The Financial Post reports in its Thursday, May 25, edition that even record dividends are not tempting investors enough to bet on stocks they see as more vulnerable in a recession. A Bloomberg dispatch to the Post reports that big payers in the energy, mining and financial sectors have trailed the market this year as investors rotated away from cyclicals into defensive and growth sectors. Bloomberg says that has made dividend yield among the worst-performing investing factors in Europe and the United States. Risks of a recession are rising in Europe and the U.S., with the timing of a peak in central banks' rate-hike campaigns hotly debated. Companies with robust balance sheets, profit growth and potential for expansion have found favour, while there is uncertainty about whether dividend aristocrats can maintain their largesse in leaner times. Recent banking turmoil has also made traders wary of financials. Goldman Sachs's Luke Barrs says the concern is "how sustainable is the growth for those businesses that are exhibiting high dividends." While a dividend is a very valuable asset, "the only way you sustain that over time is if you continue to grow the underlying earnings within the business."