Dividends and income used to the core of smart investing. But today’s pundits and gurus stress capital gains and market timing instead.

If you’re following that crowd, you’re making a huge mistake.

Not only is income more important than ever before… but it has ALWAYS been important. According to one study, dividends and other income streams accounted for more than 50% of all realized gains in the S&P 500 over the past 28 years.

Of course, just because a company is paying a high dividend doesn’t mean its stock is a good buy. 

Some companies try to attract shareholders with a big yield — hoping it will mask other problems. Others pay out dividends at a rate they can’t afford for long. Once that money dries up, the yield drops and the share price sinks.

To help you separate the good income opportunities from the wastes of money, we created Lifetime Income Report. Using a seven-point filtering strategy, editor Jim Nelson specializes in finding companies that are well-established, well-positioned, safe and fundamentally solid.

First and foremost, Jim looks for companies with a solid history of looking out for their shareholders. If a company is making a lot of cash but not sharing the windfall with its investors, it doesn’t make Jim’s cut. On the other hand, it can’t frivolously hand out its cash, either.

In the first nine months of 2009, buying 1,000 shares of each of Jim’s recommendations would have given you nearly $15,000 in extra income. On top of that, you would have enjoyed an average capital gain of 13.3%.

With Lifetime Income Report, you can get the absolute most out of your stock portfolio.