dividends

"As stock markets slid in March, Judy Brady lay awake at night thinking about her portfolio. 'My retired friends who had all CDs and gold, and they were still making money, and my investments just kept going and going,' she said. 'I thought: I can't afford to lose all this.' So the 70-year-old retiree in Schaumburg, Ill., sold most of her stocks."  -- The Wall Street Journal, May 18, 2009

In this crazy world, it's hard to find things you can count on. Death and taxes, sure. Jobs, marriages, even your favorite breakfast cereal? Not so much. But there's another, more positive element you usually can rely on: Dividends.

It's been a scary crisis for dividend investors.

Quick test: Which of the following is false?

If your portfolio's looking a little scrawny, try fattening it up with the portly power of dividends.

Some of the biggest casualties during last year's bear market were dividend-paying stocks. After more than a year of seeing many companies slash dividend payments, it now appears that there's light at the end of the tunnel.

Tax-deferred accounts such as traditional and Roth IRAs are ideal places for income-generating investments such as dividend-paying stocks and bonds. Why? Rather than pay taxes annually on dividends and interest received, IRAs allow your nest egg to grow tax-free, entirely avoiding those annual charges that can put a damper on your retirement funds' returns.

Not every company is slashing its dividend these days. Some of the market's better performers are easing up on their purse strings and sending more money out to their shareholders.

The New York Yankees of the '50s and the Chicago Bulls and Dallas Cowboys of the '90s have one crucial element in common: consistent excellence in their organizations and performance. That's a rare accomplishment, but if you think it could never occur in your portfolio, think again. Carefully chosen dividend-paying stocks could be your key to superstar returns.