Generous dividends can help you build wealth in the long run. At the same time, overly generous dividend yields may be a sign of deeply rooted financial struggles.

The Dogs of the Dow investing strategy relies on the business quality requirements of the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI) If one of the 30 mighty Dow stocks is down on its luck, sending share prices lower and the effective dividend yield higher, that's surely a temporary issue. Buy while the dividend is high and wait for the Dow component to get over that speed bump.

But what if you apply the same philosophy to a much broader universe of stocks? There are 1,730 stocks on the (NASDAQ: NDAQ) stock exchange with a market cap of $200 million or more. Are the top-yielding dividend policies in this large group green flags on fantastic buying opportunities -- or red flags marking companies in deep trouble?

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Source Fool.com