For many investors, $5,000 is a good amount to invest in the stock market. It's large enough that you can make hundreds of dollars on a 10% return -- and if the stock pays a dividend of 4% or more, that would generate at least $200 in additional income. At the same time, it's probably not a significant enough sum to put your retirement or long-term plans entirely at risk if the investment tanks. 

If that's the case and you have $5,000 you can spare for your portfolio now, consider putting it into Novartis (NYSE: NVS) and Paramount Global (NASDAQ: PARA). With these investments, you'll collect dividends with a far better yield than the S&P 500's 1.8% payout, and the companies' growth could also pay off with long-term appreciation of the share price.

Shares of Swiss drugmaker Novartis are down 12% this year, which isn't bad, given that the S&P 500 has fallen by 23% over the same stretch. The diversified healthcare company makes medicines that are focused on five key therapeutic areas -- hematology, solid tumors, immunology, neuroscience, and cardiovascular. 

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Source Fool.com