Investors in the Low Tax Brackets

C

The Clientele Effect is based on the presumption that different groups of investors will prefer different dividend policies based on their tax status and their need for current versus future income requirements. Hence, investors who face high taxes on current income will tend to avoid stocks with high pay-out ratios. This lowering of demand for such stocks will tend to depress their prices and to take advantage of this; investors in low tax brackets would gravitate toward them. To this, add the fact that usually, investors in low tax brackets with sufficient capital to invest tend to be either people who are old and retired or institutions like pension funds. Both these groups have a higher need for current income but are sensitive to liquidation of capital. They therefore prefer their income from stocks to be in the form of dividends rather than from the sale of their stock holdings.