies to consider first.

Plus, you will also see which ones have the riskiest yields or the lowest growth estimates. 

Sure Dividend Key Features

Here are some of the best membership benefits. Keep in mind that some of the available features may require subscribing to an advanced plan.

Top 10 Securities

Sure Analysis subscribers receive the Top 10 Dividend Elite and Top 10 REITs lists each month, while each newsletter subscriber receives that newsletter’s own monthly Top 10 list.

While each report covers different types of stocks to avoid significant overlapping recommendations, the lists are all built from the same Sure Analysis research, which covers over 900 securities.

These metrics include:

• Dividend risk score
• Number of years with dividend increases
• Current dividend yield
• Expected returns 

Buying and Ranking Criteria

The various investment ratings are sourced from the Sure Analysis Research Database. Each month’s Top 10 list is built from that research, using the Core Newsletter’s screening criteria below.

These stock screens are run three to five days before a report is published and follow the Core Newsletter’s screening criteria:

1. At least 5 years of rising dividends
2. Dividend Risk Score of A or B
3. Priced at or below 100% of fair value
4. Dividend yield at least 1.5x the S&P 500’s yield
5. Yield plus growth estimate of at least 7.0%

The site states they will omit securities that don’t pass a qualitative analysis.

Portfolio Building Guide

Sometimes, deciding which investment ideas to start with is challenging if you have several to choose from.

The newsletters include a portfolio-building guide to help investors set up their portfolio.

This guidance can help optimize diversification and maximize portfolio growth. It can also lower your learning curve so that you can quickly add suggestions to your investment account and maximize your membership.

Real Money Portfolio

One downside of the stock newsletter industry is that some publishers won’t allow analysts to buy suggested stocks. 

This policy prevents pump-and-dump schemes where the newsletter author buys shares of a stock at a cheap price before they recommend it. Then, they sell their shares once subscribers buy a position and push the share price up to make a profit.

Instead, the platform invests alongside investors in the Real Money Portfolio, buying the same ideas it recommends.

The Real Money Portfolio will also sell positions as the corresponding newsletter issues a sell recommendation.

Note: The Real Money Portfolio is in The Sure Dividend Core Newsletter, and it is also included with The Sure Analysis Research Database.

Past Recommendations and Sells

The newsletters follow a single sell rule.

A security is sold when it breaks its annual dividend increase streak.

Since several stocks may trigger a sell alert, you can view the current status for past recommendations in the monthly issues.

Additional Newsletters

The newsletters are sold individually now, so you can subscribe to just the one that fits your goals.

Only The Sure Analysis Research Database includes all of the newsletters and report services:

• The Sure Dividend Core, High Yield, and Growth newsletters
• Top 10 Dividend Elite Service
• Top 10 REITs Service

If you’re just starting or want to try out the platform, your best option is a single newsletter at $49 per month. It’s a good starting point to assess whether you’d like to add more newsletters or the research database as your portfolio grows.

A single newsletter delivers a monthly Top 10 list of its best dividend stocks and REITs.

Sure Dividend Reviews

There are no Trustpilot or Better Business Bureau (BBB) customer reviews like other investment research sites have.

However, Sure Dividend is a legit service, and the reader testimonials provide a glimpse of how a membership can improve your investment strategy.

Here are a couple of Sure Dividend review excerpts from the company’s website:

“I can’t think of anything I would suggest to improve your reports. I always read them, I will never again waste time or money in reading the Motley Fool. Your reports and those of Seeking Alpha are the best.”

“This is EXACTLY what I was looking for, and it gives a straightforward answer on the best stocks at any given time. It takes all of the confusion out of this, and makes it so simple.”

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you still have questions about Sure Dividend? These frequently asked questions can help.

What customer service options does Sure Dividend offer?

You can send an email and expect a response within one business day. Using your online dashboard, you can also manage several account settings.

Is Sure Dividend worth it?

This service provides a monthly Top 10 list of dividend-focused investment ideas in each newsletter at an affordable price. The Sure Analysis Research Database provides more hands-on help and is ideal for investors who want the full research database and model portfolios.

Who is Sure Dividend for?

This service is best for investors who want to invest in individual stocks and REITs with above-average yet sustainable dividend yields. It’s ideal for long-term investors and people in or near retirement.

Does Sure Dividend offer a refund or guarantee?

Yes, the Golden Rule Commitment offers a seven-day free trial before billing your credit card or debit card. You can cancel within the first 60 days and get a full refund. Prorated refunds are available after the 60-day grace period ends.

 Summary

Sure Dividend is one of the best dividend investing newsletters because it offers many investment ideas at a competitive price. Each research service is transparent about its rating system and provides additional resources to help investors.

That said, this service isn’t a good fit for short-term traders or those wanting aggressive yet volatile growth stocks. Like other stock newsletters, it’s advisable to research each idea before buying.