According to the new CNBC Delivering Alpha investor survey, most Wall Street investors believe that the market is pretty much doomed for the remainder of 2022 and therefore think it’s time to invest in dividend-paying stocks. About 500 chief investment officers, equity strategists, portfolio managers, and CNBC contributors who manage money were surveyed by CNBC to determine their views on the markets for the remainder of 2022. The survey was conducted this week. When asked, “what are you most likely to buy now?” 42% of respondents said stocks pay high dividends. Less than 18% said they would buy mega-cap tech stocks right now. Unlike growth stocks, dividend stocks do not usually offer dramatic price appreciation. However, they do provide investors with a stable source of income during uncertain economic times. Dividends are payments made to shareholders from an organization’s earnings.

Despite the market’s tumultuous year, the S&P 500 is on pace for its worst first half since 1970. Investors fear that the Federal Reserve will continue to hike interest rates aggressively to tame inflation, potentially leading to an economic recession. In the first week of January, the equity benchmark reached a record high but has since fallen by more than 20% from that high. It was reported that forty percent of survey respondents believed the S&P 500 would end the year above 4,000, representing a 6% gain from Thursday’s intraday level of around 3,767, but still well below where it began the year at 4,766. Only 5% of respondents anticipate the index exceeding 5,000 by the end of the year.