The u.s. stock market's six-year Bull Run has continued for too long and runs the risk of high volatility in the near future. Though investors may begin to get comfortable, there is no denying the fact that the fourth quarter will likely experience certain macroeconomic headwinds that can aggravate later.

A multitude of factors are at play, testing the patience of investors and wearing them out. While the market is slowly adapting itself to the idea of the much-anticipated interest rate hike by the Fed, we won't know the impact of the actual repercussion until it finally hits.

Meanwhile, China, once the fastest growing emerging country, is proving to be a big bully regarding issues like equity bubble, dwindling forex reserve and devaluation of Yuan. Also, a sharp fall in commodity prices is leading to higher-than-expected demand cuts due to sluggish global economic growth.

The economic uncertainties currently gripping the market are enough to scare investors and compel them to take desperate measures for guarding their wealth. Ever since the stock market's sharp fall in last August, safety of money is topping the priority list of investors, irrespective of their investment techniques.

Dividend Investment

“A stock dividend is something tangible — it's not an earnings projection; it's something solid, in hand. Everything else is hope and speculation,” American stock market titan Richard Russell stated in brutally simple language.

There are several benefits of dividend investing. Historically, the most prominent ones are that these stocks have outperformed the market, it is a cost-effective mode of investment, it helps avoid speculative investment and is a time-tested strategy for assuring long-term growth. Moreover, reinvesting dividends to buy more shares are grabbing enough attention as a key strategy to increase portfolio strength.

Measuring and Dodging Volatility

The VIX is “a key measure of market expectations of near-term volatility conveyed by S&P 500 stock index option prices.” The index, moving opposite to market trends, is also known as the “fear-gauge” index. Though market volatility is currently at modest levels, growing macroeconomic uncertainties can trigger a chaos any time soon.