It Has Been Argued That Investors Prefer High-Payout Companies Because

It has been argued that investors prefer high-payout companies because dividends are more certain (less risky)than the capital gains that are supposed to come from retained earnings.However,Miller and Modigliani say that this argument is incorrect,and they call it the "bird-in-the-hand fallacy." MM base their argument on the belief that most dividends are reinvested in stocks,hence are exposed to the same risks as reinvested earnings.