Investment strategies for a new decade? Here are five.

3. Dividend-paying stocks

PRNewsFoto/ Aflac / File
For its 50th TV ad, the Aflac Duck pops in on Woody, Buzz, and the gang to promote Aflac along with the much anticipated summer blockbuster Toy Story 3. Aflac is one of the S&P's Dividend Aristocrats, which have raised dividends to investors every year for at least 25 years.

Stocks of these typically solid businesses outperform the market over the long term, with a dividend payout that cushions short-term dips in price. Dividend-payers are expected to be increasingly popular among baby boomers looking for a steady stream of revenue during retirement. Another bonus: The recently passed tax legislation extends for two years the maximum 15 percent tax rate on qualified dividends.

The so-called Dividend Aristocrats, 43 companies of the S&P 500 that have raised cash payouts to investors annually for at least the last 25 years, are "the cream of the crop," says Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist of Standard & Poor's Equity Research in New York. From Dec. 31, 2000, through Dec. 14, 2010, the Aristocrats collectively had a 101 percent cumulative total return, versus the S&P 500's 13 percent.

Stocks of these typically solid businesses outperform the market over the long term, with a dividend payout that cushions short-term dips in price. Dividend-payers are expected to be increasingly popular among baby boomers looking for a steady stream of revenue during retirement. Another bonus: The recently passed tax legislation extends for two years the maximum 15 percent tax rate on qualified dividends.

The so-called Dividend Aristocrats, 43 companies of the S&P 500 that have raised cash payouts to investors annually for at least the last 25 years, are "the cream of the crop," says Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist of Standard & Poor's Equity Research in New York. From Dec. 31, 2000, through Dec. 14, 2010, the Aristocrats collectively had a 101 percent cumulative total return, versus the S&P 500's 13 percent.

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