The market’s favorite measure of volatility – the Chicago Board Options Exchange Index. Volatility Index (VIX) – saw an upward trend leading up to Election Day. So if you’re looking for a rewarding but relatively safe haven for your money amid pre-election stock market volatility, dividend stocks may be the answer. Yes, you can invest in low-risk CDs, but with the help of an industry expert, we’ve identified a list of stocks whose dividends exceed the 5.50% annual percentage yield (APY) that THE best CD price currently paying. And the good news is that you can identify these investment opportunities yourself, whenever you want, using the best stock filters And online brokerage platforms.

Top Dividend Stocks Right Now

Stock screeners found on standalone platforms, as well as online brokers and trading platforms, are excellent tools for finding all types of investment opportunities. Financial advisors are another source of ideas. According to Paul Schatz, president of Heritage Capital and treasurer of the National Association of Active Investment Managers (NAAIM), there are opportunities for higher returns in the pharmaceutical, energy, consumer staples, public services, banking and telecommunications.

By looking at a few specific companies, stocks and funds, you can earn dividends worth more than the highest paying 5.50% CD today. These four stocks below were all yielding more than 5.00% as of October 28, according to Morningstar Direct:

• LP Energy Transfer (ET) (gas pipeline and storage operator, seller of natural gas): yield of 7.71%
• Enterprise Products Partners LP (EPD) (natural gas, oil pipeline company): yield of 7.05%
• Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) (telecommunications company): yield of 6.42%
• Pfizer Inc. (PFE) (pharmaceutical and biotechnology multinational): yield of 5.79%

Finding Dividend Stocks

When using popular screeners like Zacks And FinvizOne way to focus your research is to focus on sectors likely to benefit from the presidential election. Sectors likely to benefit from a Trump victory include finance, energy, manufacturing and defense, according to Interactive Brokers senior economist José Torres. A Harris victory should help technology, electric vehicles, renewable energy and home builders.

Using the Loyalty investments brokerage filter (account required), you can look at 550 stocks in the energy sector and narrow them down to 10 stocks with yields between 6.00% and 10.00%, with positive earnings per share (EPS) growth ) this year compared to last year, and with institutional ownership growth of over 1.00% in recent quarters. These last two characteristics help you identify stocks with strong near-term total return prospects.

Some stocks you might see from this tactic include MPLX LP (MPLX), Hess Mainstream LP (HESM)Sunoco LP (SUN) and Noble Corporation PLC (NE).

Stock filters also allow you to include mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in your search, or even limit your search to these grouped assets. If you do this, your prospect list may include another of Schatz’s recommendations, like the Alerian MLP ETF (AMLP), an ETF that tracks energy infrastructure master limited partnerships, which have a dividend yield of 7 .73%, as of October 28.

No stock is without risk

Remember that this approach is not a panacea. No stock is completely risk-free.

“(It’s) a dangerous term,” said Ric Edelman, a financial advisor and host of the podcast “The Truth About Your Future with Ric Edelman.” “In short, the higher the return, the higher the risk. Those (investors) seeking higher returns are often unhappy to discover that although they earn more interest, they are losing principal.

But historically, dividend stocks are less sensitive to market volatility than stocks without dividends.

As a rule, public companies start paying regularly dividends once they have reached a level of stability. The more consistent dividends are, the more shareholders reward a company for maintaining that income stream.

Why are stocks with the highest yields often risky? Because sometimes a high dividend yield indicates that a company is in difficulty. It is therefore important to consider many factors when looking for dividend opportunities. A good place to start when looking for ideas is to include total returns over long-term periods, such as the last 10 years, and compare stocks to the market as a whole in the form of the S&P 500 Index.

Another approach to income investing is to target stocks with a history of increasing their dividends each year. These actions generally strive to avoid losing this distinction. An S&P 500 company that has increased its dividend for at least 25 consecutive years is a “dividend aristocrat.”

Of course, CDs should also be part of your financial and investment plans. With their fixed rates and generally stable underlying assets, CDs can be shock absorbers against market drops, and they are even accessible when arranged in staggered maturity date ladders. And no matter who wins the election next week, lock down one of the best CD prices could now guarantee returns over a long period of time 2025, 2026 or more.