Jim Trippon, CPA

There are dozens, if not hundreds of indexes tracking various sectors of the market, but for dividend hunters, the Standard & Poor's Dividend Aristocrats Index is one worth watching.

The index equal-weighted and members are reweighted every quarter with membership reviews taking place every December.

One key metric must be met to be considered a Dividend Aristocrat and that is at least 25 consecutive years of dividend increases, so when we've mentioned the index in the past, some of the constituents were somewhat puzzling to us.

Some of 2008 and 2009's most noteworthy dividend cutters have been found among the Aristocrats, but that's set to change on December 18. Spirits maker Brown Forman (NYSE: BF.B) is slated to be a new addition.

Brown Forman makes Southern Comfort and Jack Daniels among other familiar brands and the shares currently yield 2.2%. Another new addition will be uniform maker Cintas (Nasdaq: CTAS), which yields 1.6%.

The departure list is lengthier and more infamous to be sure. Littered with dividend offenders from the financial sector, BB&T (NYSE: BBT), Legg Mason (NYSE: LM), M&T Bank (NYSE: MTB), State Street (NYSE: STT) and U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB) are among the departures from the Dividend Aristocrats Index.

Joining the financials in saying "adios" to the index are Avery Dennison (NYSE: AVY), Gannett (NYSE: GCI), Johnson Controls (NYSE: JCI), General Electric (NYSE: GE) and Pfizer (NYSE: PFE).