The US government's tariff plans are continuing to hammer the stock market as investors navigate market volatility and brace for the impact of new duties on imports. Dividend stocks are expected to gain popularity in this backdrop. BNY Investments said in a recent report that dividend stocks are expected to shine this year amid the potential for an inflation rebound and ongoing tariff uncertainties.

About a month ago, someone asked income investors on r/Dividends — a Reddit discussion board with more than 680,000 followers — whether anyone was living comfortably off dividends and how long it took them to reach that milestone. The question received an overwhelming response, with many Redditors sharing impressive income reports and portfolios.

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An investor said he started off from $4,000 a month in dividends and reached about $20,000 to $30,000 monthly income.

"I have comfortably lived off distributions for about 10 years now. But I started at about 4k a month now I get 20-30k a month," he said.

The investor said he had exposure to fixed-rate investments to offset volatility that comes from interest rate volatility.

"The only bad part with income investing is the constant rebalancing, and you have to cut losers and feed winners Sometimes this results are more taxes than you would like, but you gotta have a strategy. I usually only deploy margin during bear market."

The investor said he invested in REITs during the 2008 bear market as he believed the industry would rebound sooner or later.

"I made a fortune in 2008 off REITs, I am 100% a bear market investor Whenever things get bad, that's when I break the money printer out."

Trending: If there was a new fund backed by Jeff Bezos offering a 7-9% target yield with monthly dividends would you invest in it?

Let's take a look at some of the top stocks and funds in the investor's portfolio.

Roundhill S&P 500 0DTE Covered Call Strategy ETF

Roundhill S&P 500 0DTE Covered Call Strategy ETF (CBOE: XDTE) generates income by selling call options on the S&P 500 that expire on the same day, known as 0DTE options. The ETF is suitable for those looking to generate short-term income by focusing on daily market movements.

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Roundhill Small Cap 0DTE Covered Call Strategy ETF

The Roundhill Small Cap 0DTE Covered Call Strategy ETF (CBOE: RDTE) generates income by holding small-cap stocks and selling call options with zero expiration days.

Roundhill Innov-100 0DTE Covered Call ETF

Roundhill Innov-100 0DTE Covered Call ETF (CBOE: QDTE) generates income via a zero-day-to-expiration options strategy on the Roundhill Innovate Index. This strategy involves selling call options that expire the same day.

JPMorgan Nasdaq Equity Premium Income ETF

JPMorgan Nasdaq Equity Premium Income ETF (NASDAQ:JEPQ) is a high-yield covered call ETF that distributes monthly dividend income. The ETF invests in Nasdaq companies and generates extra income by selling call options.

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Ares Capital Corporation

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) is a business development company with a dividend yield of over 8%. Last month, Raymond James downgraded the stock to Market Perform from Outperform, citing valuation. The stock has gained about 9% over the past year.

Main Street Capital Corp

Texas-based business development company Main Street Capital (NYSE:MAIN) is a monthly dividend stock. Over the past 12 months, the stock is up 22%.

Blue Owl Capital

Blue Owl Capital Corp. (NYSE:OBDC) is a business development company with a dividend yield of 11%. Last month, the company posted fourth-quarter results which showed its net investment income in the period fell short of Wall Street estimates.

Putnam BDC Income ETF

The Putnam BDC Income ETF (NYSE:PBDC) provides investors exposure to business development companies. PBDC yields about 9%.

Invesco KBW Premium Yield Equity REIT ETF

The Invesco KBW Premium Yield Equity REIT ETF (NASDAQ:KBWY) provides exposure to small- and mid-cap US REITs. Some of the top holdings of the fund include Global Net Lease (NYSE:GNL),  Site Centers (NYSE:SITC), Brandywine Realty Trust (NYSE:BDN), and Community Healthcare Trust (NYSE:CHCT), among others.

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This article Investor Making Up To $30,000 a Month In Dividends Shares His Top 9 Stocks - 'I'm A Bear Market Investor' originally appeared on Benzinga.com

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