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Investors typically think of bonds when searching for income. However over the last year, the stock market has provided a dividend yield greater than the bond market yield. The bond market, as represented by the 10 Year U.S. Treasury Bond, regained its income advantage over stocks in May when the bond market yield rose from 1.63% in early May to 2.20% in mid-June. One of the factors that has significantly influenced bond yields is Federal Reserve monetary policy. Recent hints from the Federal Reserve that they may reduce their monetary stimulus programs contributed to the 10 Year U.S. Treasury Bond yield increase.

Whether bonds are more or less attractive than stocks must be determined by each investor and should not be determined based on yield alone. In addition even when stocks yield more than bonds, stocks typically have greater volatility or potential volatility in their value. The stock market dividend yield is represented by the S&P 500 Index ("S&P 500"), which tracks the performance of 500 stocks of larger capitalization companies traded in the U.S. and the dividend yield is the trailing annual dividend per share divided by the current share price.