Investors sometimes focus their attention a bit too keenly on growth. Often, a boring dividend stock can be a valuable addition to a portfolio, providing stability even when times are tough on Wall Street.

Investing is not a simple task. Most people can't buy a single stock and expect it to go to the moon, leading to massive wealth. The problem, of course, is that if you pick the wrong stock, you could lose all your money. This is why having a diversified portfolio is so important: Spreading your eggs across a few baskets will help you avoid catastrophic errors and increase the likelihood that you pick at least a few notable winners.

With rising interest rates, regulated utilities Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK) and Black Hills (NYSE: BKH) have seen their yields spike to attractive levels even though both companies still have solid long-term growth plans. Here's how the stocks for these two utilities can make you richer as they tread a slow and steady path through both bear and bull markets.

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Source Fool.com