Countless studies demonstrate that dividend-paying stocks outperform non-payers by a wide margin. From 1972 to 2006 dividend-paying stocks returned an average of 10% annually versus 4% for non-dividend payers, according to Ned Davis Research.

Naturally, most investors are hoping that the current stock market rally will hold and we’ll embark on another bull run. But what if it doesn’t?

Dr. Scott Brown of Investment U says. “It seems we’ve been talking about bottoms and whether we reached it yet for quite some time.”

Prudent investing during these turbulent times can guard and grow your wealth. Chris Mayer from the Rude Awakening shows you two “asset-rich conglomerates” that stand out during hard times.

If you save for retirement through a 401(k) plan, or have large IRA or Keogh Plan assets, you probably hurled your last statement in the bin. If you’d been making contributions consistently over the last decade, your last annual or monthly statement probably showed that the current value of your plan was well below the amount you had actually invested.

At this point, the temptation to work as long as possible, and then blow what remains of your savings on a round-the-world cruise and a suicide pill is considerable.

However, such despair is unwarranted.

Unless you have already given up all paid employment, or absolutely have to retire in the next year or two, the current bear market may have made your eventual…

James Dale Davidson provides some essential tips for your investment strategy during this credit crisis. The government had admitted that we face trillion-dollar deficits for years to come. And who knows how much bigger the budget hole could grow with companies like GM lapping up Uncle Sam’s bailouts. But there are always way to protect your wealth… and even make a profit.

It’s no fun when a door slams in your face. That’s how I felt a few years ago when I was preparing to buy into the Dodge and Cox Stock Fund. Just as I was preparing my check, the managers closed the door.

The Financial Research Corporation released a study prior to the (2001-02) bear market which showed that the average mutual fund’s three-year return was 10.92%, while the average investor in those same periods gained only 8.7%.

In the words of my father-in-law, “The stock market stinks.” Benny was lamenting over the performance of his S&P 500 index mutual fund. He bought the fund back in 1999. And he sold it just a few weeks ago.