Building Your Best Portfolio: How Shareholder Yield Delivers Sustainable Returns in Today's Market

Investors face a pivotal moment in 2025. With inflation finally subsiding and central banks beginning to lower interest rates, the traditional playbook for portfolio construction needs updating. Rising valuations across most sectors have made growth-at-any-price strategies increasingly risky. Instead, savvy investors are turning their attention to a more durable wealth-creation engine: companies that consistently generate cash and return it meaningfully to shareholders through dividends, buybacks, and debt reduction.

Understanding Shareholder Yield as Your Portfolio Shield

Shareholder yield represents a more holistic measure of capital return than dividends alone. By combining three components—dividend payments, share repurchases, and debt paydown—this metric reveals whether management truly prioritizes long-term shareholder value or merely chases short-term metrics.

The appeal is straightforward. A company announcing a rising dividend sounds attractive until you realize it’s simultaneously diluting shares through new issuances or loading up on debt to fund those payments. Genuine shareholder yield, by contrast, signals disciplined stewardship. When a firm pays dividends, reduces share count, and strengthens its balance sheet simultaneously, investors can trust that capital allocation decisions serve long-term interests, not quarterly optics.

This distinction becomes especially relevant after years of elevated interest rates. Companies that conserved cash and paid down debt during the tougher environment now enjoy lower financing costs and greater financial flexibility. That breathing room allows them to accelerate both dividend growth and buyback activity without stretching their balance sheets.

Four Standout Candidates for Your Best Portfolio

CION Investment: Maximum Income Appeal

CION Investment emerges as a premier choice for investors prioritizing income within their best portfolio. The company delivers a dividend yield of approximately 14.17%—substantially above market averages. Over the past five years, CION has raised its dividend seven times, translating to an 8.32% annualized growth rate.

What separates CION from income traps is its sustainable approach. The payout ratio sits at 81%, meaning the company retains capital for reinvestment and opportunistic moves rather than distributing every dollar earned. This restraint has enabled $12 million in share repurchases during the first nine months of 2025. Combining high current income with consistent buyback activity, CION’s shareholder yield profile supports both immediate returns and long-term wealth compounding. The stock carries a Zacks Rank #1 with a Value Score of ‘A’.

TPG RE Finance Trust: Strong Yield With Debt Discipline

TPG RE Finance Trust offers a competitive 10.73% dividend yield alongside meaningful progress in balance-sheet optimization. The company has trimmed long-term debt from $3.71 billion in 2021 to $2.83 billion by the third quarter of 2025—a clear signal that management prioritizes financial fortress-building.

Dividend growth has been modest at 2.84% annualized, but the company has increased payouts three times over five years, and the focus on deleveraging creates room for future acceleration. TRTX repurchased $25 million in shares during the first nine months of 2025. For investors seeking substantial current yield paired with improving financial health, this stock merits consideration within your best portfolio framework. Zacks assigns it a Rank #1 with a Value Score of ‘C’.

W.P. Carey: Consistent Capital Return Through Cycles

W.P. Carey presents a different profile: a 5.38% dividend yield coupled with the longest track record of shareholder commitment. The company has increased its dividend 20 times over the past five years—a statement of consistency that speaks louder than any single-year growth rate.

Though the annualized growth rate appears negative at -4.78%, this reflects occasional adjustments during market dislocations rather than fundamental weakness. The 74% payout ratio indicates room for reinvestment. W.P. Carey’s stable approach to capital allocation makes it suitable for conservative investors building their best portfolio. The stock carries a Zacks Rank of 2 with a Value Score of ‘D’.

Invesco: Balanced Growth With Leverage Reduction

Invesco offers a more measured dividend yield of 3.57%, but its shareholder yield story rests on execution across all three pillars. The company raised dividends six times over five years (7.01% annualized growth) and maintains a conservative 44% payout ratio.

The standout feature is debt management. Invesco reduced long-term debt from $10.08 billion in Q2 2025 to $9.94 billion in Q3 2025—steady progress that frees up future capital for distributions. The company repurchased 4.4 million shares for $75 million during the first nine months of 2025. For investors seeking a balanced combination of income, buyback support, and financial de-risking, Invesco fits well within a best portfolio allocation. It carries a Zacks Rank #1 with a Value Score of ‘B’.

Why Shareholder Yield Strategy Works Now

The current environment amplifies shareholder yield’s appeal. Geopolitical uncertainty and trade concerns have prompted investors to abandon speculative positions in favor of stability. High stock valuations have made traditional dividend screens less reliable—many companies offer minimal payouts while trading at stretched multiples.

Shareholder yield strategies, by comparison, have consistently outperformed pure dividend approaches because they capture the complete picture of capital return. A company genuinely committed to shareholder value reduces debt, buys back shares, and maintains dividend growth simultaneously—a combination that tends to drive long-term outperformance while cushioning portfolio volatility.

For 2025 and beyond, building your best portfolio with these principles in mind positions you to capture returns without excessive downside risk. These four stocks exemplify the discipline and capital-management excellence worth seeking.