The highest-yielding stocks aren't necessarily your best choice. Quality counts. A company should not only be able to continue funding its payouts, but should also be capable of growing its dividend payments in the future.

And there's perhaps no safer long-term strategy than to seek out the best dividend stocks. The stock market always trends up in the long run, so in a sense there's no need to sweat any short-term struggles.

In the current global market landscape, uncertainty surrounding incoming U.S. administration policies and inflationary pressures have led to a mixed performance across major indices, with sectors like financials and energy seeing gains while healthcare faces challenges.

The power of owning dividend-paying stocks is often underappreciated. Consider, for example, that a study by Hartford Funds and Ned Davis Research found that between 1973 and 2023

TC Energy (TSX:TRP) is up 30% in 2024. Investors who missed the rally are wondering if TRP stock is still good to buy for a self-directed Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA) or Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) portfolio focused on dividends and total returns.