Warren Buffett has often said that his ideal holding period is forever. There’s also a lot of evidence that the longer you hold stocks, the lower your risk becomes and the better your returns are. Of course, the key to that is owning the right stocks to begin with. And in general terms, some of the best stocks to buy and hold are dividend stocks. After all, companies that have shown the ability to pay a dividend often have strong enough businesses to ride out economic ups and downs as well as being competitive.