That has helped pressure many of the market’s popular dividend-paying stocks, which investors had turned to when rates were far lower. "The dividend-paying value side of the market is a pretty compelling place to go to maintain that return." Nevertheless, investors are seeking out dividend-paying stocks as a source of total return this year in anticipation that bond yields may falter while stocks continue to gain, Silverblatt said. “If you are going into dividend paying stocks now, you are taking that risk because you think there's a high probability that the market goes up," he said. Corso is searching for dividend-paying companies in cyclical sectors such as financials, where valuations are less expensive.

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Persons: Jurrien Timmer, Howard Silverblatt, Dow, Silverblatt, hadn't, Cliff Corso, Corso, Bryant VanCronkhite, David Randall, Ira Iosebashvili Organizations: YORK, Federal Reserve, Fidelity Investments, BoFA Global Research, Dow Jones Indices, Companies, Asset Management, Fed, Allspring Global Investments, Thomson