The Single Best Investment: Creating Wealth with Dividend Growth

Reviewed by Diario de un Inversor · UpdatedJune 13, 2026

Our review

Lowell Miller's «The Single Best Investment» is one of the foundational texts of dividend growth investing — an approach that seeks companies with decades of uninterrupted dividend payment and growth as evidence of durable business quality. Miller argues that a portfolio of high-quality dividend-growth stocks, selected by combining current yield with the historical rate of dividend increase, can generate a growing income stream that over time outpaces inflation without ever requiring the sale of shares. The style leans toward reasoned essay rather than technical manual: you will not find step-by-step screeners here, but a patiently articulated investment philosophy. The book's main limitation is its strong US market bias: European dividend aristocrats have shorter track records, and the tax treatment of dividends in most countries differs substantially from the American context Miller writes within. The interest-rate environment in which he wrote has also shifted, affecting the relative valuation of high-yielding equities. Even so, the book remains a solid starting point for understanding why dividend growth can function as a more reliable quality filter than reported earnings alone.

Key takeaways

• A growing dividend signals management confidence in future earnings sustainability — making it a quality indicator, not merely an income stream.
• Combining current yield with historical dividend growth rate offers a more complete comparison tool than the price-to-earnings ratio alone.
• Dividend growth portfolios tend to show lower volatility in bear markets, though they are not immune to drawdowns.
• The approach does not eliminate dividend cut risk; sector and geographic diversification remain essential to managing it.

Fact

Lowell Miller founded Miller/Howard Investments in 1984, specializing in dividend growth strategies from its inception.