If there's one thing on Wall Street that I know I can count on, it's that bull markets are going to be followed by bear market crashes. It's just the natural cycle of things, which is why I start to get a little nervous when the S&P 500 is trading near all-time highs, like it is today.

Since I don't know what's going to happen in the future, I try to find ways to offset the risk of market downturns and even use them to my advantage. That's why I love reliable dividend stocks like Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE: BNS).

Is the stock market going to crash? Although I don't know when, I do know that it eventually will. And when that downturn does come, I want a company that I can count on to survive it. Bank of Nova Scotia, more commonly known as Scotiabank, traces its history back to 1832. That's a very long time for a company to exist and suggests that it is likely to remain a going concern in the future no matter what happens to the stock market.

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Source Fool.com