Dividend growth and dividend yield-focused investing approaches, two of the most popular, are not actually separate strategies, according to a recent article in Barron’s.

Dividend growth, the article explains, focuses on companies with the ability to grow payouts over time (notwithstanding the relative appeal of the current yield), while a dividend yield strategy targets currently high-yielding stocks with less emphasis on future payout growth potential. The article argues that the approaches of various asset managers supports that a combination of the two is the best approach for investors, and offers examples of relative fund performance:

It also cites comments from Miller/Howard Investments CIO Lowell Miller, who says, “you want a mix of both” stock types. He adds, “If the yield on the original investment is too high, it’s going to imply more risk than you’d like to take and reduced growth in the future.”