This article originally appeared in The Bangkok Post.

Traditionally, investors looking for consistent returns could reliably turn to consumer products companies to put their money to work. These companies had a formula for creating profitable growth: delight consumers with innovations, expand into exciting new international markets and add to their stables by buying up-and-coming new brands.

But something changed. Most consumer products companies recently have adopted the fashionable trend of stepping up share repurchases and dividends. According to a Bloomberg analysis in the autumn of 2014, S&P 500 companies were on track to spend 95% of their collective profits in 2014 on dividends and share buybacks, with consumer goods companies fully active.

The trouble is, this activity may help short-term earnings per share, but in the long term it does nothing to deliverabove-average total shareholder returns(TSR), defined as stock price changes assuming reinvestment of cash dividends. Bain & Company analysis shows that growing operating earnings is the only way to spur long-term TSR. And the one thing that spurs operating earnings growth: systematic reinvestment into the business.

Read the full article at The Bangkok Post.