Traditionally, dividends made up half of the return of a stock investment. Through the 1990's and 2000's, when growth was popular, dividends fell out of favor.

Now with the slow economy dividends are popular again.

Interested in dividends?

A good option is Vanguard's Dividend Appreciation ETF. This ETF provides a diversity of companies and invests in companies that have consistently raised their dividend.

You can also invest in their Dividend Appreciation Index Fund.

Thanks for the advice! I read a great book that stresses the importance of dividend investing called The Power Curve - by scott kyle. He says that using dividends and options is the best way to get a superior return in bad economic times.

Thanks for sharing, Elizabeth. I'll have to look the book up and read it. I think dividends are a good idea. Not sure how comfortable I'd be about options.

I appreciate your input.

I picked up a copy of that book and it gets pretty technical but very interesting! He makes most of the book really easy to understand but the options chapter you need to read over twice. I think it's best to stick with large value dividend companies and only use options once you become a seasoned investor.

Julie,

Great review of the book!

Investing in dividends seems a sensible plan right now. I agree that options are better for the seasoned investor. Options are risky and investors often lose money using them.