The Dividend Aristocrat Index (NOBL) posted a respectable 4.02% total return in August, but again lagged the broad S&P 500 (SPY) as the increasingly tech heavy market benchmark powered higher. The move pushes the Dividend Aristocrat Index close to flat on the year (-1.2%) while the S&P 500 is now up close to 10% (9.7%). This underperformance in the tech-driven rebound has lessened the long-term outperformance of the strategy versus the cap-weighted benchmark. Over the last thirty-plus years, the dividend growth strategy has bested the broad market index by 1.7% per