If you're looking for a surefire way to secure a big stream of passive income, there are plenty of options. For those of us who prefer a hands-off approach, though, it's hard to beat dividend-paying stocks.

Historically, companies that commit to paying investors a portion of their profits outperform those that don't -- and the margin isn't even close. During the period from 1973 through 2022, stocks in the S&P 500 index that initiated or grew their dividends delivered a 10.2% average annual return. Over the same time frame, non-dividend payers in the same index actually fell by an average of 0.6%, according to data from Hartford Funds and Ned Davis Research.

Image source: Getty Images.

Continue reading

Source Fool.com