Portfolio Update: Stocks Getting Slammed As Dividends Shine Bright

My investment career is still very short (roughly 2.5 years) and as such the volatility we are now experiencing daily in the markets is certainly new to me. That said I have been actively watching how the stock markets behaved from 2007 - 2010 and although I am deeply regretting it not to have started investing back then I at least have seen how emotions eventually drive the markets.
Right now stocks are trading in a up-and-down range of at least 1% on a daily basis with sharp up and down swings during the day. Concerns on economic growth and a shaky trade truce exact an increasing toll on the market amid rising inflation and interest rate woes. Anxiety is mounting and market commentary is shifting increasingly bearish due to rising recession risk, wider corporate credit spreads and a yield curve feared to be inverting.
Previously, when markets dropped like 10% from their highs the "buy-the-dippers" showed up but this time it increasingly looks as if new lows are about to come.
Buy the Dip or Sell the Rally?

Image Source: Yahoo Finance, Real Investment Advice (all image courtesy remains)
In such an environment I take great relief from the fact that from a dividend investor's point of view all this does not matter as long as the companies can support their, hopefully, growing payouts. It helps focus on what really matters, i.e. not to dump shares at prices previously considered bargains but instead either add but at least hold my core... Read more