How important is the dividend history of a mutual fund in an organization?

While yield is important, investors can outperform a market just by investing in a company with a history of high and consistent dividend growth, notes CNN Money. Investors must look at the dividend history to judge for themselves whether the current dividend yield is sustainable.

An increase in dividend yield is not always a positive thing, according to Investopedia. While good for investors in the short term, companies sometimes increase yield beyond what it can reliably disburse every year. Funds that have a history of giving steady dividends over a period of many years are very likely to continue doing so in the future.