Here's the basis for the strategy:

$1,000,000 invested in the following categories, December 1986 - December 2014 and what that $1,000,000 becomes.
Non-dividend payers: $1,322,000
Dividend cutters: $1,603,000
TSX Composite: $5,987,000
Dividend payers: $15,173,000
Dividend growers: $24,488,000
Selected pipelines and utilities: $65,359,000
One source: RBC Capital markets

This is why the bulk of my investments are in the pipeline and utility areas of the market. It's easier with the wind at your back.
And before you come up with the usual yes butinterest raes aren't going to be supportive going forward, well you may be right and you also may be wrong. Doesn't matter though. Dividend-growth stocks have outperformed since the 1860s and in the last six rising interest rate periods, dividend growth stocks have outperformed the market.