Wall Street is a money machine over the long run. But when examined over shorter time frames, it's a roll of the dice. Over the past 16 months, bears have reigned supreme, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S 500, and Nasdaq Composite all entrenched in a bear market at some point or another.

When things become uncertain on Wall Street, investors tend to turn to the safety provided by dividend stocks. Publicly traded companies that pay a regular dividend are usually profitable, have well-defined long-term growth outlooks, and are time-tested. Best of all, income stocks have historically crushed their non-paying peers in the return column over the long run.

Image source: Getty Images.

Continue reading

Source Fool.com