Choosing data source for dividends

Overview

For full investment tracking, Portfolio Slicer needs information about received dividends or distributions.

For best control, it is often preferable to enter dividend transactions manually in the Transactions table. But if you want to estimate dividend impact using external files, then you can use the dividend-extract scripts to create Dividends.csv.

This page explains when that approach is appropriate and how to check whether a source is suitable.

General Information

Generated dividends can be useful, but they have limitations.

In particular:

  • extracted dividend data usually gives you just one date per dividend event
  • it may not distinguish between record date, ex-dividend date, and payment date in the way you need
  • it may not correctly model complex scenarios when you trade close to dividend dates
  • it is not a good replacement for manual transaction entry if you need tax-accurate treatment of distributions

If you want exact tracking, especially for return of capital or notional distributions, manual entry in the workbook is usually better.

Dividend Data Source - Yahoo Finance

Yahoo Finance has historically been the main dividend source used with Portfolio Slicer.

To check whether Yahoo Finance has dividends for a symbol:

  1. Confirm that Yahoo Finance has quote history for the symbol.
  2. Open the Historical Data tab.
  3. In the Show dropdown, choose Dividends Only.
  4. Click Apply.
  5. Confirm that dividend rows are displayed.

Yahoo Finance dividends

If dividend data appears there, Yahoo Finance can usually be used as the dividend source for that symbol.

Dividend Data Source - Stooq

At the time of the original documentation, Stooq did not provide dividend payment data in a way that these scripts could use.

That means Stooq may still be useful for quotes, but not for generated dividends.

Dividend Data Source - AlphaVantage

At the time of the original documentation, AlphaVantage was not used as a practical dividend source for these scripts.

Practical Advice

  • prefer manual dividend entry if accuracy matters
  • use generated dividends only when approximate impact is acceptable
  • always verify a few symbols manually before trusting the extracted dividend data
  • if you trade close to dividend dates, treat generated dividends with extra caution