The year is drawing to a close, and what a year it has been for the stock market. As of this writing, the S&P 500, Nasdaq Composite, and Dow Jones Industrial Average are up 26%, 28%, and 19%, respectively.

Many investors can pigeon hole buying dividend stocks as a particular investment style that may not fit with their long-term goals. Indeed, investing in growth stocks has clearly been the winning strategy for a very long time - companies that tend to pay higher dividends and trade at more reasonable valuations have largely underperformed,

In a market often driven by high valuations amid the seemingly unstoppableartificial intelligence (AI) hype, value stocks offer a refreshing alternative for investors seeking solid returns without the premium price tag.

The problem with amazing growth stocks is that when the market discovers them, enthusiastic investors can often converge on them quickly, sending the price through the roof. This doesn't lead to the steady stock appreciation that makes an investment worthwhile.

Investors who have tilted their portfolios toward growth have certainly done very well for themselves in recent years. Indeed, for the better part of the past two decades, portfolios that have been constructed with a heavier weighting toward companies with market-beating growth rates have vastly outperformed those that held a higher percentage of their portfolios