Investors are now prepared to believe that politicians can ‘fix’ the economy after Wall Street’s recent bout of hari kari. So is it now time to get back into the markets? The answer depends on whether your prepared to brave the elements or not. Eric Fry says if you do, you should consider this one simple investing strategy.

This from Penny Sleuth:

The answer depends greatly upon one’s capacity to brave the elements. Very few investors anticipated any sort of winter at all, much less the severe chill that is paralyzing the global financial markets. Therefore, very few investors prepared or provisioned adequately.

We all know that we can’t simply huddle inside our igloos forever. And we also know that the schools of value-laden stocks that are circulating in the stock market’s murky depths are as plentiful as they have ever been. So we realize that we must get out there eventually and drop a line into the water.

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Here’s How the Ordinary Investor Cashes in on Huge Profits…

From seven cents to $9.60 a share. Click here to read the amazing story of the millionaire-maker stock that turned $500 into $68,571.43…

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Unfortunately, most of us just lost our shirts — if not also our jackets, shoes, pants and underwear — during the last few weeks. Therefore, even if we believe we should be out in the bone-chilling financial markets trying to hook some bargains, we have very little capital left to risk.

So the next question becomes: What to fish?

Many of today’s depressed stocks should provide an appetizing return over the next three to five years. But since economic conditions could become even more dire than most of us now imagine, why not snag the stocks that pay very rich and relatively secure dividends?

Dividends, after all, offer cash in your pocket even during turbulent times in the marketplace. And if you reinvest those payments back into stock, chances are you’ll beat the market considerably.

A study by Wharton Professor Dr. Jeremy Siegel shows that 97% of stock market returns can be traced to reinvested dividends. If that’s not opportunity knocking, I don’t know what is…

PS: You would have received your first big-time dividend today, if you had checked out our colleague Chris Mayer’s “Paycheck Portfolio.” No need to worry though. Companies in this special portfolio are going to write 75 checks this year, even as the market has been going to hell. There’s no sign of them slowing down any time soon. Check it out here…

Source: Finding a Blanket in the ‘Winter of Our Discontent’