Dividend mutual funds ran a little ahead or a little behind the S&P 500 for much of the past 10 years. But they started falling behind in the fall of 2013 and have yet to recover. Take a $10,000 investment made on June 30, 2005, in the average mutual fund that focuses on stocks that pay dividends. It would have risen to $19,445 by July 17 this year vs. $22,052 for the S&P 500, according to Morningstar Inc. data.