Chasing High-Dividend Yields

So what does that leave?

“Go for multinational equities, paying a dividend,” says Harter.

Even amid the volatility and downward price pressure from worries about the EU debt crisis or a potential hard-landing for China's economy, wealth managers point out that dividends provide income even if the stocks are depreciating.

Payouts this year are set to hit a record. The net increase in dividends reached $24.2 billion in the first quarter of 2012, a 27.6-percent jump from a year ago, according to Standard & Poor's, while dividend payouts by S&P 500 companies alone are expected to hit some $280 billion in 2012 — another record.

“We expect to see double-digit growth in actual dividend payments for the remainder of 2012, which would equate to a 16-percent gain over 2011,” Howard Silverblatt, a senior index analyst at S&P, noted in a recent report. “Given underlying fundamentals, low payouts and cash reserves, 2012 should set a record high for cash dividend payments.”

“Dividends can contribute up to 40 percent of a stocks’ total return,” adds Fisher, the money manager.

The dividend yield on some blue-chips is currently at 3 percent or more. Whirlpool is at 3.3 percent; Pfizer's is just under 4 percent; and Verizon's 4.8 percent.

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